Monday, October 27, 2014

Movie Review: The Terror

The Terror
Starring: Boris Karloff, Jack Nicholson, Sandra Knight, Dick Miller, Jonathan Haze, Dorothy Neumann
Director: Roger Corman, Francis Ford Coppola, Monte Hellman, Jack Hill, Jack Nicholson 
The Filmgroup, American International Pictures, USA, 1963. 
Also this movie is part of Horror Movie 50 movie pack box published by Mill Creek Entertainment. 

In 1806 French soldier named Andre Duvalier (Jack Nicholson) is lost and travels on a beach. He sees a mysterious woman Helene (Sandra Knight) and asks for road to Coldon. They spend some time together. Then Helene walks into the sea and disappears. Hawk attacks Andre. He awakes in a cabin where an old woman (Dorothy Neumann) gives him medicine. The hawk's name is Helene and old woman says there is no girl. 
Jack Nicholson
Andre is lost
Sandra Knight
Mysterious Helene appears
Dorothy Neumann
Witch Katrina gives medicine to Andre
At night Helene appears to Andre and almost lures him into quicksand. The old woman's servant Gustav  (Jonathan Haze) says the girl is possessed. To save her, Gustav suggests him to go to the castle of Baron von Leppe (Boris Karloff) and find Eric. Andre travels to the castle and meets the Baron and his servant, Stefan (Dick Miller).
Boris Karloff
Baron von Leppe
Jack Nicholson and Boris Karloff
Andre enters the castle
Boris Karloff and Dick Miller
Baron with his servant Stefan
Baron shows a picture of his dead wife, Ilsa, who looks just like Helene. Baron tells that Ilsa was cheating him so he killed her and her lover, Eric. The old woman is a witch named Katrina and she is mother of Eric. She uses Helene for vengeance against Baron. So Helene is the ghost of Ilsa and the old woman uses her to make the Baron kill himself.
Jonathan Haze
Gustav knows too much
Old woman uses the hawk to kill Gustav who spoke too much. Andre is in love with Helene, and thinks she is a mortal woman with mental problems. He tries to get her leave with her but Helene can not do it. There are some plot twists and then the movie ends with a gruesome finale.
Hawk attacks Gustav
Jack Nicholson and Sandra Knight
Andre tries to get Helene to leave with him
Andre in foggy cemetery
The movie is suspenseful ghost tale with nice gothic atmosphere. Included are old castle, eerie crypt and foggy cemetery. The movie was made when Corman filmed movies based on Edgar Allan Poe's stories, so the style is similar. Karloff and Nicholson do good performances. The soundtrack by Ronald Stein is haunting and spooky. The picture quality is quite faded and image is cropped.
Castle of Baron von Leppe
Rating: Good

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