The Final Terror (1983)

Director:

Andrew Davis

Writers:

Jon George (screenplay)
Jon George (story)

Release Date:

May 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

If you go down to the woods today you're sure of...

Plot:

A group of forest rangers go camping in the woods, and trespass into an area where a backwoods mama likes to kill people who come onto her turf.

Plot Keywords:

Forest | Camping | Bus | Dying During Sex | Mother Son Relationship

Cast

John Friedrich	...	Dennis Zorich
Adrian Zmed	...	Marco Cerone
Ernest Harden Jr.	...	Nathaniel Hines
Lewis Smith	...	Boone
Rachel Ward	...	Margaret
Daryl Hannah	...	Windy Morgan
Akosua Busia	...	Vanessa
Joe Pantoliano	...	Eggar
Mark Metcalf	...	Mike
Cindy Harrell	...	Melanie
Irene Sanders	...	Sammie
Richard Jacobs	...	Mr. Morgan
Donna Pinder	...	Mrs. Morgan
Jim Youngs	...	Jim
Lori Butler	...	Lori (as Lori Lee Butler)

Also Known As:

Bump in the Night
Campsite Massacre
Carnivore (USA) (TV title)
The Creeper (USA) (working title)
The Forest Primeval
Three Blind Mice (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Belgium:16 (video rating) | Australia:R | Norway:18 | Sweden:(Banned) | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Crescent City, California, USA

Trivia:

The role of Eggar's crazed mother is actually played by a man.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the bus is seen on the bridge alone, you can tell it is daylight, when it is supposed to be dark.

Slick but unfulfilling

Tired, uninvolving FRIDAY THE 13th clone in the same vein as JUST BEFORE DAWN (1981). Five obnoxious forest rangers take their underdeveloped girlfriends into the forest to do some work. One night at a campfire one of the group tells the others of a deranged old hag haunting the surrounding woods, killing anybody who crosses her path. The next day, one of the group mysteriously disappears and another is brutally murdered. After several unsuccessful attempts at escape the group finally manages to set a trap for the killer and destroy her once and for all.

THE FINAL TERROR is a mixed bag; On one hand there's gorgeous photography, nice scenery, a scary killer, some good 'n creepy moments and a fantastic cast. But for every good point there's a bad: annoying characters, a sloppy script, slow pacing, little gore, and no imagination. There are some very memorable moments: The killer making her presence known by throwing a dead body onto a passing raft, the brutal murder of a butt-naked Mark Metcalf in a glistening stream, and, in my favorite scene in the entire movie, when the remaining friends huddle up together in the darkened bus as the killer scuttles across the roof, smashing axes and poles through the blackened windows. Unfortunately, THE FINAL TERROR is too dull for its own good. Scenes of the teens screaming at each other and running through the woods get boring after a while and we don't really care what happens to them. Admittedly, I did like the climax where the hag finally reveals herself only to be impaled on a row of spikes as the group watches in shock. But for the most part, THE FINAL TERROR is a pretty lame movie. It's up to you.