The Final Terror

The Final Terror
Directed by Andrew Davis
Produced by Joe Roth
executive
Samuel Z. Arkoff
Written by Jon George
Neill D. Hicks
Ronald Shusett
Starring Rachel Ward
Daryl Hannah
Adrian Zmed
John Friedrich
Mark Metcalf
Joe Pantoliano
Music by Susan Justin
Cinematography Andrew Davis
Distributed by Comworld[1]
Release dates

c.

  • November 4, 1983 (1983-11-04)

[2][3]

Running time
 82 min.
Country United States
Language English

The Final Terror (also known as Carnivore, Campsite Massacre, Bump in the Night, and The Forest Primeval) is a 1983 American horror film directed by Andrew Davis, and starring Rachel Ward, Daryl Hannah, Adrian Zmed, and Joe Pantoliano. Originally written under the working titles The Creeper and Three Blind Mice, the plot follows a group of forest rangers camping in the Northern California wilderness who find themselves fighting for their lives against a backwoods female killer hunting them as prey. It blends elements of slasher films and survival thrillers.

The film was shot on location in 1981 in the Redwood forests, and was not released for two years, as the production searched for a distributor. It was eventually released in 1983 to capitalize on the rising fame of its young stars (namely Ward, Hannah, and Zmed). Today the film has developed an underground following among slasher fans.

Plot

A young couple loses control of their motorbike while riding in a forest. Jim is badly hurt, so Lori runs to find some help. Only finding an abandoned cabin, she runs back to Jim only to find him dead hanging upside down from a tree. Terrified, she tries to run back to the cabin but is killed she steps on a trap full of sharp objects.

Weeks later, a group of campers, Dennis, Margaret, Wendy, Marco, Nathaniel, Boone, Eggar, Vanessa, Mike and Melanie, arrive at the forest. The group makes a clearing and spend the night around a bonfire. When they wake the next morning, Marco and Eggar are missing. While the others search for them, Mike takes a swim with Melanie following. They have sex during which Mike is stabbed by a strange creature. Melanie screams in terror as she watches him die.

Nathaniel and Dennis find the abandoned cabin and an old grave. Dennis enters the cabin and Nathaniel hears him scream. He rushes in and is attacked by a strange old lady who turns out to be Dennis trying to scare him. They search the cabin, scavenging food and items to take and find the severed head of a wolf in a cabinet. Shaken, they head back to the camp.

That night, the strange creature attacks Margaret in her sleep. She hysterically tells the others what she saw. The campers hear a strange noise and pursue the source only to find Marco, who has returned to camp. Vanessa gets angry at the guys for scaring the girls and walks off alone. When she enters the old outhouse, Mike's severed head falls on her and she screams. Nathaniel and the rest of the group come to her aid, then begin to search for Melanie who they assumed was still with Mike. Unsuccessful, they decide to spend one more night in the camp. In the morning, they go to the cabin to try to find Mike's killer who, unbeknownst to the group, is down in the basement with Melanie. They find a human hand in a jar and flee. They raft along the river, unaware that the creature is following them. The creature throws the dead body of Melanie in the boat causing chaos.

Burying Melanie near the river, the group continues on to the end of the river and find their empty, broken-down bus. They decide to spend the night there, but the creature attacks the bus. The creature gets inside but the group escapes out the back door. Wendy gets separated and is stabbed in the neck by the creature. The others follow her screams and find her badly hurt and bleeding, so Dennis and Marco return to the bus to get first aid. The group again tries to search for the way out of the forest.

The group gathers supplies and camouflage themselves. Dennis climbs one of the highest trees, where he sets a trap. Marco begins calling out for Eggar who appears and begins to strangle Marco. The group attacks Eggar, suspecting he was the one who killed Mike and Melanie. While Dennis is watching the rest of the group fight, the real creature comes from behind and cuts him off at his ankle and he falls from the cliff to his death. The creature rises up and screams, revealing itself to be Eggar's long-lost mother. As she walks down to confront the group, she steps on one of the traps and dies. Eggar appears to be devastated and the survivors — Margaret, Wendy, Vanessa, Nathaniel, Boone, and Marco — watch in horror as Eggar's mother hangs dead in the trap.

Cast

Home Video Release

Scream Factory, the horror genre arm of Shout Factory!, released The Final Terror in a Blu-ray / DVD combo pack in July 2014. This home video release contains the R-rated version.

References

  1. ↑ MOVIE REVIEW: HORROR FILM THAT MISSED THE BUS Thomas, Kevin. Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File) [Los Angeles, Calif] 31 Oct 1983: g6.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑

External links

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