The Final Terror

Plot synopsis:
In the opening scene, a young couple loses control of their motorbike and fall to the ground when they hit a fallen tree laying on the track through a forest where they are riding. The guy, Jim, is badly hurt, and the girl, Lori, runs to find some help. She finds an abandoned cabin but no one is there. She runs back to Jimmy where she finds him dead hanging upside down from a tree, terrified she runs back to the cabin. While running, she steps on a trap full of sharp objects, killing her.Weeks later, a group of campers arrive at the forest where the killings happened. The campers include Dennis Zorich, his Australian girlfriend Margaret, her best friend Windy, Windy's boyfriend Marco, Marco's friend Nathaniel, fellow friend Boone, the weird forest ranger Eggar, Nathaniel's girlfriend Vanessa, and fellow park rangers Mike and Melanie. Eggar drives them on a small bus to their destination. The group makes a clearing in the forest and gather supplies, and spend the night around a bonfire near a small river. They wake up early in the morning but both Marco and Eggar are missing.The boys search for him and the others search nearby the camp. Mike takes a swim and Melanie follows him. While having sex, Mike is stabbed by a strange humanoid creature. Melanie screams in terror while watching him die.Nathaniel and Dennis find the abandoned cabin and an old grave. Dennis enters the cabin and Nathaniel hears Dennis scream and enters to be attacked by what he thinks is a strange old lady, but it is Dennis trying to scare him. They find some things inside the house that are being used and new. They take some of the things and food. While opening the cabinet they find the severed head of a wolf. Shaken, they head back to the camp.That night, while sleeping, Margaret is attacked by the strange creature. She confesses hysterically what she saw to the other campers. The campers hear a strange noise and pursue the source only to find Marco, who has returned to the camp. Vanessa gets angry at the guys for scaring the girls and walks off alone. She finds the old outhouse and enters, and Mike's severed head falls on her, causing her to panic and scream.Nathaniel and the rest of the group come to her aid, then start a search for Melanie. They decided to spend the night in the camp. In the morning they go to the cabin to try to capture the mountain man who killed Mike. Unbeknownst to the group, Melanie is down in the basement with the killer. They see a severed 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 finds their empty, broken-down bus on a bridge. They decide to spend the night there, but the creature attacks the bus. The creature gets inside but the group escape out the back door.Windy gets separated and lost, and ends up stabbed in the neck by the creature. The remaining group hears her scream and follows her. She is badly hurt and bleeding, so Dennis and Marco decide to go back to the bus to get first aid. They make it to the bus and back without incident to tend to Windy's neck wound. The group again tries to search for the way out of the forest.The next morning, 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. When Eggar appears, he begins to strangle Marco. The group attacks Eggar, suspecting he was the one who killed Mike and Melanie, but the real creature appears.While Dennis is watching the rest of the group beat Eggar, it comes from behind and cuts him off at his ankle, making him fall from the cliff, killing him. The creature rises up and screams, revealing herself to be Eggar's long lost mother. As she walks down to confront the group, she steps on one of the traps, a spiked log hanging from the large tree, killing her. Eggar appears to be devastated. The six survivors: Margaret, Windy, Vanessa, Nathaniel, Boone, and Marco watch in horror as Eggar's mother hangs dead in the trap.

Tags: grindhouse film, murder, cult, horror, violence, insanity, sadist, prank

Review:
The cinematography was excellent when there was light or the action took place during the day but the night time scenes, or even those scenes that took place in and around the cabin, were too dark for my taste.The film gets interesting at the very end, but like many have pointed out already, the end is very sudden and abrupt.
When a piece of walking rug with a knife is more interesting than the main characters of the movie, you know there's something wrong with the film.But FINAL TERROR wasn't the worst film I've ever seen.
Young forest rangers and their lady friends take a trip into the wilderness and are terrorized by a woodsy maniac.Yet another slasher in the wake of Friday the 13th (1980), this one being OK as it tries to be a little different from the rest of its kind.
With the help of a decent cast, featuring some latter-day stars like Hannah and Ward, The Final Terror manages to be an entertaining enough effort.
(**1/2 out of *****)Produced by Samuel Arkoff, this is one of those low-budget (albeit tolerably directed) jobs with several different titles ("The Campsite Murders" and "Forest Primeval" to name a couple) and two or three different release dates between 1980 and 1985 (I split the difference and went with 83, although the original release date is most likely 81, for those who care.)  It's of interest mainly for featuring Darryl Hannah and Rachel Ward (not to mention Joe Pantoliano, from "Memento" and "The Sopranos") in early roles.
The Final Terror otherwise known as Carnivore tells the story of a group who go out into the woods only to learn that danger lurks between the pines.Truth be told though not exactly original the movie was interesting, the characters caught my attention and I expected something well above par.Alas the longer the movie runs the more you realise that the creators had run out of ideas and it wanders into the realms of mediocrity building to a terrible finale.The finale in fact is so bad I get understand for the life of me what they were thinking.Starring a young Daryl Hannah and young-ish Joe Pantoliano this b-movie slasher effort is squandered potential and should have been better.The Good:Decent castGeneral competence in filmmakingThe Bad:Fizzles outTerrible finaleThings I Learnt From This Movie:When in a life or death situation a good tactic is getting highThis proves it, the African American guy doesn't have to die first!.
"The Final Terror" is an interesting but eventually unsatisfying backwoods slasher that shows way too much mercy for the victims of the forestry killer and hence deeply disappoints the horror fans that were hoping to see some nasty violence and delightful 80's sleaze.
This film was clearly inspired by the immense success of "Friday the 13th" and similar teenkill-movies, yet it almost ends up being an homage to "Deliverance" because of director Andrew Davis' exaggerated respect for the wildlife setting.
There's some cheesy mayhem to enjoy during the opening minutes, when a young couple gets inventively killed off screen, but the rest of the film is completely undermining all slasher-expectations.
It's easy to make the mistake of dismissing The Final Terror as just another instantly forgettable, derivative backwoods slasher: the characters are your usual array of one-dimensional psycho-fodder; the setting is the standard 'spooky woods located miles from civilisation'; there's the corny campfire legend that sets up the back story for the killer; and the film features several cribs from other similarly themed horror movies (most obviously John Boorman's Deliverance).However, I think this film is a more important addition to the genre than it is given credit for: not only did it give director Andrew Davis (of The Fugitive fame) and several future Hollywood stars (Daryl Hannah, Rachel Ward, Joe Pantoliano, and...errr...
Adrian Zmed?!?) a step up in their careers, butand you can call me mad if you likeI am also convinced that The Final Terror was a big influence on the excellent Arnold Schwarzeneggar sci-fi/action movie Predator!As Lloyd Grossman used to say in Through The Keyhole, 'Let's take a look at the evidence...'The group of friends stranded in the wilderness; the strange creature who hunts them one-by-one; the pivotal moment where the hunter finally becomes the hunted; and the final showdown in which the killer is lured into a booby-trap made from a huge tree trunk.
The 1981 horror film THE FINAL TERROR looks as if it were written and produced immediately following the surprise box office success of 1980's FRIDAY THE 13TH.
Much like FRIDAY THE 13TH, THE FINAL TERROR involves a group of particularly annoying young people who are stalked by a mysterious killer deep in the backwoods, where they have set up camp.
However, this film has very little of the graphic gore that made FRIDAY THE 13TH so memorable, while at the same time the plot and direction are not any better.While the acting isn't bad, it is far from inspired and there is very little chemistry between the characters.
Filmed in 1981 but released two years later, The Final Terror, aka The Campsite Massacre, aka Carnivore, is a piece made possible by Andrew Davis, the same guy responsible for 1992's Under Siege and the Harrison Ford suspense film The Fugitive.So here we have a couple of forest rangers who head up to a remote wooded region accompanied by a group of girls – they're there to camp, do manly things, and take drugs.
The main reason why "The Final Terror" would have some stature nowadays is because 1) it's a rare venture into horror for acclaimed veteran action director Andrew Davis ("Code of Silence", "Under Siege", "The Fugitive"), and 2) it's the chance to see a couple of very familiar faces in the beginning years of their careers - not, of course, that they really get a chance to show off much acting chops.A group of male forest rangers embark on an excursion in the company of some female friends, and they soon begin to be threatened and killed by a mysterious presence in their midst.While there are genre fans who will take exception to so many people being alive at the end, others should appreciate the fact that this movie takes the trouble to depart from some of the conventions of this sort of thing (perhaps a contribution from co-writer Ronald Shusett of "Alien" fame).
The attack on the bus and a scene involving a dead body both work fairly well.Among those paying their dues here are Mark Metcalf, Daryl Hannah, Rachel Ward, Adrian Zmed, Lewis Smith, and a priceless Joe "Joey Pants" Pantoliano as the volatile Eggar.This is okay as slasher movies go, but as was said in the summary, it's mainly for completists.One of the final films for legendary producer Samuel Z.
The Final Terror (1983)** (out of 4) Decent slasher about a group of park rangers who decide to take some of their female friends out in the woods when some of their party is attacked and murdered.
However, these unknown people wouldn't have been much of an interest back in the day so THE FINAL TERROR pretty much entered and left theaters without too much hype and the film's reputation never really grew much.The best thing that the film has going for it is that we're treated to some now famous faces.
There's one effective kill scene that happens towards the start of the film but not much else.THE FINAL TERROR was director by Andrew Davis who would go on to make films like UNDER SIEGE and THE FUGITIVE.
With early performances by Daryl Hannah, Joe Pantoliano, Rachel Ward and Adrian Zmed, it's really a unique horror film that deserves at least one viewing for horror fans..
THE FINAL TERROR is about a large group of forest rangers and their non-ranger friends (including Daryl Hannah, Adrian Zmed, Rachel Ward, Mark "Neidermeyer" Metcalf, and Joe Pantoliano ), who venture into the deep woods.
Without spoiling it for anybody, I can tell you that after building the tension throughout the film, somebody apparently realized it was running long and brought it to an abrupt end which, although exciting and not at all bad, leaves you wondering why the killer left our heroes alone long enough to set up defenses and why the heck one of the campers dies so stupidly and pointlessly.If you're lucky enough to find a place that rents this, be sure to check it out..
The main reason this film is remembered today is because of the cast (Daryl Hannah, Rachel Ward, Adrian Zmed, Joe Pantoliano, etc.).
Two teens, in pre-credits sequence, are slaughtered in the woods by an unseen menace, the girl is killed with a contraption made from baked bean tin lids- which we don't get to see, Then cut to the credits and the words, in blood red, 'FINAL TERROR' suddenly loom out.The good things about this movie is that the acting is actually good for a 80s slasher, the scenery is quite nice and one of the best scenes is the night time assault by the killer on the bus- axes and machetes smashing through the black windows, whilst feet scuttle over the roof.
And to point out there are a few pre famous faces here like Darryl Hannah (Kill Bill, Splash and Blade Runner), Racheal Ward (The Thorn Birds and Against All Odds), who are both fine in they're roles.The Bad things about this movie is there aren't enough deaths which was a big let down for me but all in all an OK time waster.
Andrew Davis("The Fugitive" 1993) directed this early genre effort about a group of young forest rangers(played by, among others, future TV and film stars Adrian Zmed, Joe Pantoliano, Rachel Ward, and Daryl Hannah) who run afoul of a mysterious murderer who may be one of their own, or a legendary local escaped mental patient.
A Hidden Slasher Gem. 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.Director Andrew Davis (who had worked as a cameraman for Gene Corman) was brought on by writer Ronald Shusett, who had wrote and produced "Alien", and recommended Davis to producer Joe Roth (who has gone on to produce many successful films).
Despite his Corman background, Davis has said he does not enjoy horror films and therefore did not enjoy making the requisite death scenes.Thomas Ellison says, "What sets this routine slasher apart is the incredibly strong cast.
Take The Final Terror, a dark and scary film set in the woods.
Maybe presentation has something to do with my enjoyable experience; on a blu ray I can see this possibly being still well shot and edited, but on a first generation Vestron VHS (oh yeah) the image is often darker than I imagine the 35mm even was, and it seems more by design: in the night scenes as these campers grow even more weary and scared and freaked out trying to keep their composure and stay alive from the threat of some bear-skinned killer, you only get enough light to see some shapes at times, at best, and if things get confusing (or a character gets separated as the group of seven run away), it's by design.
The Final Terror is the first feature movie by Andrew Davis and in term of a slasher movie it a very bad one.I can't really tell this movie is a jungle survival movie or a slasher movie when the kill count is so low to the point that in the final climax there still a bunch of people left.If a slasher movie bad i still can enjoy the kills but it take too long to get there and half of it off-screen kills.With the title like The Final Terror i still have hope for the movie will put out something like the infamous massacre scene in The Buring but no it end right there with the unsatisfied dead of the killer.
The excursion slowly becomes a survivalist expedition as the remaining campers scramble to get out of the woods alive with a mysterious killer on their tails.For all the criticism that "The Final Terror" gets, it also gets a lot of deserved love from genre fans; it's an unusual movie.
In that sense, it's reminiscent of 1981's "Just Before Dawn", though "The Final Terror" was actually filmed around the same time (both in 1980— "The Final Terror" had some release issues before finally hitting screens in '83).As a slasher film, it curiously takes its time to really get going, and also curiouser is the unusually small body count it tallies up; in fact, only one member of the camping group actually falls prey to the killer; two other unnamed characters in the beginning are killed for the sake of establishment, and the two other deaths that come at the end are very anti-slasher (I won't discuss them so as not to spoil the ending).
Joe Pantoliano ("The Matrix," "The Fugitive") plays the creepy mechanic / bus driver that leaves the group stranded in the wilderness."The Final Terror" is rated R for graphic violence, gore, language, sexual situations, and nudity.
The sex scene is what you would expect from a slasher film released in the early 1980s.Although it's rather predictable and plays out the way you figure it will, "The Final Terror" still holds the viewer's attention and deserves respect simply because of its storytelling process.
The Final Terror features early performances from the likes of Lewis Smith, Adrian Zmed, Darryl Hannah, Mark Metcalf, and Joe Pantoliano.
This is a non-typical example of a slasher movie from the Golden era of that genre, with a great cast of wanna-be stars (from Darryl Hannah and Rachel Ward to Adrian Zmed and especially Joe Pantoliano, almost impossible to recognize), a usual wooden scenario, a couple of interesting scenes - like the night attack against the bus by the prowler of this movie that will be re-enacted in Jeepers Creepers 2 and the very good finale - but also with several choices that are unusual in a movie of this kind.
What you get is a backwoods slasher film packed with actors before they got famous, like Daryl Hannah, Adrian Zmed, Joe Pantoliano and Rachel Ward.We start with Jim and Lori, who wreck their motorcycle in the woods.
It's his mom who gets killed by a trap that Dennis has set.The stories about shooting the film are a lot more interesting than the movie.
But in The Final Terror, by the time the killer shows up, the movie is over.
"The Final Terror" is a below-average backwoods slasher without a whole lot going for it.**SPOILERS**Going out to the woods, Zorich, (John Friedrich) Boone, (Lewis Smith) Cerone, (Adrian Zmed) Mike, (Mark Metcalf) and Hines, (Ernest Harden Jr.) decide to bring along their friends Margaret, (Rachel Ward) Windy, (Daryl Hannah) Melanie, (Cindy Harrell) and Vanessa, (Akosua Busia) for the camping trip.
"The Final Terror" is actually pretty creepy slasher flick.It's another clone of "Friday the 13th",but who cares?I don't ask much of this genre;I just want to be scared.The story concerns a group of young forest rangers who with four female companions,go on hiking/boating trip down the river surrounded by thick woods,as it happens,there is a psychotic backwoods woman on the prowl who likes to murder those poor victims who get in her way.The acting is alright,the location sets are beautiful and some of the scenes are pretty suspenseful.My only complaint is the lack of gore.Almost all murders are off-screen,but there's a one fairly gory scene where Rachel Ward(my favourite character from this movie)has to stitch Daryl Hannah's slashed throat.Try to find this one,mainly because "The Final Terror" is ten times better than "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and similar rubbish from the 90's.All in all,this is good with some nice twists and characters one could actually care for..
A group of fire-men and some ladies who accompany them fall prey to a killer living within the woods..she's a mental ward escapee with a shed that contains lots of grotesque things in jars.A standard(if worse)backwoods horror flick suffers most from minimalist lighting which sure makes the supposed terror especially hard to see.
Some weird music helps a bit as well, but the film just fails to really deliver where it matters most..true thrills.This is more of a curio piece for those familiar with director Andrew Davis(who is better known for directing solid action fare such as "Above the Law", "Code of Silence", & "The Fugitive")and actors in early roles such as Rachel Ward, Daryl Hannah, and Joe Pantoliano..
With the killer disguised as the forest surroundings, one of their group held hostage, and an attack on their tour bus, they have to turn the tables on the killer.Even if you haven't ever seen a horror movie before, and this is the first one you see, the campfire scene with the scary stories will give the game away straightaway.They may as well have stranded up,pointed the finger at the most obvious person in the film, and go 'Look!!
The Final Terror is an early 80's slasher, starring Rachael Ward, in one of her first acting debuts.
This 1983 horror film features a group of forest rangers who go camping in the wilderness and become hunted one at a time by a killer dwelling there.
This is an average backwoods/outdoor slasher flick following the same formula as "Friday the 13th" and "Just Before Dawn." The cast is OK, there's nice scenery/settings and some bloody effects, but my only gripe is the film should've had more kills/deaths.
Daryl Hannah (Splash), Adrian Zmed (Bachelor Party), Mark Metcalf (Animal House) and Joe Pantoliano (Risky Business) appear and Pantoliano also worked with director, Andrew Davis a decade later in "The Fugitive." Fans of horror/slasher flicks should probably give this a try at least once..