The Terror

Plot synopsis:
Lt. Duvalier (Jack Nicholson), separated from his regiment, rides his horse along the coastline, hopelessly lost. His compass having failed, he throws it away and continues on. Passing out from thirst and fatigue, he falls from his horse on the beach. This is noticed by Stefan (Dick Miller), servant of Baron Von Leppe (Boris Karloff), from a rocky cliff. Awakened by the incoming tide, he gets up and notices a girl (Sandra Knight) standing in the hollow of an offshore rock formation where the waves crash through. Calling out to her, he asks if she has drinking water. She makes her way back to shore saying nothing. He follows her to a mountain spring flowing from rocks into the sea. She tells him he may drink of this clear water. He crouches and cups the water in his hands to drink and splash his face. As he straightens up to thank her, she seems to have vanished. Looking around, he sees her drawing spring water from a bucket tied to a rope. He engages her in conversation and she says her name is Helene. He follows her through the forest and up the mountain, ending up back on the beach, where she heads back to the rock opening in the sea. He calls to her and questions her but she stares blindly. Wading back into the sea, he follows her but is attacked by a falcon. He struggles with the bird for a few moments and passes out when a wave overcomes him.He comes to in a shack, covered by a blanket. He looks up and sees Helene smiling at him. Suddenly the image becomes the face of an old woman, Katrina (Dorothy Neumann) the witch. She offers him some tonic from an old bottle, poured into a wooden spoon which she urges him to take. He asks about Helene, but the old woman indicates that it is the falcon, which is seen fluttering its wings. He tells her the bird attacked him but she denies this, trying to show that the bird is friendly. He tells her to take it away and asks about the girl. She says there is no girl, that maybe he had a pleasant illusion. She introduces Gustaf (Jonathan Haze) a mute, who enters. She says it was he who rescued Duvalier and tended to his horse. Later, he is awakened by the window shutter blown by the wind. Getting up, he sees the bird eating a mouse and then flying out an open window. Noticing on the table the blue dress the girl wears when she is Ilsa, he leaves and follows the bird through the forest, finding the girl by the rocky stream again. He speaks to her and she approaches, not speaking. She rests her head on his shoulder, then kisses him and walks away. He follows her through the forest until he runs into Gustaf, who speaks in a whisper, warning him to wait. Picking up a large rock, he throws it onto the ground where it begins to sink. Realizing the girl was leading him to quicksand, he tells Gustaf she meant to kill him. Gustaf tells him the girl is possessed and has no mind of her own. He tells the officer to seek her at the Von Leppe castle and that Eric knows the story. Citing danger, Gustaf runs away. Returning to the shack, Duvalier draws a picture of the girl. The witch comes in and suggests he leave to rejoin his regiment. He asks for Gustaf, but is told that he is away. When questioned about why he wants Gustaf, Duvalier replies he wants him to show him the way to the Barons castle. She asks what he wants with the Baron, to which he says he didnt say he was interested in the Baron, but believes the girl lives there. She says the castle has been uninhabited for many years. He says he will find it himself. She warns him not to go, saying there is no girl. He shows her the drawing, which brings a noticeable reaction of recognition to her face. As he leaves, she tells him not to deal with things he doesnt understand. Even though she told him the Baron was dead, she begs him not to inform the Baron that she is living there.Riding along on his horse on mountain roads, he encounters a small avalanche but sees no one who could have caused it. He returns to the spring to splash water on his face, and standing again sees the castle high on a mountaintop. Arriving at the castle in full uniform, he ties his horse and enters the outer courtyard, looking up around him and calling out to see if anyone is home. The girl appears at the window but says nothing. He approaches and knocks on the large oaken doors. Getting no response, the officer shouts that the door should be opened in the name of the government of France. Opening the door is Baron Von Leppe, who says he didnt hear the knock. Inquiring what a French soldier would want, and being told shelter, for one, the Baron suggests he would find better accommodations in the village. Refusing that, Duvalier tells him that he would not want to inconvenience a French officer and is admitted entrance.
The Baron and the officer talk and sit at a table where a drink is offered. Stefan enters upon command and is told to fetch cognac for our guest. As the drinks are poured, Duvalier asks about the girl, which brings a surprise to the Barons face. He shows the officer a painting of the Baroness Ilsa Von Leppe, now deceased, which bears resemblance to the girl seen. Insisting the girl is very young and active, Duvalier insults the Baron, who tells him you are speaking of the Baroness Von Leppe, my wife. He is told that Stefan will show him to his room.During the night, when the girl walks through the cemetery, the horse is spooked and forces open the stable door and escapes. Duvalier is studying the drawing when the wind blows into the room and extinguishes the candles. Looking out the window, he sees Helene walking toward the chapel and calls to her to wait until he comes down. She goes inside the chapel, which leads to a mausoleum. Finding his door is locked from the outside, he finds something to try and get the door open. He hears a scrambling and screeching at the door, as if someone is there. Fetching his pistol, he calls for the door to be unlocked, threatening to shoot. At the sound of the door unlocking, he opens it and finds no one. Going downstairs, he goes outside and enters the chapel. Here he observes the crypt entrance to the Baroness Ilsa Von Leppe. He re-enters the castle and notices that the portrait is missing from its frame. Returning to his room, he finds the drawing of the girl ripped apart down the middle.Later, the Baron is eating and speaking with his servant, who suggests maybe the officer has heard rumors in the village. The Baron says that is nonsense, but tells Stefan that Duvalier should leave as soon as possible, cautioning that proper respect is shown the Lieutenant.Coming back to the chapel, Duvalier is questioned by Stefan of his purpose. The officer reminds the servant that he must remember his place. When the name of Eric is mentioned, Stefan shows recognition, but tells the officer to not meddle in affairs of the dead. Duvalier says he will tend to his horse, but the servant stops him, telling him the horse bolted during the night and that he will get him another from the village.Duvalier enters the castle and confronts the Baron abruptly. Incensed, the Baron confesses to the murder of his wife twenty years ago. When he had gone away to war, he returned a year later to find her with another man. It is revealed than Stefan killed her lover and that the Baron has mourned and remained in the castle all these years. It is believed the ghost of Ilsa began coming two years ago and now the Baron looks forward to seeing her.Gustaf talks with Helene on a cliff overlooking the ocean. He tells her that her name is Ilsa and not to trust the old woman. She tells him the witch summoned her from the sea and he says she must return to the sea. He mentions that the Frenchman can help her. At this point the falcon appears and the girl empathically receives a message from the old woman, warning Gustaf not to interfere and that the witch will no longer tolerate him.Stefan goes by night to the witchs shack and observes through the window as she prepares a potion which she pours into a basin, causing a flash of light. Now the girl is seen being hypnotized by the witch, who is using a multi-colored rotating lantern and a magnifying glass while chanting words in Latin. She tells the spirit of Ilsa to fully inhabit the girls body and mind, so the witch can have her vengeance. When the spell is complete, Stefan observes the chair empty. Confronting the old witch, Stefan tells her to leave by tomorrow (for she is squatting on the Barons land) or he will return and burn the shack down. She asks if he knew who lived there years ago and he repeats the question back to her. Eric, she replies.Back at the castle, Stefan tells the Baron that the Frenchman refuses to leave and suggests they kill him. The Baron absolutely refuses and warns him to stay away from the crypt. Meanwhile, Duvalier explores rooms in the castle. He finds a gun case containing two pistols which he examines. Before leaving the room, he finds the missing portrait inside an armoire. Coming out into the hall, he hears the Baron approaching and hides in a room. Then he follows the Baron, who goes to his own room. Duvalier hears voices inside, including the girls. Impulsively he bursts into the room to find only the Baron sitting. Rising quickly, the Baron accuses him of rudely intruding into his bedroom unannounced. After an apology, Duvalier confesses he thought he heard voices. He is lambasted by the Baron, who informs him that he should leave as soon as Stefan returns from the village with a new horse. The officer agrees. When Stefan arrives and presents the animal to Duvalier, he explains that the Barons ways may seem strange to an outsider and that he fears the Baron has never recovered from the death of his wife. Before leaving, the officer asks who Eric is. It is revealed that Eric was the Baronesss lover when the Baron returned from the war.Wandering the beach on his steed, the officer sees Gustaf walking along the cliffsides. At one point he is signaling by waving his arms for Duvalier to go back. The officer stops to observe. Suddenly the falcon appears and attacks Gustaf. After a struggle the bird has pecked out Gustafs eyes and disappeared. Bloody and blind, Gustaf stumbles around and falls off the cliff to rocks below. The officer hurries down and with his last words, Gustaf tells him that the girl loves Duvalier and her soul should be freed tonight if he will return to the castle.That night the officer returns and sees the girl waiting at the door of the chapel. He approaches and they go inside. After a greeting and kiss, they sit and she tells him this is the only place she is free from the spell (inside the chapel). He tells her that she is free everywhere when she is with him. He suggests doctors who can help her in Paris if she will accompany him. There is an agreement and another reassuring kiss. They emerge together from the chapel and Duvalier tells her to wait at the chapel gate. He walks away but when he looks back, she is gone.Back inside the castle, the officer sees the Baron open a portcullis by pulling a chain and pulley, then entering. As he follows, the Baron twists a candlestick and opens a secret door leading down to the crypt below. [This scene is also seen at the beginning of the film.] The Baron is seen kneeling over the coffin of his wife and speaking to her. Her voice can be heard telling him to kill himself by flooding the crypt so they can be together. He says he cannot do this unforgivable sin. She insists he must. Looking up, he sees Ilsa telling him to take his own life. At this point, Duvalier interrupts and runs in, trying to see the woman, who disappears. After unsuccessfully calling for Helene, he sees to the collapsed Baron. Upstairs, Stefan attends to the Baron who is in his bed. The officer is told that this sickness is based on what happens when the girls spirit torments the Baron and that he will soon recover. Duvalier asks for keys to the chapel and they go. Unable to open the door leading to the crypt, the officer asks for a crowbar. As they go outside, Stefan pauses, noticing a light being carried in the tower window. He tells Duvalier that room has been sealed since the death twenty years ago. They hurry upstairs. When told that only the Baron has the room key, Duvalier kicks open the door. They look inside and the officer finds and asks about a childs crib found there. At this moment the Baron arrives and gives Stefan a gun to escort Duvalier from the castle, telling him to shoot if he resists. Another conversation between Ilsa and the Baron convinces him to commit suicide.Outside, the officer is warned by the servant never to return at risk of death. At this point the girl is seen in front of the chapel. Duvalier struggles with Stefan, finally knocking him out with the gun. As he follows the girl into the cemetery, suddenly the witch appears from behind a tombstone. He grabs her arm, threatening her, only to see the falcon approaching to kill him. Cocking the gun, he tells Katrina to call off the bird. She does, informing him that it doesnt matter because tonight the Baron will pay with his own immortal soul for the offence against her. He asks what offence the Baron did her. She tells him that the Baron killed Eric, her son.Stefan, recovered from his blow, returns to the castle to see the Baron raise the portcullis to enter. He tries to interfere, but is struck in the head. Going to the front doors, he opens to Duvalier, who seizes him and asks where the Baron is. He is told that the Baron has gone downstairs to flood the crypt. The officer tells Stefan that the old woman lured Helene to coax the Baron into killing himself to avenge the death of her son Eric, not knowing that it was really Stefan who killed him. Enraged, the witch tries to attack Stefan, who reveals that it was not Eric who was killed that night, but the Baron. For twenty years Eric has pretended to be the Baron. The witch realizes that her son and the girl will soon die in the flood. The officer and the servant rush into the castle and try to follow the Baron. When they are unable to open the secret door, Stefan takes an ax to try to open it. Duvalier says he will try to enter through the chapel. As he runs to the chapel, he grabs the old womans arm, saying he will need her. She fights and cries no, citing that she may not enter the house of God, for she has made her pact with the devil. She breaks away from him at the threshold and turns back to the gate, where she is struck by lightning and her body bursts into flames and is consumed. Duvalier watches in stupefaction, then goes into the chapel. Unable to open the crypt door, he gets a pry bar and works on it. Meanwhile, the Baron, hearing Ilsas voice, pries open the coffin, revealing the body covered in a shroud. She tells him to flood the crypt and he does so, turning a large spindle that opens an underground floodgate. She tells him to look at her by removing the shroud. When he does, he is horrified to see her rotten corpse. She confesses that she is the spirit of Ilsa who has tricked him into giving his soul so hers can be free. Then she calls him Eric. He goes to undo the spindle and the girl struggles with him as the waters flood the room. Stefan, having broken through the secret door, hurries downstairs. Seeing them struggling in the water, Stefan dives in and tries to separate them. The foundations of the castle break under the pressure of the floods and begin to collapse. Finally Duvalier breaks through the crypt door and rushes through underground passages to find the three of them in the water. Diving in, he removes the girl from the water and carries her out. The bodies of Stefan and the Baron are shown in the water, face down. The officer carries Helene outside the chapel and leans her up against a tree. He tells her she is safe now and free. She opens her eyes and looks at him. Free? she replies. He kisses her, but soon recoils in horror as her face begins to bleed and deteriorate. As he looks away and then looks back, her face is melting away to bone.

Tags: cult, revenge, gothic

Review:
The story of a French soldier following a mysterious woman to a castle is so disjointed that they actually shot a scene where Jack Nicholson grabs one of the characters and asks him whats going on, its at that point all of the loose ends are brought together in a tenuous grip.Its the sort of movie that shouldn't work on any level but some how does.Its well acted considering that no one probably had any idea what they were starring in.
Its also directed well enough that you don't realize that there were actually five directors other than Roger Corman behind the camera.Currently floating around in the public domain (cheap video copies are to be had) this is a movie worth seeing if you want to see how Jack Nicholson started or how Boris Karloff ended up.
"The Terror" is an entertaining low-budget movie by Roger Corman with Jack Nicholson and Boris Karloff.
Coincidentally Ilsa looks like the Baron's dead wife and it appears that Ilsa is under the spell of an old witch who wants to torment the Baron.The Terror is a collection of leftover sets from other movies, mismatch scenes, and an uninspiring script.
In one of Roger Corman's many movies about dead people who don't seem to want to stay dead, Lt. Andre Duvalier (a very young Jack Nicholson) meets a young woman (Sandra Knight, Nicholson's wife at the time) along the beach and follows her to a castle inhabited by elderly Baron Von Leppe (Boris Karloff).
When she spontaneously disappears , he goes to the castle where inhabits a mysterious Baron (Boris Karloff) , his servant (Dick Miller) and the deceased Baroness is the beautiful girl he saw close the beach , then creepy events occur .This is a well known Corman terror film that was only shot in three days .
It was realized after the classic Edgar Allan Poe adaptations (Tales of terror , The premature burial , Pit and pendulum , House of Usher) and on the sets and leftover from ¨The raven¨ and in spite of having similar style , isn't a Poe rendition , but an original screenplay by Leo Gordon (a habitual secondary actor : Tobruk) and Jack Hill (a grade Z film director).
And The Terror brings about none.A French soldier (Jack Nicholson) stumbles across an old castle on the Baltic coast owned by Boris Karloff.
However, The Terror gains points for protruding that lovely Roger Corman style quickie sort of atmosphere, and for excellent performances from classic horror icon, Boris Karloff, and a man that would go on to set the acting world on fire a decade later; the inescapably excellent, Jack Nicholson.
The film has an awesome amount of camp and cult value for these two performances, Nicholson especially as it's always fun to see a highly rated actor in an early, and much less highly rated role.The point of The Terror would appear to be the classic Roger Corman 'point'  "let's make some money!" and the penny-pinching style that Corman perfected over the years is evident in just about every cheap looking scene.
I watched this movie because I like bad movies and this one promised Boris Karloff and a young Jack Nicholson in the same film.
And any TRUE fan of period Gothic horror really should know this film inside & out, because watching it may be the ultimate guide as to how you would go about making one.I can still remember watching this sick as a dog one afternoon on PAX back when they were just a funny UHF station, and since I find myself a bit short of Corman Poe's aside from PIT AND THE PENDULUM (though I have seen most of them at least on VHS & late night TV at various times) I decided to dig through my shelves and see if I could find a copy.
Lt.Andre Duvalier of Napoleon's army is wandering somewhere in France being separated from his regiment.Near the coast he meets a young, mysterious woman.Soon he finds himself from the dark castle of Baron Von Leppe looking for the woman.Roger Corman made The Terror (1963) pretty cheap in four days because he wanted to have some more use for the set of The Raven.The horror icon Boris Karloff plays Baron Victor Frederick Von Leppe.He's aging here but that doesn't make him any worse.The now 70 year old Jack Nicholson does really good job as the 18th century officer.As Jack has always done.Sandra Knight as the mysterious woman, Helene and the ghost of Ilsa is brilliant.There's also great acting by Dick Miller (Stefan), Dorothy Neumann (Katrina) and Jonathan Haze (Gustaf).Also the young Francis Ford Coppola was part of the crew.Beside Corman and Jack he was one of the five directors.The others were Monte Hellman and Jack Hill.This cult favorite offers some good old time horror.It is at times pretty creepy.This may not be the most brilliant scary picture ever made, I know.But when you consider the numbers of days this film was made, The Terror is work of a genius..
Here, Boris Karloff is seen in his last six years of acting/life and Jack Nicholson is in his first six or so years as an actor.The Terror was worth my time, but is by no means on my list of favorites..
Honestly I've seen this film before and I never knew that it had 5 directors and was pieced together - I just found that out recently.This is one of those films I call "quietly thrilling" meaning there is not a lot of action for the thrills but it has subtly thrilling moments with a bit of suspense and an air of mystery.I can say this movie is a must see for fans of Boris Karloff and Jack Nicholson.
Jack Nicholson stars as Lt. Andre Duvalier, a soldier in Napoleon's army in 18th century France who finds himself separated from his regiment, and asks a mysterious woman(Sandra Knight) directions, but she vanishes, and the Lt. meets up with an old witch(Dorothy Neumann) who insists that there was no such person.
He doesn't believe her, and instead goes to the castle of Baron Victor Frederick Von Leppe(Boris Karloff) where he discovers that the woman was the spitting image of the Baron's late wife, and that supernatural occurrences are at the heart of this mystery...Though script is haphazardly written, film is surprisingly atmospheric and entertaining, with good performances by all, and is an improvement over Roger Corman's "The Raven", which this was filmed on the sets of.Final sequence is memorable but also too abrupt, though film is an effective Gothic horror tale, despite its obvious shortcomings..
He sets out to find out who she is an runs into a witch, and Boris Karloff, and an entertaining Dick Miller (the best thing about this film).But, prepare yourself for an awful lot of scenes where Jack wanders around, looking at stuff.
Then, over the following months, further footage was filmed by no less than four other directors (Francis Ford Coppola, Monte Hellman, Jack Hill, and Jack Nicholson) and used to piece together the final film.The result is a predictably disjointed effort that flounders particularly badly in its closing moments with an ending that refuses to make sense of all that has gone before; however, if you are able to overlook the more illogical aspects of the plot, The Terror still proves to be a surprisingly watchable fantasy thanks its haunting, dreamlike atmosphere, effective use of classic Gothic trappings (thunderstorms, an old castle, a foggy graveyard, secret passageways etc.), and a very dependable cast: Jack Nicholson's early performance proves to be one of his least irritating (I'm not a fan, as you can probably tell); Boris Karloff is the consummate professional, lending proceedings an air of class; and genre favourite Dick Miller puts in a solid turn that shows why he has such a loyal following from film-makers and fans alike.The story, which owes a lot to the works of Edgar Allen Poe, sees Lt. Andre Duvalier (Nicholson), a weary Napoleonic soldier who has been separated from his regiment, meeting and falling for Helene ((Sandra Knight)), a beautiful young woman who mysteriously appears from the sea.
Whilst recuperating, Andre quizzes the witch about the identity of the woman he saw on the beach, but receives no satisfactory answers; so, believing that the Baron may be able to shed some light on the mysterious Helene, he travels to the castle, where he slowly unravels a supernatural mystery of murder and revenge.Creaky, dated, and illogical, but full of style and charm, this is perfect late night viewing for fans of traditional horror.(Note of interest: In the early 1990s, Dick Miller was hired to shoot new footage to use as a framing sequence for the main story, which was presented as a flashback in my version of the film; this explains why the actor looks so much older in the opening scenes than during the rest of the film.
Definitely not even maybe a "horror classic".** The Terror (6/17/63) Roger Corman ~ Jack Nicholson, Boris Karloff, Sandra Knight, Dick Miller.
An attempt to make a Poe Gothic horror film from scratch, it is nowhere near as good as those eight Poe films (Masque may have been slow, but it looked great and well acted)but it is nowhere near as bad as the reviews have made it sound.Boris Karloff is listed as the star, but Nicholson has the most screen time.
Not bad little horror story has Nicholson as a French officer who ends up at Karloffs castle and then gets curious as to what's happening there and the history of events with Karloff's dead wife.
A fun movie to watch once today, just to see young Jack Nicholson and Boris Karloff at work.
The film is often linked with Corman's Poe themed series, but 'The Terror' is not based on any Poe's stories.In a year 1806 a French Army officer Andre Duvalier (Jack Nicholson) gets separated from his troops and gets lost.
And all sorts of mysterious things start to happen.When reading about Karloff's memories about making the movie, I think that this much story was actually written when Corman showed the script to him.
The film which production is much more interesting story than the actual film itself.And it stars Boris Karloff, Jack Nicholson and Dick Miller.
RELEASED IN 1963 and directed by Roger Corman & Francis Ford Coppola (with the help of a few others), "The Terror" stars Jack Nicholson as a young officer in Napoleon's Army who is infatuated by an intriguing woman (Sandra Knight) he meets on the coast of the Confederation of the Rhine.
Corman acted quickly to concoct a script via Leo Gordon and enlisted 75 year-old Karloff, who costarred in "The Raven." Boris later said it was amusing the way Roger dashed around with him & the other principles filming scenes just two steps ahead of the wreckers.
In what amounts to a film made to kill time and use up the remaining days on Boris Karloff's contract, The Terror, crafted by Roger Corman and perhaps four other directors, is hardly good but still not as bad as it arguably should be?
Plot simply follows a French soldier, Andre (Jack Nicholson), in 1806 who gets detached from his regiment and meets a mysterious young woman named Helene (Sandra Knight).
Trying to unravel the mystery that surrounds her, Andre is led to the castle of Baron Victor Frederick Von Leppe (Karloff), from where it becomes apparent that Helene could be Ilsa, the Baron's wife who died twenty years earlier!In typically Corman style the film has decent atmosphere and the recycled sets from concurrent productions (The Haunted Palace/The Raven) form a good Gothic backdrop.
Hastily made movie by Roger Corman who used the set as well as some of the actors, like Boris Karloff, from his previous film "The Raven" that he finished three days earlier then schedule and it shows.
With no real screenplay the film was made on the cuff that in some scenes made it almost unintelligible to follow.P.S Only worth watching in seeing the beautiful Sandra Knight, Jack Nicholson wife at the time, in it and nothing else!.
So when you've got Boris Karloff under contract and these constructed Gothic castle sets, get another film out of them.And so was born The Terror which was shot on the Pacific sea coast standing in for the Baltic Sea during the Napoleonic Era. A young French officer played by a young Jack Nicholson has lost his way and gets drawn into a web of Gothic intrigue involving a baron and his castle played by Boris Karloff.
The acting is good especially from Karloff it was nice for a young and up and coming Nicholson to have a legend and role model to work with like Boris this work really helped mentor Jack and develop him into a future legend.
Really a decent B horror suspense film from Roger Corman maybe his best one due to the plot, and a good stepping stone and learning performance from future legend Jack Nicholson..
Shot in just three days, this noticeably low-budget picture features Jack Nicholson in an early starring role as a young soldier who traces a beautiful, but strange girl(Sandra Knight, then Mrs. Nicholson) to a creepy old castle inhabited by a crazed Baron(Boris Karloff).
later he learns that she is a Baroness,, but apparently she's been dead for 2 decades,,, so he decides to investigate,, he ends up in the castle under the care of an elderly woman,, now he has to find the Baroness,, and eventually meet up with the evil Baron,, as played by Boris Karloff,,, not a bad watch at all,, I liked it,, it's a b movie,, with no expectations,,,.
Boris Karloff isn't bad as the debonair baron (although his purple smoking jacket makes him seem like he's living in 1906, not 1806), but Nicholson's delivery of his lines is so wooden it sounds as though he's reading them for the first time--which could very well have been the case if this movie, as legend has it, was made in a few days while the sets from Corman's previous movie "The Raven were being torn down.
The Terror is far from a great horror movie, but for Corman fans, this is a good film.
Corman hired Karloff for two days and he shot all of Karloff's scenes, plus most of the interiors while the film was shot in bits and pieces over a three-month period, with co-stars Jack Nicholson and Sandra Knight.
Admittedly Jack Nicholson is unconvincing as a young lost French soldier, and Karloff is pretty hammy, but Sandra Knight (then Nicholson's wife) is pretty good as a mysterious girl, who may or may not be a ghost, and Corman regular Dick Miller is impressive in an atypical role.
Nicholson is absolutely terrible in his role (he didn't like it either); Karloff gives his all in a terribly underwritten role--he's just great (he hated the movie too); Sandra Knight is also very good and beautiful as the mystery woman.
An officer in Napoleon's Army (Jack Nicholson) gets stranded on a deserted island where he bumps into a beautiful woman (Sandra Knight) who might just be the dead wife of a Baron (Boris Karloff).
On leftover sets from THE RAVEN (1963), Roger Corman created another unlikely cult classic under conditions seemingly similar to those he faced with THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (1960).THE TERROR features Boris Karloff and Jack Nicholson (an interesting contrast) as villain and hero respectively.
His investigations lead to a seaside castle inhabited only by an elderly Baron (Karloff) and his servant (Dick Miller)..."The Terror" is rather boring at times, but it has some creepy moments and the soundtrack fits in well and makes parts of the film atmospheric and interesting enough.
Another co-director was Jack Hill who would later direct blaxploitation classics like "Coffy", "Foxy Brown" and "The Big Doll House" as well as some of Boris Karloff's odd last movies such as "The Fear Chamber".All things considered, "The Terror" is certainly not one of Roger Corman's masterpieces, but recommended to his fans, especially for its cast.
with a decadent Boris Karloff and a too young Jack Nicholson who cannot save the movie from the abyss this is a bad terror classic, with a paper castle, bad effects and a very very bad script.
Andre Duvalier,a young officer in Napoleon's army played by a young Jack Nicholson pursues a mysterious woman to the castle of an elderly Baron where he discovers that she is the pawn of an old witch bent on driving the Baron to suicide.At the ancient castle of Baron von Lepp,he notices the picture of the Baron's deceased wife looks a lot like the woman he keeps seeing.If only Andre could get the old woman to tell him the dark secrets of the Baron and his beloved Helene.Roger Corman's "The Terror" features a very old Boris Karloff,it also maintains a wonderfully gloomy atmosphere throughout,boasts some pretty decent special effects,and it actually contains a good story with some surprising twists and turns at the end.The soundtrack is quite eerie,unfortunately the pace is really slow.The film is not scary,but if you enjoy watching early 60's horror films you can give it a try.7 out of 10..
I'm going to have to admit that I really like this movie, mostly only because of Jack and Boris acting together (as well as Dick Miller), of course, which seems like some sort of odd, rare union of two different centuries of film-making.The plot involves an old peasant woman who uses some sort of weird black magic (with a colorful kind of turning lantern set-up - which looks a bit too modern in my opinion) to take over the body and spirit of a young woman (who's history we learn nothing about from start to finish) and make her "haunt" the baron to drive him to suicide, as an act of revenge.
Only three actors who appeared in Corman's "Little Shop Of Horrors" make a comeback for this film: Jack Nicholson, Dick Miller and Jonathan Haze.