The Final Terror Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.0

The Final Terror Blu-ray Movie Review

Kids camping in an isolated forest? What could possibly go wrong?

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 2, 2014

Did the American camping industry endure a precipitous decline with the onslaught of slasher movies that placed a bunch of unsuspecting wilderness buffs (usually hormonal teens and twenty-somethings) in isolated locales, only to become victims of some crazed, hidden killer? There have been so many films released with this same basic setup that it can become hard to separate the wheat from the chaff, or the non-native ivy from the pine tree (so to speak), but even those who love this particular horror subgenre may not be overly familiar with the eighties opus The Final Terror, an outing which does traffic in several “backwoods slasher film” tropes while also being surprisingly supple at times in some of its filming techniques, even when it lacks any real attention to character beats. The film is notable for featuring a cast and crew which in many cases went on to much greater acclaim. Behind the camera was director Andrew Davis, then at the beginning of what would be a career with at least a couple of blockbusters in store, including the big screen reboot of The Fugitive . Producer Joe Roth went on to be one of the biggest power brokers in Hollywood, ultimately rising to the rank of chairman at both 20th Century Fox and Walt Disney Studios among several other achievements. And the cast features such future stars as Daryl Hannah and Rachel Ward, along with perhaps lesser known but still recognizable names such as Joe Pantoliano and the film’s putative star, Adrian Zmed. The Final Terror never raised much of a ruckus during its theatrical exhibition, and evidently fell into a kind of cinematic Twilight Zone where (as this Scream Factory release reveals) even its original elements went missing, perhaps slashed to bits by some crazed tree dwelling killer. This is therefore the very definition of a cult horror film, and while it doesn’t really break any new ground or even play the blood and guts angle to any significant degree, it’s still rather surprisingly moody and spooky at times, elevated by some great use of locations and a supremely bizarre villain.

There’s little reason to go into much detail about the putative plot of The Final Terror for the film really is a baseline example of the lowest common denominator of what knitted together many slasher films from this era: there is a bunch of nubile young people in an isolated environment and a mad killer is offing them one by one (or occasionally two by two, if the conditions permit). That’s it, folks, and anyone looking for anything deeper had best look elsewhere. There are a few moments of “meta” fun, though, including a seminal scene where the kids tell ghost stories around a campfire and more or less the entire backstory of the killer is revealed, albeit as a fanciful folktale.

Since in the best slasher film tradition, we’ve already been privy to one double murder before the main characters even show up, we’re already aware that these characters are in dire straits when they show up in the woods, ostensibly on something like a clearing project (part of the film’s lackadaisical story sense is that we’re never totally sure why everyone has gathered here). But once the camping gets underway, mayhem of course ensues, though it’s handled in a rather surprisingly unprovocative way. The Final Terror is actually one of the least bloody slasher films from this era, one which does offer quick cuts (so to speak) showing the effects of the mad killer’s spree, but which never really exploits the spurting blood effects to any great degree.

Where The Final Terror manages to rise at least a bit above its genre traditions is in its sense of place. Davis, working in an era long before the wide use of Steadicam (as he mentions in his commentary track) is able to penetrate the forest locations with surprisingly fluidity, providing an up close and personal feel that becomes nicely visceral once at least some of the characters start to understand that their lives are in jeopardy. There are some rather nicely done set pieces here, including a big sequence on a raging rapids that, while derivative, is still exciting and very well filmed.

There may be no genre that has been so well served by the Blu-ray era than cult horror. Between niche labels like Scream Factory and Severin Films, fans who only have dim and distant memories of having seen some long ago “classic” in a brief theatrical run can now indulge in private celebrations of nostalgia to their heart’s content. Scream Factory is to be especially commended for rescuing this film from the ash heap, not necessarily due to any inherent quality in The Final Terror (for this is for all intents and purposes a middling effort), but more importantly as a general statement that endorses film preservation and restoration. While those who are newcomers to The Final Terror may wonder what all the fuss was about once they’ve actually seen the film, longtime fans who somehow managed to catch the film despite its somewhat tortured history will know that they’ve been done right—or at least as right as the elements would allow—with this new release.

The Final Terror Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Final Terror is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Scream Factory (an imprint of Shout! Factory) with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. Scream Factory has included the following information on a text card which begins this presentation:

Unfortunately all of the original film elements for The Final Terror--the negative, the inter-positive--are all lost. Scream factory went through six film prints, lent to us by film collectors, to find the best looking reels to do the transfer you're about to watch. We hope you enjoy this presentation. Special thanks to Lee Shoquist and Joshua Gravel.

With these caveats kept in mind, the real news is not therefore the fact that The Final Terror suffers from a lot of anomalies we regularly address in these reviews, but that it actually looks as good as it does. As should be expected given the variant source elements utilized, there are noticeable fluctuations in color space, grain structure, contrast, clarity and brightness. These have obviously been smoothed over, but eagle eyed videophiles will certainly notice manifest differences throughout the film. Perhaps more troubling are density issues that create a quasi-flicker effect even within sequences sourced from one element. Colors have understandably faded perceptibly, but are still relatively well saturated, with greens still popping pretty well, though with fleshtones often quite strongly skewed toward a muddy brown color (even before the actors are covered with dirt). Generally speaking, though, The Final Terror is quite watchable, and to some the damage to the elements may only increase the nostalgic allure they experience when they watch one of their cult favorites from days of yore.

The Final Terror Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Final Terror's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono mix has a few of the same issues which hobble the video end of things, with slight differences in fidelity and clarity, but with an overall more consistent presentation than on the video side of things. There's some very minor damage in the form of a few cracks and pops, but generally things sound quite good here, if not as robust as modern day horror aficionados would prefer. There are some inherent issues here that probably stem from shoddy ADR work, where the post looping was inartfully managed, but otherwise, dialogue is clear. While this doesn't have the depth or menacing low end that might have amped up the scare factor, what's here is perfectly listenable and (when one considers the hurdles of cobbling together a soundtrack from several different elements) actually surprisingly boisterous.

The Final Terror Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Post Terror: Finishing The Final Terror (1080p; 22:59) is a rather interesting piece that focuses on the desires of the filmmakers conflicting with those of the financiers. This features some good interviews with Allan Holzman, the Executive in Charge of Post- Production.


• The First Terror with Adrian Zmed and Lewis Smith (1080p; 16:22) offers good interviews with Zmed and Smith, both of whom discuss their overall careers as well as making this film.


• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2:17)


• Behind the Scenes Still Gallery (1080p; 8:59)


• Commentary with Director Andrew Davis. Davis provides some good anecdotal commentary which relies both on technical information like how the location shooting was handled as well as vignettes involving various actors, but is rather sporadic here, with several long gaps between comments.

The Final Terror Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Final Terror is more moody than scary, though it does have a couple of requisite jump cuts thrown into the mix, and the final reveal of the crazed maniac is kind of fun, if also a bit silly. But this film which never really found an audience in its theatrical exhibition (it almost didn't get released, having been filmed several years before its brief appearance on screens) has managed to attract a sizable cult following, due perhaps as much to that mood as to any carnage unleashed on the screen. The film is quite impressive from a purely technical standpoint, with Andrew Davis showing some of the smarts he would later deploy in much grander, big budgeted features. And of course it's fun to see a gaggle of young performers, many of whom would go on to greater achievements. All of that said, on a bottom line level The Final Terror is far from the last word in eighties' slasher films, and is probably best enjoyed as a curiosity that has a couple of decent scares along the way. Scream Factory has done a remarkable job patching this release together from widely disparate elements, and for genre enthusiasts if no one else, The Final Terror comes Recommended.