The Final Terror is the latest 80’s slasher to be resurrected by the fine folks at Scream Factory, who give the modest cult classic a really well done high definition presentation. And while they weren’t able to restore the original film negative for The Final Terror, the fact that Scream Factory went to such great lengths to locate the next best thing (original prints from private collectors) proves why they continue to kick all kinds of ass.
The Final Terror follows a group of horn-dog fire rangers and their “special lady friends” as they head deep into the forest for a day of work and, of course, a little hanky panky (this is a slasher movie, after all). During their outing, all kinds of weird crap begins happening- people go missing, severed limbs are discovered in an ramshackled cabin- which forces the friends to come together and figure out just who is behind the madness and stop them once and for all. There’s a bit more involved with the plot, but that would be a little spoilery. Let’s just say that you’ll think twice the next time you decide to go camping in the middle of nowhere after seeing The Final Terror.
While it’s absolutely not a game changing film by any means, The Final Terror is still a really solid horror movie that holds up thanks to a few unique twists and gleefully gory kills to boot. It was rather refreshing, considering it was during an era that was ripe with Halloween and Friday the 13th knockoffs. The story wouldn’t win any kind of originality awards, but it seems like director Andrew Davis knew that going into the project and smartly lets his incredibly talented cast of fresh talent elevate the material nicely with their strongly likeable and charismatic performances. It was also really clever how the trio of writers for The Final Terror get the group of campers to band together like a bunch of savage killers, akin to the characters in John Milius’ superb 1984 war drama Red Dawn.
It’s pretty evident that Davis didn’t have a huge budget at his disposal for The Final Terror, so he goes for a more atmospheric approach here, successfully building a nice sense of tension throughout the film, even if the reveal in the third act wasn’t really all that surprising. However, there’s a viciousness to the kills in The Final Terror, with a wicked cool kill in the opening that actually surprised me. While Davis doesn’t really up the ante from there in terms of inventive kills, he certainly never shies away from giving us some bloodshed either. There’s also some stellar cinematography going on in The Final Terror from Davis (who served as his own DP), which makes this wooded environment feel like another character in the film, evolving from a lush, idyllic setting when the group arrives for some fun to one that’s drab and dismal once the killer is on the hunt.
A mash-up of Deliverance and Don’t Go in the Woods, The Final Terror is definitely a lot better than its initial handling would lead most to believe (the only reason the film found a distributor after two years of sitting on the shelf was due to Zmed, Hannah and Pantoliano’s rising fame at the time) and it’s really great to see Scream Factory step up to the plate and give the slasher/survival film some love finally. The Final Terror may not be the biggest title to come out of Scream this year, but it’s absolutely worth owning for all the longtime slasher fans out there.
Movie Score: 3/5
Heather A. Wixson was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, until she followed her dreams and moved to Los Angeles in 2009. A 14-year veteran in the world of horror entertainment journalism, Wixson fell in love with genre films at a very early age, and has spent more than a decade as a writer and supporter of preserving the history of horror and science fiction cinema. Throughout her career, Wixson has contributed to several notable websites, including Fangoria, Dread Central, Terror Tube, and FEARnet, and she currently serves as the Managing Editor for Daily Dead, which has been her home since 2013. She's also written for both Fangoria Magazine & ReMind Magazine, and her latest book project, Monsters, Makeup & Effects: Volume One will be released on October 20, 2021.
Daily Dead's Official Podcast! Daily Dead's Official Podcast!
