THE FINAL TERROR

THE FINAL TERROR (1983). Director: Andrew Davis.

Some forest rangers take a group of women into the woods for a weekend of fun and frolic but don't bargain on having to deal with a predator who stalks and murders them one by one. The main suspect is a kind of crazy guy named Eggar (Joe Pantoliano), who tells everyone a campfire story about a raped fourteen-year-old girl who gives birth to a son who turns out to be psychotic. The Final Terror is clearly influenced by Friday the 13th and other, earlier slasher films, but at least it has a professional look to it, and while actors in these movies generally have few future credits, many cast members in this film went on to better and bigger projects. In addition to Pantoliano, we've got Lewis Smith, Adrian Zmed [Grease 2], Daryl Hannah of Splash fame, Rachel Ward [Night School; The Thornbirds], and others. Director Andrew Stevens went on to direct some bigger-budgeted Hollywood thrillers. The acting is rather good throughout, with Pantoliano making the best impression next to John Friedrich as the possibly unhinged Viet Nam vet Zorich.

Marco (Adrian Zmed) meets his maker? 

The Final Terror makes atmospheric use of its woodland setting, although some of the nighttime scenes are underlit. A bigger problem is that the movie begins to meander a bit too much in the second half when the tension should be building to a fever pitch -- not exactly what happens here. There are no surprises as regards to the maniac who is hacking up campers, but the action scenes are well-staged. Gore geeks will be disappointed that the movie is not as bloody nor the body count as high as in similar features.

Verdict: Reasonably entertaining thriller with some more-than-decent performances. **1/2.