The Terror (1963) by Roger Corman

Director: Roger Corman (Roger Corman shot the bulk of the film in four days, but the second-unit work was filmed over nine months by Francis Ford Coppola, Dennis Jakob, Monte Hellman, Jack Nicholson, and Jack Hill)

Year: 1963

Country: USA

Alternate Titles: N/A

Genre: Supernatural

Plot:

Deserting from the Army, an officer heads to an old castle for sanctuary but when he begins to see a ghostly figure of a woman running around the grounds and eventually stumbles upon a dreaded curse placed upon the family he must get away before he succumbs to it as well.

Review:

This one was a decent if mildly flawed effort. One of its more positive efforts is the rather enjoyable amount of grandiose Gothic atmosphere featured throughout. From the start where it shows him approaching the castle in the distance that distracts him enough to be knocked into the sea and swept under the crashing waves, this one really goes for that imagery which is nicely carried into this one. That includes plenty of fun times featured at the castle where once again this one utilizes the large, over-the-top space filled with endless corridors, long stairways and hidden passageways that lets the opulent look of it all get featured so that the later action scenes have a great base being in a creepy location.

These scenes give this one a lot of fun as he searches for a way to get outside to catch up to a ghostly figure wandering through the cemetery, the scene of the numerous birds attacking in the middle of the woods as well as the absolutely glorious finale which is pure old-school Gothic flair. From the scenes in the cemetery realizing the ghosts' true intentions with all sorts of fun brawls, ghostly action and a rather fine series of revelations that are somewhat shocking and surprising, this has plenty of grand Gothic spectacle which really works to end this on a high note.

These here give this one a lot to like, as there really isn't a whole lot wrong with this one. One of the few problems is that the film has a really jerky pace that is quite distracting. At times, it moves along rather nicely, especially in the opening, where we get to the castle at a reasonable time and don't really have a lot of interference to get there, but once at the castle, it takes forever for something to happen. This has several times where the hero goes off on what seems like minutes at a time to investigate strange noises or visions he gets, only for them to eventually be dismissed by some natural force.

Oftentimes, the searches do nothing but eat up time as nothing comes of them. It's a little distracting after the third or fourth time he leaves his room to go after something and then finds nothing in the ensuing search. Another problem is the quite laughable and seemingly ridiculous motive for the villain. There's no way to take what's going on seriously, and this makes no sense at all, being something that sounds like it could've been the first thought when deciding on what to do but then be discarded when a better one comes along. Having this as the final measure of revenge is so hard to stomach that the film suffers as a result. Beyond these, though, the film isn't that bad.

Overview: ***.5/5

A film that could've been in the Poe series in its Gothic splendor, this is a generally solid outing that manage to make for a fun time so long as the flaws on display aren't as detrimental as they should be. Those with an appreciation for this era of the genre, who are curious about it, or who are fans of the creative crew, will have the most to like here while most others out there should heed caution.