"The Terror" *** (out of ****)
Roger Corman's "The Terror" (1963) is a tale about illusion, about the dance between reality vs fantasy. It is about the secrets and lies we live with it and the ways in which we preserve the memory of the dead.
The short paragraph above is probably the most detailed analysis you will read about "The Terror" as you scower the internet for hours at a time. Your search will lead you to sheep (movie critics) or internet movie fans more interested to recite to readers the events of the chaotic production that "haunted" Corman's movie. I believe they use that information to then justify a negative review under the guise of "how could you expect the movie to turn out good when the production was so troubled"? That's lazy film criticism. Are you writing a gossip piece or a review? That's why I'm deciding not to detail what happened during the movie's production. Why mention it at all if I won't discuss it? I don't know who reads my reviews but for those "in the know" that read this, rest assured, I know too. For those that don't know what happened, there really isn't any reason to know. It will only hamper your judgement of the movie.
Corman directed "The Terror" in the midst of his Edgar Allan Poe adaptations (there were seven in total) and had already released "House of Usher" (1960), "The Pit and the Pendulum" (1961) and a loosey-goosey adaptation of "The Raven" (1963). Corman, known to squeeze the life out of a nickel, took the opportunity to immediately make one more movie with the sets from "The Raven" and recast two of the movie's actors - Boris Karloff and Jack Nicholson. In true Corman fashion it is also said he shot the bulk of "The Terror" in four days (supposedly one of the fastest movie shoots of all-time was Corman's original "The Little Shop of Horrors" (1960) which lasted 2 1/2 days).
"The Terror" is not a Poe adaptation but has the look and feel of one with its Victorian setting and macbre subject matter. It also helps that the art director (Daniel Haller) and set decorator (Harold Reif) were Corman regulars.
Set in the 19th century, the story revolves around a French soldier, Andre Duvalier (Nicholson). He is first seen on horseback along a coastal shore. We assume the soldier has been riding for a lengthy period of time as he looks fatigued and we assume parched as the hot sun beats down on him. He falls off of his horse and his face kisses the sand, only to be awoken by the tide that splashes on him. He begins to collect himself and notices a figure in the distance, a beautiful woman - "I'm a wry, disillusioned soldier and you're the only pleasant sight I've seen in seven months." A flirtation begins and we learn Andre is lost from his regiment. The woman though behaves strangely and the musical score by Ronald Stein confirms something mysterious about the situation. The woman, named Helene (Sandra Knight, Mrs. Jack Nicholson) moves around freely and rapidly. It almost seems otherworldly especially against the music. Their brief meeting is ended when Helene moves towards violent waves. Andre, fearful she will drown, chases after her but is unable to find her due to turbulent waves and a bird attacking him. The meeting last long enough to cause an infatuation on Andre's part.
Andre however runs into a problem - no one knows who Helene is! After being taken in by a elderly female villager he is told no such person exist and the only Helene she knows is her pet bird. Suspiciously it's the same bird Andre says attacked him. Andre will not be dissuaded, he knows Helene is real and will find her.
The other prominent detail between Andre and Helene's meeting is the significance of water. After the movie's opening credits the first image we see is of a strong wave clashing against rocks. Helene is standing in water. Andre is awoken by water and later becomes thirsty. Clearly Corman is foreshadowing something and the movie's use of water will take on biblical symbolism.
The soldier's quest for Helene leads him to the castle of Baron von Leppe (Karloff), a lonely elderly man who has isolated himself from the villagers for the past 20 years, ever since his wife Ilsa died. The Baron's only company is his butler, Stefan (Dick Miller) but Andre believes another is in the castle - Helene! Andre believes he has seen Helene standing in front of one of the castle's windows. The Baron is oddly unphased by this and tells Andre not to believe everything he sees. He points the young soldier to a portrait hanging on a wall and asks if this is the woman Andre claims to have seen. It turns out Helene bears a resemblance to the Baron's wife but that leaves too many things unexplained. Are Helene and Ilsa one in the same? Is the spirit of Ilsa haunting the Baron and the castle, as the Baron believes to be true? Is the spirit now haunting Andre? Is Corman tipping his hat to the noir classic, "Laura" (1944) and Andre is in love with a dead woman?
These questions allow the movie to function as a mystery with supernatural overtones than a horror movie. The questions however have caused many viewers to become confused and criticize the script co-written by Leo Gordon and Jack Hill (his first feature-length script!). The questions don't confuse me. Instead, I feel the script doesn't properly create tension and pull the viewer in with the plot's twists and turns. The plot reveals don't feel dramatic enough. A lot of the movie's questions are answered but they are somewhat simplistic answers that don't feel satisfactory.
If the writers were given more time to fully explore these characters and the dramatic elements of the plot "The Terror" could have amounted to something far greater than what it does here. Boris Karloff was a step up from Vincent Price, who appeared in nearly all of Corman's Poe adaptations. Price had his own (campy) charms as an actor and is fun to watch but Karloff could show more restraint in his performances. He could have created empathy for his character in a more sorrowful and dramatic way than Price would have been able to. "The Terror" feels as if it is telling two separate stories forced together - The Baron's story, typical of the Poe adaptations, and Andre's story.
That doesn't mean the movie is a dud. "The Terror" succeeds in creating atmosphere with its gothic sets, use of shadows and lighting, musical score, and use of colors. Yes, this is essentially a "B" movie and genre filmmaking but there is more craft here than in most Hollywood, CGI dominated blockbusters. Give Roger Corman and his crew credit. Don't dismiss these movies as lacking any aesthetic value or thematic relevance.
Pay attention to the sequence between Andre and Helene during their second meeting. Notice how everything comes together and it is far more mysterious and moody than their first meeting. Look at the crooked trees in the forest and their branches as they create obstacles for Andre. Focus on how Helene is filmed in darkness and shadow and how it contrasts with the way Andre is filmed. Take a moment to reflect on how it makes you, the viewer, feel about the characters. If you think these are the words of a young, over-zealous film major eager to show you what a college degree gets you, you are mistaken. Though I do appreciate being thought of as "young". Filmmaking is essentially a tool for manipulating your emotions. A director uses all the tools in their bag to stir you. Every choice is a deliberate one.
For modern viewers the movie is interesting to watch because of Jack Nicholson's performance. It would still be a few years until Nicholson would achieve fame and become one of his generation's greatest actors. Here his performance walks a delicate balance between vulnerability and heroic masculinity with dashes of sexuality (Jack always seems "naughtier" than what any script suggests). He would continue to explore this throughout his performances in the 1970s. Here though it provides a contrast to Karloff's "feeble old man" performance.
Too bad more character development wasn't given to Helene and Stefan. Helene never functions as a real person but as the forest scene points out, at a minimal, the character could have oozed sexuality and been a real seductress. The character Stefan could have been more mysterious and provided more clues to the movie's conclusion.
"The Terror" isn't a classic but is far from a howling failure. It has the best elements of Corman's Poe adaptations but does suffer from a weak script even though it benefits from Karloff and Nicholson's acting, which is far better than the usual performances in a Corman movie. The movie is worth watching if you are a Roger Corman fan. If you are a newbie to Corman's work you may want to start elsewhere but make this an early stop along your journey.
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