Filmmaker James Garrick (John Nolan) has a premier party to show his newest horror film, partially based off his real-life family history. He’s showing it at his family’s estate, where many of the reputed events happened, an estate that is also supposedly haunted. The film shows a witch condemned to death by the Garrick family and the nearby township. It plays out as if it is the actual film we are watching, before pulling back to reveal a rapt audience. Amongst their number is the beautiful Ann (Carolyn Courage) who has a strange episode shortly thereafter when she is hypnotized as part of a party trick. Things go terribly wrong from there, as people start dying and bodies start stacking up. Is Ann responsible for the murders? Is she possessed by the spirit of the dead witch? Or is it something far, far worse?
Terror takes its time, building on a somewhat goofy premise, layering in character development and loads of moody settings before the bodies begin dropping. And when they start, it gets weirder and bloodier and stranger as the story progresses. There is a lot of giallo going on here, what with a black-gloved killer wielding a bloody knife, and you can tell the director (Norman J. Warren, author of such classics as Inseminoid and Prey) was really inspired by Suspiria. Dig those crazy lighting gels and witchy atmospherics. So while derivative, it is still very artistic on its own merits, and there are some genuinely terrifying sequences in the movie, such as the scene where all hell breaks loose on a set and a character gets literally engulfed by yards and yards of film. It’s all in-camera effects and looks absolutely amazing and real. There’s also a nice chopping-neck-windowpane moment and some other, bizarre and blood-drenched bits. Overall, this is one eccentric movie. The only real problem I had with it was that it doesn’t really connect emotionally due to its cold, weird tone. I never cared for the characters one bit. But it does deliver the goods when it comes to blood and a very bizarre story, so even while I felt I was experiencing it at arms-length, I was totally and fully engaged.
This is a lost horror classic, no doubt, and the finest film Warren made. He was excellent at weirdness and atmosphere and peculiar, odd characters. In Terror, all of his themes come together in a spectacular way. Definitely recommended for those who like Weird Cinema, for Horror fans, and for people looking for something very different to watch. Bleak, bloody, and highly strange, this Terror is for you.
Three Stars out of Four