If the casual film fan has ever heard of or seen a Norman J. Warren film, chances are that film is 'Inseminoid', one of the first films to be a big hit on sell-through video in the early 80's.
However, 'Terror' is not as obscure a movie as you may think. It was the top grossing film in the UK for one week and in the States it actually made No. 19 in Variety's Top 50 grossing movies for 1979.
'Inseminoid' is usually referred to, perhaps a little unfairly, as a cheap rip-off of 'Alien'. 'Terror' is definitely a cheap rip-off of Dario Argento's 'Suspiria'.
The story involves a witch who is burnt at the stake. She curses the family responsible for her plight and promises to wipe out their line. Flash forward a couple of hundred years and we discover that what we have been watching is a movie. Then...everybody gets killed. There's very little plot for the rest of the film. Some characters arrive for no apparent reason...and then get killed...for no apparent reason.
What's this all got to do with 'Suspiria' then ? Well, here's a little checklist.
Suspiria - Terror
Supernatural story involving witches - Check
Film made with emphasis of style over narrative - Check
Scenes lit in lots of bright reds and greens - Check
Soundtrack full of atonality, clanging and wailing voices - Check
Film set in ballet school - The girls live in a school but they all seem to work at a 'Gentleman's Club'.
Lots of blood and girls dressed in white - Check
Death by disembodied hand through a window - Death by disembodied hand through a wall
Running through a storm pursued by a killer - Check
Knives entering flesh in jagged close-up - Check
Strange, overly made-up, androgynous-looking older women - Check
A hulking giant who may or may not be involved - Check (Peter 'Chewbacca' Mayhew)
A nightmarish masterpiece of a horror movie - Erm...
But the really interesting one that's made me think is when one of the characters dies by decapitation due to a broken window. There is a scene exactly like it in Argento's 'Inferno'. But 'Inferno' was made after 'Terror'. This is pure speculation but I wonder did Argento see 'Terror' at some point and say (in Italian, obviously) "Well, this bloke nicked so much from me. I'm going to nick this from him". Or was it just a weird coincidence. I am intrigued.
However, while 'Suspiria' is undoubtedly one of the greatest horror films ever made - a real experience - 'Terror' is unfortunately not. It is interesting to watch someone try to copy Argento but there is no real understanding here of what makes his films work. 'Terror' lacks a decent script, decent actors and decent direction. Of interest to Argento fans only.
However, 'Terror' is not as obscure a movie as you may think. It was the top grossing film in the UK for one week and in the States it actually made No. 19 in Variety's Top 50 grossing movies for 1979.
'Inseminoid' is usually referred to, perhaps a little unfairly, as a cheap rip-off of 'Alien'. 'Terror' is definitely a cheap rip-off of Dario Argento's 'Suspiria'.
The story involves a witch who is burnt at the stake. She curses the family responsible for her plight and promises to wipe out their line. Flash forward a couple of hundred years and we discover that what we have been watching is a movie. Then...everybody gets killed. There's very little plot for the rest of the film. Some characters arrive for no apparent reason...and then get killed...for no apparent reason.
What's this all got to do with 'Suspiria' then ? Well, here's a little checklist.
Suspiria - Terror
Supernatural story involving witches - Check
Film made with emphasis of style over narrative - Check
Scenes lit in lots of bright reds and greens - Check
Soundtrack full of atonality, clanging and wailing voices - Check
Film set in ballet school - The girls live in a school but they all seem to work at a 'Gentleman's Club'.
Lots of blood and girls dressed in white - Check
Death by disembodied hand through a window - Death by disembodied hand through a wall
Running through a storm pursued by a killer - Check
Knives entering flesh in jagged close-up - Check
Strange, overly made-up, androgynous-looking older women - Check
A hulking giant who may or may not be involved - Check (Peter 'Chewbacca' Mayhew)
A nightmarish masterpiece of a horror movie - Erm...
But the really interesting one that's made me think is when one of the characters dies by decapitation due to a broken window. There is a scene exactly like it in Argento's 'Inferno'. But 'Inferno' was made after 'Terror'. This is pure speculation but I wonder did Argento see 'Terror' at some point and say (in Italian, obviously) "Well, this bloke nicked so much from me. I'm going to nick this from him". Or was it just a weird coincidence. I am intrigued.
However, while 'Suspiria' is undoubtedly one of the greatest horror films ever made - a real experience - 'Terror' is unfortunately not. It is interesting to watch someone try to copy Argento but there is no real understanding here of what makes his films work. 'Terror' lacks a decent script, decent actors and decent direction. Of interest to Argento fans only.