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The Terror Within (1989) - Thierry Notz


This has been on my IMDB queue for a year or two now and I had finally gotten around to watching it. George Kennedy had recently passed away and I wanted to watch something relevant to the genre that starred him. Unfortunately the first film that I pulled up was The Terror Within. A low-budget sci-fi/horror flop produced by the Rat-King himself, Roger Corman. 

In a post-apocalyptic world, a small group of human scientists are surviving in an underground complex. Meanwhile the surface of the planet is plagued by monsters called The Gargoyles. The inhabitants of this underground bunker have lost radio contact with another group of survivors not far from where they are. Two members go out to see if the other group is okay. They aren't. Everyone outside of the bunker is dead, except for one girl named Karen. And she's having a baby! A half Gargoyle half Human baby to be exact. One that gets loose and starts terrorizing this underground bunker à la Alien, and these monsters reproduce quickly by raping human women and impregnating them.

This is by no means a quality picture. The acting is half-assed and the story is just as inspired. It's crazy to sit back sometimes and just see how much they ripped off other movies. And not just good movies either. B-Movies. Schlock films. It has it's moments, sure. It's definitely a midnight creature feature. However, it sacrifices good old fashioned exploitation for just lazy film-making. Can you blame it? Everyone has to get paid somehow and these movies were being pressed out a lot.

A few moments into this picture and you can start to see the low-budget sleaze oozing through the cracks. The jokes and innuendos are all reminiscent of a Corman Picture. The corner-cutting in editing and sub-par audio are all present too. Not to say that it isn't entertaining. Movies like this usually are. This just isn't a movie that's fit for everyone. You have to be in the mood. 

Director: Thierry Notz
Producer: Roger Corman
Writer: Thomas M. Cleaver
Starring: George Kennedy, Andrew Stevens, Starr Andreeff, Terri Treas and John LaFayette
Studio: Concorde Pictures
Country: USA
Did ya know: The film was given a limited release theatrically in the United States by Concorde Pictures in January 1989. It grossed $858,591 at the box office. The movie launched a long running collaboration between Corman and Andy Stevens. Yay.

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