The Final Terror is yet another backwoods horror tale about a group of young college students who embark on a hiking trip only to be stalked by those pesky killers in the woods. However, what makes
The Final Terror a great curiosity is the talent that worked on it. Like the ‘80s slasher,
The Burning,
Final Terror is really only sought out by horror fans because of the people involved in making the film and path their careers would take afterwards. The film was directed by Andrew Davis (
The Fugitive) and stars Daryl Hannah, Joe Pantoliano, and Adrian Zmed (!) in what basically amounts to just another run-of-the-mill backwoods slasher that’s trying to be
Deliverance and
Just Before Dawn. The performances are indeed good, and the direction by Davis is good enough (there are some sequences that hinted at his future skill for directing action scenes) with some memorable scenes near the end, but I had to obtain a copy of the movie from an old VHS that looked like it was a copy from a copy. The picture and sound were terrible, and I think that, even though it’s part of the charm of being a horror fan, the quality of the copy I had really made it hard for me to invest (if there was even anything to invest in) in the movie.
The Final Terror doesn't produce any memorable kills or scares; it's just kind of there -- a perfect example of how so many filmmakers cut their teeth with the horror film. This film is nothing special and it's really nothing more than a curiosity of the subgenre for the most diehard fans.
