The Terror (1963)

[ponderingtheuniverse]

The Terror (1963) blu-ray from The Film Detective

The Terror (1963) blu-ray from HD Cinema Classics

The Terror (1963) blu-ray from Film Masters

Napoleonic cavalry soldier Lt. Andre Duvalier comes upon a mysterious woman named Helene. Although the lieutenant is immediately taken with Helene, she seems to be leading him into deadly traps. When Duvalier seeks refuge at a baron's nearby castle, Helene unexpectedly appears there. The baron is convinced that Helene is the ghost of his long-departed wife Ilsa, but the lieutenant believes Helene is under a hypnotic spell.

[dallywhitty]

Got excited thinking this was getting a re-release.

Always liked this one. It's shockingly (somewhat) coherent when you consider it went through approximately fifty different directors.

[ponderingtheuniverse]

Once again, like the I Married a Witch thread, I was surprised to not see a thread for this film. So, I thought I'd make one. While it may be confusing and borrow plenty of things from the Poe Cycle, this deserves its honorary place in the cycle as Corman said. You can't go wrong with Karloff, Nicholson, and Corman.

[ponderingtheuniverse]

Originally Posted by dallywhitty

Got excited thinking this was getting a re-release.

Always liked this one. It's shockingly (somewhat) coherent when you consider it went through approximately fifty different directors.

This is the second time today I've gotten someone's hopes up by making a thread. I apologize for it.

The quality on Prime Video for it was so bad, even the audio, that I had trouble understanding what was being said at times (and thus, had trouble understanding what was exactly going on in the film.) I'm going to try to get the blu-ray at some point this year to rewatch it so I can understand it better. I still gasped

[Show spoiler]at the plot twist despite being confused at who was who and what all went down

[Winslow Leach]

I used to consider THE TERROR to be a minor Corman film, but that was because I've only seen lousy prints with terrible audio. After seeing the blu-ray screencaps, however, I was surprised at how good this film can look! I'll have to purchase the disc(s) and reappraise this classic.

[WaverBoy]

I have it as an extra on the excellent German Blu of THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (1960), and it looks pretty damn good actually. Really fun, colorful little flick.

[ponderingtheuniverse]

Originally Posted by WaverBoy

I have it as an extra on the excellent German Blu of THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (1960), and it looks pretty damn good actually. Really fun, colorful little flick.

I don't know why Prime Video had VHS quality prints of it to watch. One version was even listed as being in UHD, but it was anything but! I think The Little Shop of Horrors (1960) is on Prime Video too but given how horrible the quality of films have been on there this year, I may watch it on Kanopy instead, because I think its there too.

[klauswhereareyou]

I wish I would've got the Film Detective disc before the price shot up.

[joltman]

Originally Posted by klauswhereareyou

I wish I would've got the Film Detective disc before the price shot up.

Ironically, you can get the Film Detective three-pack with The Terror for cheaper than The Terror by itself

[Slob]

Worth noting. MGM has the original elements and a master same quality as other AIP Corman Poes, or any AIP movie for that matter. It's what TCM shows. Hopefully somebody will license it from MGM one day and release an official version.

[ponderingtheuniverse]

Originally Posted by klauswhereareyou

I wish I would've got the Film Detective disc before the price shot up.

Its on eBay and a few other sites for prices that aren't bad at all. I checked since its the version I want to get too.

[cakefactory]

Originally Posted by joltman

Ironically, you can get the Film Detective three-pack with The Terror for cheaper than The Terror by itself

Yeah, but that's still 30 bucks, and the other two movies have vastly superior (and reasonably priced) releases out there from other labels. I wonder why The Terror is so much more than the other two in the set? Temporary price fluke? Or did it go OOP?

[ponderingtheuniverse]

Originally Posted by joltman

Ironically, you can get the Film Detective three-pack with The Terror for cheaper than The Terror by itself

Thanks for pointing out that release. I didn't even know it existed and even though I haven't seen the other two films on it, I may want to get it instead (since they're both Corman films though, I'm sure I'll like them.)

[cakefactory]

Originally Posted by ponderingtheuniverse

Thanks for pointing out that release. I didn't even know it existed and even though I haven't seen the other two films on it, I may want to get it instead (since they're both Corman films though, I'm sure I'll like them.)

Bucket of Blood is legitimately good, it's like a companion piece to Little Shop of Horrors and is probably better made. If you're a cult film fan it's also great cause Dick Miller is the star (and he later used the same character name when doing short roles in movies like Chopping Mall). There's a version of it with extras from Olive that's much better than this one. But, it might be good to just see it first if you're willing to drop 30 bucks on The Terror already.

Dementia 13 is mainly interesting for the director but it's not bad. There's a very cheap (usually like 8 bucks) release of it from Vestron now that has more footage in it, extras, and has a much better transfer, though.

[ponderingtheuniverse]

Deep Discount has the best price for TFD version of this:
https://www.deepdiscount.com/the-ter...xoCX0YQAvD_BwE

[cakefactory]

Originally Posted by ponderingtheuniverse

Deep Discount has the best price for TFD version of this:
https://www.deepdiscount.com/the-ter...xoCX0YQAvD_BwE

So...one of those price flukes on Amazon where an OOS notice makes sellers immediately jack the price up to trick people who think it's OOP? Or just Deep Discount still having stock left?

Maybe I should get it! The transfer doesn't look bad, and it actually has english subtitles. I've never seen this one despite seeing all the Poe/Corman movies.

[ponderingtheuniverse]

Originally Posted by cakefactory

So...one of those price flukes on Amazon where an OOS notice makes sellers immediately jack the price up to trick people who think it's OOP? Or just Deep Discount still having stock left?

Maybe I should get it! The transfer doesn't look bad, and it actually has english subtitles. I've never seen this one despite seeing all the Poe/Corman movies.

I'm not quite sure. Like I mentioned before, its being sold at decent prices on eBay too (from the $15-24 range.)

Its very similar to the rest of the Poe/Corman films, just without having an actual Poe poem/story attached to it. The atmosphere, settings, and characterizations all hit the marks of the Poe Cycle. Its easy to see why Corman considers it an "honorary" member of the cycle.

[Jobla]

Originally Posted by Slob

Worth noting. MGM has the original elements and a master same quality as other AIP Corman Poes, or any AIP movie for that matter. It's what TCM shows. Hopefully somebody will license it from MGM one day and release an official version.

True, but MGM would only license it to somebody who could prove that they had the legal right to release the film.

That is what occurred with DEMENTIA 13. MGM had the original negative, but would only make it available when director Francis Ford Coppola requested the use of it. Earlier, MGM turned down Kino Lorber's request for DEMENTIA 13.

Another cult horror film that MGM controls the negative of is MACUMBA LOVE (1960). The negative and other elements are stored with MGM, but the rights have never been cleared. There were several original investors, one of whom blocked a potential release when VCI thought that the rights were accessible. Famed genre journalist Tom Weaver even recorded an audio commentary track for the proposed VCI release, but MGM wouldn't budge when the one original investor put his foot down.

[Slob]

Originally Posted by Jobla

True, but MGM would only license it to somebody who could prove that they had the legal right to release the film.

That is what occurred with DEMENTIA 13. MGM had the original negative, but would only make it available when director Francis Ford Coppola requested the use of it. Earlier, MGM turned down Kino Lorber's request for DEMENTIA 13.

Another cult horror film that MGM controls the negative of is MACUMBA LOVE (1960). The negative and other elements are stored with MGM, but the rights have never been cleared. There were several original investors, one of whom blocked a potential release when VCI thought that the rights were accessible. Famed genre journalist Tom Weaver even recorded an audio commentary track for the proposed VCI release, but MGM wouldn't budge when the one original investor put his foot down.

I think this is a different situation. MGM is distributing with their logo and lion roaring for television. I think it's the same as Kansas City Confidential. There were PD DVDs and then MGM released their own official version. There are PD BDs of KC Confidential and MGM could release an official version themselves or license it.

[ponderingtheuniverse]

You guys, never mind about Deep Discount being the cheapest place to get the Film Detective release of this. Order it from Critics Choice Video instead with the promo code TCM20. I got an email from the TCM Shop a few days ago giving me the code for switching over to Critics Choice Video after it shut down. You may need to make an account first to see if it'll work. I don't know if it will work without one. It came out to about $12 for me with the code. If this doesn't work out for anyone else, then I'd still go with Deep Discount.

Here's the email:

[Show spoiler]