MOVIE REVIEW: The Terror Within (1989)
Slim pickings at the end of a world, folks — even the bad movies are getting worse. This movie’s a ripoff for sure, but it’s such a bad and un-entertaining ripoff that I could not recommend this to anyone. I did remember seeing this video on my local rental shelves back in the day, and I never rented it due to being scared of the content. I am glad I did not watch it then, and I am disappointed in myself for watching it during the COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic. But what else are you to do at the end of a world? Speaking of the end of the world, that’s the setting for The Terror Within.
The world depicted in this movie died with a whimper and not a bang, as a mishandled weaponized virus wiped out 99% of all human life on the planet. It was not deployed as a weapon by either side; it simply got loose from its secure area and reaped the world. Those who do not die are either mutated, angry carnivorous monsters called “gargoyles” or those living in sealed bunkers. Our group of characters works at one such bunker at Mojave Labs in a para-military organization. They are in contact with Rocky Mountain Labs, a distant sister location beset by poor communication and gargoyle attacks. Our heroes occupy themselves with holding the line against the gargoyle threat (for when the world returns to “normal”) and…exploring their surroundings without hazmat suits.
If the team didn’t catch the virus every time they went out without PPE (personal protective equipment), they sure have it now. On one such expedition, they find a scene of ruined corpses and a young woman named Karen (her name learned through investigation from a photo album with notes found at the scene; played by Yvonne Saa) who is seemingly healthy. She is taken inside in the hopes for producing an antibody or vaccine from her T-cells. Here Karen meets the cast — I don’t remember their names, so I’ll call them Main Crossbow Guy, Old Man Leader, Baby-Crazy Lady (played by Canadian actress Starr Andreeff), Black Guy, Beta Redneck, Cannon Fodder, Monster Bait, and Lady Doctor (played by Terri Treas, Alien Nation [TV]). Surprise: Karen is three months pregnant, and that sets off Baby-Crazy Lady’s bells. She’s so excited at the prospect of the patter of little feet, she ignores Karen’s despair about the baby. Then things get weird: Karen went from being three months pregnant to nearly full term overnight. Old Man Leader made the call, and the baby must be prematurely removed by Cesarean. During the procedure, the baby — a damn gargoyle! — rips through Karen and kills her in its bloody escape. Given the gargoyles’ advanced growth in the womb, it will be a full-grown adult in 24 hours. From here the movie devolved into a crappy ripoff of Ridley Scott’s Alien and Aliens: dirty cramped hallways, darkened misty lairs, makeshift weapons, really big ventilation shafts, and even a chest-burster scene all make an appearance. Thankfully, no power-loaders.
This movie ended without proper consideration for the survivors’ chances outside of the bunker (BTW, Lady Doctor and Main Crossbow Guy make it after blowing up the bunker to destroy the monster; #spoilers for a 31-year-old movie). What I am concerned about is how this movie tried and failed immensely to tackle the abortion issue. There’s so much wrong with this movie, from the dog being attacked, to implied monster rape, to Lady Doctor’s incredible leaps of logic.
What’s most concerning is that The Terror Within got a SEQUEL.
- If this movie supposed to be an address to the abortion controversy of the late 20th Century, the message is lost. If the movie was trying to warn about the dangers of self-administered chemical abortions, they hit the nail on the head.
- This movie was eerily close in describing the American response during the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic: our characters were under-prepared for some problems, while completely unprepared for others. They had to jury-rig solutions because they allowed certain things to fall into disrepair that would have saved their lives. Worst of all, the movie showed what happens when untrained and misinformed persons self-medicate.
- “I’m going down there”: a line meant to force conflict where none would otherwise exist.
- Every time I saw the monster, I went “DURR-HUR-HUR-HURRRR” because of its massive overbite.
- The movie veered into the “Mars Needs Women” trope pretty hard for a cheap T&A shot.
- “Black guy dies first” trope is subverted; Cannon Fodder and Monster Bait die first, but off-screen. We find their corpses later in the desert.
- The monster was doomed the moment it attacked the dog Buster…NOT when it killed the Black guy.
- …the fuck kinda ending was THAT? They simply walk off into the sunset OUTSIDE where the gargoyles live, armed with a single crossbow and limited ammo between them and a smile each? They’re dead by sundown.
Originally published at https://www.facebook.com.
