5/10
Slick but unfulfilling
1 December 2001
Warning: Spoilers
Tired, uninvolving FRIDAY THE 13th clone in the same vein as JUST BEFORE DAWN (1981). Five obnoxious forest rangers take their underdeveloped girlfriends into the forest to do some work. One night at a campfire one of the group tells the others of a deranged old hag haunting the surrounding woods, killing anybody who crosses her path. The next day, one of the group mysteriously disappears and another is brutally murdered. After several unsuccessful attempts at escape the group finally manages to set a trap for the killer and destroy her once and for all.

THE FINAL TERROR is a mixed bag; On one hand there's gorgeous photography, nice scenery, a scary killer, some good 'n creepy moments and a fantastic cast. But for every good point there's a bad: annoying characters, a sloppy script, slow pacing, little gore, and no imagination. There are some very memorable moments: The killer making her presence known by throwing a dead body onto a passing raft, the brutal murder of a butt-naked Mark Metcalf in a glistening stream, and, in my favorite scene in the entire movie, when the remaining friends huddle up together in the darkened bus as the killer scuttles across the roof, smashing axes and poles through the blackened windows. Unfortunately, THE FINAL TERROR is too dull for its own good. Scenes of the teens screaming at each other and running through the woods get boring after a while and we don't really care what happens to them. Admittedly, I did like the climax where the hag finally reveals herself only to be impaled on a row of spikes as the group watches in shock. But for the most part, THE FINAL TERROR is a pretty lame movie. It's up to you.
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