More well known for its soon-to-be star cast than for the film itself, The Final Terror kinda came and went in theaters and was dumped onto video via a terrible, washed out and impossibly dark transfer where you couldn't tell what was what.

Thankfully, Scream Factory have found a print that looks half way decent and released it on Blu-Ray. For the first time, one can actually see that there was some talent involved here, even if it was in service of a less than exciting narrative.

While the story seems like your average "young hot people getting killed in the woods" flick, The Final Terror does offer some fairly inventive twists. For starters, the killer is a genuinely unnerving presence, blending into trees and shrubbery using camo gear. Also, the cast of characters, while slightly undefined, are smarter than your usual lot. When they get the first inkling of danger, they don't split up or start humping each other - they actually stick together and work as a team.

The only downside to these smart characters is that there are only two murders before the gang catches on (unless you count the completely unrelated prologue), so it doesn't leave room for a lot of isolated attack scenes or extra murders to brighten up the pacing and keep the danger alive. If only one or two of them had to go pee or something...

Susan Justin's score is pretty cool, too, and keeps things exciting.

It's easy to make the mistake of dismissing The Final Terror as just another instantly forgettable, derivative backwoods slasher: the characters are your usual array of one-dimensional psycho-fodder; the setting is the standard 'spooky woods located miles from civilisation'; there's the corny campfire legend that sets up the back story for the killer; and the film features several cribs from other similarly themed horror movies (most obviously John Boorman's Deliverance).

However, I think this film is a more important addition to the genre than it is given credit for: not only did it give director Andrew Davis (of The Fugitive fame) and several future Hollywood stars (Daryl Hannah, Rachel Ward, Joe Pantoliano, and...errr... Adrian Zmed?!?) a step up in their careers, but—and you can call me mad if you like—I am also convinced that The Final Terror was a big influence on the excellent Arnold Schwarzeneggar sci-fi/action movie Predator!

As Lloyd Grossman used to say in Through The Keyhole, 'Let's take a look at the evidence...'

The group of friends stranded in the wilderness; the strange creature who hunts them one-by-one; the pivotal moment where the hunter finally becomes the hunted; and the final showdown in which the killer is lured into a booby-trap made from a huge tree trunk. Let's face it.... all that's missing is a mini-gun!!!

Anyway, regardless of whether you subscribe to my Predator theory or not, The Final Terror is still a reasonably enjoyable way to pass the time, with some effective jump scares, a fair amount of atmosphere, and some lovely cinematography. I'd liked to have seen a bit more gore, some nudity from the ladies (this is a slasher, after all!), and Adrian Zmed get slaughtered (I still remember T. J. Hooker), but I suppose you can't have everything!

6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.

One of the better "Friday the 13th"-inspired let's hack up a bunch of attractive young adults in a breathtaking remote sylvan setting slasher fright features to flood theaters in the early 80's. Not just content to emulate the basic story from that horror film hit, the screenwriters ("Dead and Buried" scribe Ronald Shusett among 'em) toss in elements of "Deliverance" and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" into the varied, yet still hugely derivative brew as well. Lack of originality aside, it's the very mixing of random bits and pieces from several different disparate sources that gives this honey a substantial lift out of the rut, especially when in a refreshing break from the wimpy dumb victim slice'n'dice norm the obligatory coed campers being terrorized by a wild, grubby, mangy-haired, murderous cannibalistic hermit hag band together into a mighty fighting force so they can kick the nasty old psycho biddy's ugly ill-kept a** for putting them through sheer torturous hell. Yes, fellow theme freaks, this picture does indeed persuasively articulate a valid point about strength in numbers.

Moreover, the film is made with praiseworthy polish and panache. Director Andrew Davis, who started out as a cinematographer-for-hire on such solid Grade B outings as Paul Bartel's "Private Parts," "Cool Breeze," "The Slams," and "Mansion of the Doomed" before moving on to helm the more respectable mainstream blockbusters "Under Siege," "The Fugitive," and "A Perfect Murder," keeps the pace barreling along at a speedy, steady clip, successfully evokes a frightfully palpable sense of ambient, ever-present and expansive backwoods danger and menace, and manages to create a sizable amount of nerve-jangling tension. Davis' sharp, crisp, strikingly slick and handsome photography also hits the spot; ditto the fluid, smooth editing by Paul Rubell and Erica Flaum and Susan Justin's spooky, shivery, crackling guitar feedback-drenched score. The cast come through with uniformly sound performances: John Friedrich cuts an impressively rugged and unnerving figure as a crazed, truculent, take charge 'Nam vet, classy British beauty Rachel Ward and the eternally yummy Daryl Hannah make for highly delectable damsels in distress, Mark Metcalf, Adrian Zmed and Lewis Smith are solid and engaging as trainee forest rangers who get a harrowing on the job education on the essential rudiments for survival, and Joe Pantoliano goons it up something spazzy as an edgy, browbeaten, hot-tempered geekoid handyman. In fact, the uncommonly strong acting and production values are good enough to make the minimal body count, only moderate lashings of pretty mild gore, and extremely tame sex (with no nudity!) both forgivable and acceptable.