Hey folks, Valkor here. And I welcome you to TOV's "30 in 30", where I'll review 30 unique film and maybe some not so unique, all in 30 days. What's cool for most of the flicks, is that I know nothing about em. So this should be a real treat not just for you guys, but for me as well. Good or bad, this is gonna be a fun month. It all starts today July the 4th and ends on Aug the 3rd. Can I make it through? We'll know soon enough!
Next up a film starring Corey Feldman. Last film TOV review, Hooking Up, didn't sit well in the stomach of Ace. But can I make it through "Terror Inside"?
Terror Inside stars Corey Feldman as Allan, who enjoys using his job once a week to pop in on his smalltown gal Maria (Tanya Memme). But what Allan doesn't know is that Maria has a thing for this guy Joe (Joe Abby). Joe is in town doing some digging for a contract he got from a college. It's not exactly oil he finds, but something rather odd. This stuff gets on Joe, he spreads it to the town and soon people start acting weird, because once this stuff gets on you, it turns pain… into pleasure. Allan discovers this when he returns back to town, only to find that this once lovable, peaceful town, is now barren. The local diner is closed, the beauty parlor is a tattoo and piercing shop and there seems to be no one in sight. He has a run in with Maria, but that doesn't go over to well. He then spots Katie (Susie Feldman) on her bike, who suddenly crashes. She's on the ground writhing, but definitely not in pain. Allan helps her up, she goes into her house and continues "pleasuring" herself with salt on her wounds (ouch). But Allan doesn't truly get what's going on, until he goes back to Maria's and finds her in the arms of Joe, who is holding a bloody napkin on her forehead (a wound she got through self-infliction). Now Allan, Joe, and Maria set out to find out what the hell has happened to the town.
And the way Allan pieces it all together, is a little too "Scooby-Doo" for me. Also I left a good chunk out of the story, in case you feel the urge to check this one out. Though after this review... maybe not? Let's begin!
The Good:
First, I must say Corey Feldman is looking damn good in this movie, still has that 80's flair about him, plus he looks like he was having a good time with this flick. Yea his acting is a bit rough in some areas, but overall not bad. There's also plenty of gore to go around, but nothing too hardcore; mostly you get to see what happens after the fact, but there are still some squeamish moments about the flick.
The Bad:
First off for a film that's supposed to be a thriller, there's zero suspense. Honestly a virus that makes you wanna inflict pain upon yourself? Where's the scare in that? I guess turning people into zombies would have been waaaaay to easy; or what about a deadly flesh eating virus? The box art looks more chilling than the actual film. Second, it takes too long to get anything remotely thrilling. Third, things wrap up to neatly for me. I would have never guessed that the characters would ever come to the conclusion that the mud was the thing that set off this craziness. And yet they somehow come to it, but again, much too Scooby-Doo for me. Now had the faux-FBI guy that came into town revealed that it was the mud, that would probably be a bit more believable. Finally that ending! Not so much the entire ending, but more of Allan explaining about the virus and the government involvement. In short and to possibly paraphrase, he states they would have had the perfect weapon… the perfect weapon to do what exactly? Yea, let's infect our enemies to self-inflict pain because that would deter suicide bombings in the least! *snort*
The Ugly:
The grad student, Robert (Michael Hart) popping out his own eyes. Though you don't see the action, it's still pretty disgusting.
Terror Inside was a good try and I'm still a fan of the Feld-meister, however his latest work has left me wanting something more in terms of suspense and horror. If the pacing had been tighter, and the scares a bit gorier, I'd have placed this on my cool list. But as it stands, out of TOV 5 stars, I give Terror Inside 2 stars. But I'm still rootin for ya Feldman; you'll always be Donatello to me.