THE TERROR FROM THE YEAR 5000-1958-In an "isolated area in Central Florida", Prof. Erling (Frederic Brown) and assistant Victor (John Stratton) are doing experiments with time. They receive a strange statue from the future and send it to old friend Dr. Robert Hedges (Ward Costello) who's surprised when carbon dating reveals the statue is from 5200 AD, 3000 years in the future! It's also radioactive prompting Hedges to pay a call on his old friend after another doctor suggests Erling might have tried to murder him! Later Hedges meets Claire Erling (Joyce Holden), the prof.'s daughter who sent the statue to Hedges but didn't know it was radioactive. Claire and caretaker Angelo (Fred Herrick) take Hedges by boat to their isolated island. While Erling realizes the potential dangers of what they are doing Victor, who is Claire's fiancee and takes an immediate dislike to Hedges, wants to forge ahead regardless of the risks. He's been doing some experimenting behind his boss's back. At night Hedges sees Vic throw some suit cases into the lagoon. Swimming with Claire the next day he finds them but leaves them. Then Erling and Victor show Hedges a demonstration of their machine which has made contact with the future! Doubting Hedges puts his school medallion in the machine and a coin comes back with a message in Latin: "save us". Later Vic expresses his dislike for Hedges, Claire gets undressed and Angelo is caught spying on her. Meanwhile Victor is attacked by something he brings back from the future. Hedges suspects trouble and brings it to the professor's attention but he scoffs having caught Hedges and Claire in a romantic embrace. The next day Hedges goes after the suitcases and Vic tries to kill him. Hedges wallops him in a watery fight and reveals Vic's scratches to be radiation burns. It's decided Vic needs medical help so they take him to the mainland hospital but he sneaks out and gets drunk. While the trio go to see "I Was A Teenage Frankenstein" Vic steals a boat and goes back to operate the machine. He pushes it to its highest level and after a small explosion a sparkly creature emerges. Later Hedges retrieves a mutant cat from the lagoon. Then poor old Angelo is killed by the sparkly monster (obviously a woman). A doctor comes to examine Vic and suggests sending a nurse. The nurse arrives by herself at night and while walking to the house meets the disfigured monster (Solome Jens) from the future who kills the nurse and steals her face. She arrives to take care of Vic but instead hypnotizes him to her will. It turns out in the future every 5th child born is a mutant due to radiation. They need healthy specimens to fix their problem. She wants Vic to go with her. Claire spoils their plans, reveals that the woman is actually a mutant herself and Hedges shoots her. She and Vic are killed and Erling gives a hopeful speech for the future.
This is a fairly cheap but fun AIP science fiction horror film made by producer/writer/director Robert J. Gurney who only directed 2 films after this and one was never even released! Among his other accomplishments are writing the screenplay for INVASION OF THE SAUCER MAN and producing REFORM SCHOOL GIRL. TERROR is supposedly based on a Henry Slesar short story “Bottle Baby”. Leading man Ward Costello became a frequent character actor on TV and in movies. The year before TERROR he played Joan of Arc's father in the TV adaptation of the Broadway play “The Lark” starring Julie Harris and Boris Karloff. Lead actress Joyce Holden had been in THE WEREWOLF (1956) and PRIVATE EYES (1953) (with The Bowery Boys). She retired from acting soon after making TERROR and when I originally finished this review she was still living. Unfortunately, she passed away in January 2022 at the age of 91. Co-star Frederic Brown popped up in a lot of things. On TV (PERRY MASON,GREEN ACRES,HAZEL), and in 2 Coleman Francis “movies” (THE SKYDIVERS, RED ZONE CUBA). “Future Woman” Salome Jens was making her feature film debut. Besides TV, she costarred with Rock Hudson in John Frankenheimer's SECONDS (1966).
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