a.k.a. The Trollenberg Terror
company: Tempean Films
year: 1958
runtime: 84′
country: United Kingdom
director: Quentin Lawrence
cast: Forrest Tucker, Laurence Payne,
Janet Munro, Jennifer Jayne
disc company: Image Entertainment
release date: 2001
retail price: $14.99
disc details: NTSC / single layer DVD5 / region 1
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When it comes to the melding of supernatural horror with science fiction concepts, few do it any better than the British did in the 50′s and 60′s – and those who could compete with the fine output of Hammer Films in that regard were even fewer. That certainly didn’t keep other studios from trying, and the Tempean Films production reviewed here today is one of the better examples of such a film made outside those legendary walls.
Climbers are dying under mysterious circumstances on the Trollenberg, a resort mountain in the Swiss Alps, and a strange nearly static cloud on the face of the mountain seems as though it may be connected. So thinks Professor Crevett, at any rate, who calls in UN investigator and personal friend Alan Brooks to help him with the problem. Unexpectedly along for the trip are sisters Sarah and Ann Pilgrim, who are forced to stop off in Trollenberg after Ann has a fainting spell. Sarah and Ann run a mind-reading act, and Brooks finds it suspiciously familiar when Ann seems drawn to the accident-ridden Trollenberg. Meanwhile, snooping reporter Philip finds it suspicious that Brooks is visiting at all, and does what he does best.
Professor Crevett runs an advanced laboratory at the base of the Trollenberg, and Brooks wastes no time in visiting him. Crevett is concerned that he’s seen what’s happening on the Trollenberg before, with similar events having ocurred in the Andes just a few years previously. Brooks is unconvinced at first, but is swayed towards believing Crevett’s suspicions when Ann, in the midst of a mind-reading performance, develops a connection with something on the mountain. When a geologist is gruesomely beheaded on the mountain and his guide, Brett, vanishes, Brooks becomes convinced that he’s dealing with a familiar, but still mysterious, threat.
After a search of the area turns up nothing, Brett suddenly reappears – cold, shaken, and highly uncoordinated. When Ann nears he unwisely makes a move to kill her, but is stopped by Brooks and Philip, who promptly lock him in the hotel’s cellar. Brooks and Crevett have seen it all before – Brett is dead, his body possessed by the malevolent alien force living on the Trollenberg and sent to kill Ann, which it perceives as a threat due to her telepathic abilities. But Brett isn’t what worries the UN man and the Professor – it’s what their as-of-yet unseen enemies will try next . . .
Like a number of other efforts from the time period, THE TROLLENBERG TERROR was based on a popular television serial – the original version of which was also handled by director Quentin Lawrence [who helmed the TV version of THE STRANGE WORLD OF PLANET X as well - he had nothing to do with the resulting film version of it, which was released in the US as COSMIC MONSTERS]. Lawrence was relatively new to the game when directing TERROR in 1958, but proves competent enough and even a notch above what one typically expects for these low-rent monster vehicles – he would go on to have a long career in both producing and directing television.
The real star of the production is screenwriter Jimmy Sangster, of X: THE UNKNOWN and CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN fame, adapting the teleplay by Peter Key. He renders what had been a 3 hour series into a taut 84 minute shocker with mostly fine results – while the story may never be up to par with what was being produced by the prolific Nigel Kneale around that same time, it isn’t so very far off either. The blending of the spooky supernatural elements [telepathy, zombies, and ambiguous mental connections with extraterrestrial monsters] with the more grounded science fiction ones works surprisingly well and Sangster’s screenplay, in the hands of director Lawrence, allows for a number of chilling moments and even a few genuine shocks. Editing is particularly well handled by the proficient Henry Richardson [OCTOPUSSY, THE VALLEY OF GWANGI] – the crash cut between the suitably creepy opening [climbers trying desperately to pull their injured friend up from beneath a mountain ledge intercut with brief glimpses of his bloodied body] and the screaming passenger train that begins the opening credits is editing genius.
Casting is well handled, with the majority of parts going to television regulars – Warren Mitchell is particularly memorable as Professor Crevett [ironically, Mitchell was several years younger than both of the male leads, but made to look much older for his part]. Forrest Tucker had appeared previously in the exceptional Hammer outing THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN as well as the film version of THE STRANGE WORLD OF PLANET X and does a fine job here, far away from the Western roles he is most remembered for. The real star is the beautiful and talented Janet Munro, in the days before she was a contract Disney starlet, as the telepathic Ann Pilgrim. Her stint at Disney proved something of a curse and, in spite of turning in some excellent non-Disney performances in films like THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE, was criminally under-appreciated in her time.
If there’s a gripe to be had with TERROR, it’s with the special effects – handled with zeal and professionalism by Les Bowie [2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE], who turns out the best that can be expected from a film budget that couldn’t have been much more than was used to produce the original television serial. Flashes of gore [a disembodied head in a hiker's pack, the beheaded geologist pulled from beneath a bed] are handled expertly, as are shots of the cloud ominously flowing down the mountainside. Fairing the worst is the miniatures-heavy conclusion, whose scope far exceeded the alloted funds. While the miniatures themselves are miles from being the worst I’ve seen [I'm looking at you, A*P*E] they are all filmed at actual speed, rendering them patently unrealistic.
As for the monsters who inhabit the cloud, they are of an effectively creepy design – pulsing brainy heaps with tentacles sprouting from their bases and a single unblinking eye at their center, they could easily be the conceptual descendents of the wriggling amorphous gods of Lovecraftian lore* – though their execution, by and large, can leave something to be desired. Bowie still manages a few chilling monster-centric moments in spite of the odds against him. When the hotel doors burst open to reveal the creatures for the first time the effect is truly shocking [at least for those who haven't seen the tell-all American trailer], and the hallmark shots of the monsters sliding menacingly towards the camera as tufts of smoke drift up around them have a definite unnerving quality.
THE TROLLENBERG TERROR saw theatrical release in a lightly trimmed form as THE CRAWLING EYE in the USA – long only available in horrid video dupes of cruddy 16mm television prints, Image Entertainment has seen fit to release the uncut UK theatrical version [complete with the X certificate from the board of censors] to DVD here in the states, though the box still opts for the import title THE CRAWLING EYE.
Image Entertainment’s transfer of THE TROLLENBERG TERROR is a fine anamorphic and progressive job preserving the original intended theatrical aspect ratio of 1.66:1. The source utilized is in marvellous shape compared to what most of us are accustomed to seeing, with damage limited predominantly to a bit of dirt and speckling [more so during process shots, obviously]. Contrast and detail are both quite excellent with no signs of edge enhancement to be found. Audio is provided via a serviceable monophonic track that represents TERROR’s low-tech sound design just fine. Supplements are sparse, limited to a poorly preserved and splicy trailer for TERROR’s US theatrical release and a few production stills. Making up for this, somewhat, is the exceptional menu design – one of the very best to accompany a Wade William’s Collection release.
Far from perfect but deserving of a much better reputation than it has [THE STRANGE WORLD OF PLANET X has a higher rating than this at IMDB . . . really???], THE TROLLENBERG TERROR is a fine little chiller with some nice vintage shocks and more effective drama than is the norm for these types of films – both the film and the disc come highly recommended.
* The hypothesis is floated, but never outright confirmed, that the creatures are extraterrestrials – perhaps they’re Lovecraft’s elder gods come to claim our dimension as theirs after all?
** The trivia section at IMDB, admitedly not known for its reliability, states that the American version was cut by nearly 10 minutes – which feels entirely wrong to me. Either the 16mm television prints I remember seeing re-constituted all but the most graphic bits of the cut footage after the fact or the theatrical versions aren’t nearly so different after all. There is certainly no additional drama to be found in Image Ent.’s uncut DVD in comparison to earlier versions I’ve seen, though a few brief snippets of graphic violence are new.
