Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

GurlyIamBeach Instant Favorite.

Teringer An Exercise In Nonsense

Aedonerre I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

StuOz An all American family of the early 1970s runs into problems when young thugs appear.Not a lot of terror here, maybe "Disaster On The Beach" would have been a better title. Young people might struggle with this flick as it is not the sort of movie we see today. So if you are expecting strong violence, swearing, rape and drug taking: you will not get it here!I am a middle aged male who totally enjoyed enjoyed Terror On The Beach. However, I admit there was one scene where I was expecting a rape or even a sexual advance from the thugs (to an attractive girl in swimming cloths), but got nothing?? What was that all about?? Were the thugs gay or something?Also, at times the musical score sounds like it belongs in a 1960s sci-fi TV series, rather than a movie like this.But the flick held me from beginning to end and it was perfectly casted.

Robert J. Maxwell At the beginning of this TV movie we see a minivan tooling along a wooded road. The driver is Dennis Weaver, decked out in mustache, pipe, and black-rimmed glasses. Later, a bad guy will call Weaver "Mister Whitebread" and Weaver will respond with a bemused expression. With Weaver in the bus are his blue-eyed wife (Estelle Parsons), his politely rebellious teen-aged son (Kristoffer Tabori) and his virginal daughter "DeeDee" (Susan Dey).The first lines come from Weaver, who happily orders his family to hold their breaths, then -- "Alright, everybody, now BREATHE! Smell that fresh air?" In the passenger's seat is young Tabori, to whom Weaver makes some remark about college. Tabori says that he's old enough "to stand on my own two feet", and he'd like to make his own decisions and not just be ordered around anymore. I can't quite describe his delivery of these machine-processed lines. Let me just say that, at first, I thought he was joking. He rolls his eyes and speaks metrically, as if he knows that the lines are so formulaic that they deserve nothing but parody. But no -- the fact is that the kid is serious. He just can't act.The first ten minutes all boded pretty ill and I began to wonder, "Why am I watching this, again?" Then Susan Dey appeared in tight, Chinese red, short shorts and I remembered.I don't want to get into the plot in any detail. A bunch of hooligan kids show up in hot rods and an old fire engine and harass the Whitebread family, humiliating them, insulting them, damn near wrecking their vehicle, finally driving them off the road, although there isn't a moment's doubt that they'll be back.The Whitebreads set up a tent next to their bus on the beach and the hooligans reappear, apologetic but obviously insincere. Dennis Weaver's attitude towards them is, "Well, they're just some kids havin' fun and let's not get hysterical." Estelle Warren frankly doesn't trust them. As they ogle Susan Dey in her tiny swimsuit, she acts half haughty and half flirtatious, offering them beers, evidently not knowing that the name of this movie is "Terror On The Beach." It's on right now and I guess I'll go back and finish watching it. I don't want to miss the inevitable scene in which the goons corner DeeDee in the woods and threaten to make her feel good.In judging whether or not you should bother watching this, you might ask yourself, "Self, have you seen 'Hot Rods to Hell' or 'Duel'?" You should ask this because the plot is essentially ripped off from the former and Dennis Weaver's character is a variation on his constantly noodged driver in the latter. This isn't nearly as good as the other two -- both of which I enjoy beyond the bounds of logic -- but it's similar enough because of its stolen elements that you might get a kick out of it. In any case, if you decide to watch it, it will help if your brain has been subject to chemical alteration.

Michael_Elliott Terror on the Beach (1973) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Interesting, if at times frustrating, made-for-TV thriller has Dennis Weaver (DUEL) taking his family to the beach for a couple days of camping but the family comes under attack by some hippies. The father wants to play everything cool hoping that the thugs will just leave them alone but one attack after another happens until the family must do something to protect themselves. At just 73-minutes there's really no room for any sort of character development but that's not a major negative. What does hurt the film is that the movie would pretty much be over at the ten-minute mark but the only way it can keep going is by characters being complete idiots. The father here has to take the top award for dumbest movie dad in the history of cinema because all of the terror his family goes through could have been avoided. After the first two attacks it would be clear to anyone to leave but not this dad. He keeps his family there for a third, fourth and even more attacks until it becomes too late to try and escape. This is the part of the film that is rather frustrating. In terms of a thriller there are a few very good moments including the first night scene when the family learns that they're not alone. The dark beach makes for a very good setting and the director is able to milk some nice suspense out of the scene. Weaver turns in a pretty good performance even though at times the screenplay doesn't benefit him any. His "good guy" act at times seems to be an impersonation of W.C. Fields but the actor is believable in the role. Estelle Parsons (BONNIE AND CLYDE) plays the wife, Kristoffer Tabori the son and an extremely cute Susan Dey is the daughter. I do wonder which films influenced this one. It does have a lot in common with HOT RODS TO HELL but it also has a similar theme to "revenge" movies like STRAW DOGS. It's interesting that the father here refuses to fight back in hopes that everything will work out and this does make for an interesting decision towards the end of the film. Those wanting violence are going to be pretty disappointed as the film tries to be the opposite of stuff like STRAW DOGS and THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT. I'd also wonder how much of an influence this had on Wes Craven's THE HILLS HAVE EYES as the two films share quite a bit. With that said, fans of TV movies or thrillers will probably want to check this one out if they have some time to kill. It's certainly not a masterpiece but there are enough interesting ideas to make it worth viewing.

moonspinner55 TV-made melodrama appears to be a smaller-scaled variation of "Straw Dogs", yet also tends to resemble the cheesier "Hot Rods to Hell". Dysfunctional family--older dad and mom, accompanied by their two college-age kids--take a camping trip to the beach but run afoul of sadistic hooligan teenagers (dressed in hippie garb reminiscent of the Manson followers). Dennis Weaver's complacent father learns to fight back after his family's safety is threatened, but why are these delinquents so obsessed with terrorizing the straight-laced clan? And why do they always seem two-steps ahead of not only Weaver but also the beach patrol? Writer Bill Svanoe's negligence in explaining the situation at hand doesn't seem unintentional at all; he appears to harbor a fear of hippies/irrational kids in general, no doubt propelled by the headlines of the day. His teleplay bulldozes straight on to a rather predictable showdown, one that indicates to us that the family who fights together stays together. Nevertheless, it's an engrossing scenario, helped immeasurably by several good (if occasionally overwrought) performances.