A family's outing turns out badly as they are terrorized by a gang of young thugs.A family's outing turns out badly as they are terrorized by a gang of young thugs.A family's outing turns out badly as they are terrorized by a gang of young thugs.
Jacqueline Giroux
- Mickey
- (as Jackie Giroux)
Carole White
- Helen
- (as Carol Ita White)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- GoofsThere is a clear change from exterior scenes shot on the beach to beach scenes shot in a studio. The lawn chairs on the beach are a light color. In the studio scenes, the lawn chairs are black.
- Quotes
Neil Glynn: Hey... are these trees? Hm?
Arlene Glynn: They are trees.
Neil Glynn: Hm-hm. You know, the last time we were by here, it seemed like they were smaller. You remember these trees, kids?
DeeDee Glynn: Oh, you don't forget trees like these, dad.
Steve Glynn: I think I remember them, dad.
Featured review
Fun Made-for-TV Movie
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.
** 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.
helpful•45
- Michael_Elliott
- Apr 27, 2010
Details
- Runtime1 hour 14 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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