The Terror Within (1989)

 Despite the numerous "Alien" (1979) similarities (plagiarism?), substituting space for a Mojave desert lab after the release of an apocalyptic chemical leak, I did find a few specific decisions rather potent and effective. First off, Andrew Stevens gives it the best leading man shot, while Treas as the scientist just knocks it out of the park. At a certain point towards the end, Stevens is badly wounded after the mutant creature scratches his leg (he had already sustained a shoulder injury), leaving him barely able to walk, more or less having to crawl, so Treas has to assume a scary chase, provoking the damned thing to pursue her through a level of ventilation to a ladder where a fan is available to use as a weapon...but she needs Stevens to make his way, by glacial crawl, to a switchboard before the creature can get to her. Andreef seems like the actress the film will focus as the heroine to Stevens' hero, but when the creature horribly rapes her (impregnating her), she will perform a self-abortion, essentially committing suicide, sacrificing herself so she wouldn't end up like another rape victim on the outside, discovered giving another of the mutated creatures chase. It is tragic and such an emotional gut-punch because Andreeff puts in the work to gain our sympathy and grief. This kind of film often has a hard time doing that, especially when it is nothing more than a knockoff of some other popular horror film responsible for influencing so many low budget sci-fi horrors of the 80s (and into the 90s).

George Kennedy as the leader of this small group holing up in the government underground installation, in bad need of repairs and lacking goods needed for long-term survival serves as the veteran actor of the cast, but I don't think anyone watching ever doubts he's not long for the film...it was probably a nice little paycheck for his family, and I don't fault him for taking the work when it is needed.

The creature suit looks kind of gnarly, I think. I'm just a little fuzzy on how it can grow so fast and heal from major burns, take multiple penetrating laser blasts, and endure serious crowbar shots to the head.

Hmmm...2/5

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 While I watched this on Tubi, there was a Shout Factory double feature release, along with the unnecessary sequel (directed by Stevens), that sold out really quickly so it would seem some low budget sci-fi horror fans were quite interested in this Corman property.

IMDb user comments from December 2007:

Well if you are going to make a no-budget B-movie it is nice to have a cast committed to their roles, willing to put forth decent performances. It also never hurts to have the caliber of a go-to character actor like George Kennedy in the cast, either.

The integrity of an underground installation is compromised when abnormal humans (nicknamed "gargoyles") who seemed to have developed into monsters due to radioactive fallout thanks to war that wiped out 99% of mankind, find out their entrance (a shack in the middle of the Mojave desert). Oh, but that really isn't the problem for the small Mojave Lab crew holed up in the installation. Two of the members (the handsome Andrew Stevens and cherubic Starr Andreeff) find a female human survivor of the plague, bring her to the lab, and it is soon discovered that she is pregnant. The fetus is actually a monster, a victim of the plague, abnormal because of the radioactive effects of the outside atmosphere (it is also possible she was raped by one of the gargoyles). During a surgical removal operation, the monster escapes into the ventilation shaft, leaving the crew concerned about their safety because its growth rate is also abnormal. Multi-leveled, the installation has several places to hide and it will be up to a coordinated, intricately planned hunt for the creature if the crew is to find and kill it. Sound familiar?

Even after ten years, the inspiration of Alien continues to reverberate into the later 80s (and 90s). The Terror Within has a monster fetus "exit" very similar to the infamous chest bursting scene, this time fleeing from the surgical stomach cut by the installation's chief medical officer. Aimed with a laser (its use is limited to four shots) and a blow torch (yes, quite similar to Alien, also), the weaponry at their disposal requires getting close to the monster. Soon, the movie becomes a "man in rubber suit" affair with Stevens and company in pursuit of the seemingly indestructible monster that walks upright but has a protruding face and hands with claws that rip flesh in one strike. Several are downed in quick order due to neck flesh wounds by the creature's aforementioned claws. The most tragic scene is what happens to Andreeff, who rushes to help her beloved Stevens (they are lovers in the movie), when she is captured and sexually molested by the creature on the rampage. Andreeff, I thought, was really good during her limited contribution to the film, and her plight/fate truly saddened me. She has an almost angelic quality to her. Terri Treas is also quite good as the doctor who must join forces with Stevens after the monster has wiped out most of the crew and figure out some way to kill the damned thing on the loose. Sealing the ventilation ducts is one option, clever use of high frequency sound inspired by Stevens' dog whistle, and survival techniques right out of Rambo 101 are also options tried by Stevens and Treas, hoping that something might stop it from adding them to its death list. While it's an obvious rubber suit, I thought the designers done a good job on making the creature as ugly and ferocious as possible. And those monster fetus designs and neck flesh wounds are properly grotesque. I admit that I enjoy Alien, Robocop, and Terminator rip-offs, and "The Terror Within" was better than I expected. Sure, the sets and props, even the rubber suited monster, are meager, but given the budget Thierry Notz had to work with, I found "The Terror Within" rather surprisingly exciting and fun. Notz hasn't had a lucrative directorial career, but I did enjoy his Watchers II. Stevens, I thought, actually doesn't make too bad a hero and has the looks for the role. Treas gets to be heroine at times and come to Stevens' rescue even, so I imagine she had a blast in her role (she has an inspired line, "I'm a doctor, not an engineer."). An obvious criticism will be that this film doesn't have one original idea, but I never felt it was designed to be anything more than a cash-in sci-fi actioner mimicking other popular flicks from the past.