Terror

Terror

Year: 1978

Runtime: 87 mins

Language: English

Director: Norman J. Warren

HorrorHorror

It Buried For A Hundred Years… But Never Laid To Rest! The descendants of a witch hunting family and their close friends are stalked and killed by a mysterious entity.

Warning: spoilers below!

Haven’t seen Terror yet? This summary contains major spoilers. Bookmark the page, watch the movie, and come back for the full breakdown. If you're ready, scroll on and relive the story!

Timeline & Setting – Terror (1978)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Terror (1978). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Present day

The story unfolds in contemporary times, following a modern cast as they navigate a haunted estate and a film industry backdrop. The narrative moves between a current-day gathering at the Garrick House and the aftermath in urban and rural settings, highlighting how an ancient curse intrudes on modern life. The historical flashback of Mad Dolly’s execution anchors the curse across generations, culminating in supernatural disturbances during a contemporary screening.

Location

Garrick House, London hostel, Surrounding woods near Garrick House, James Garrick's film studio, Roadside garage, Strip club

The Garrick House is the central location, an imposing centuries-old mansion tied to the family’s cursed legacy. In present-day, it hosts a preview screening of a horror film that claims to be based on true events, with the house’s corridors and inherited sword amplifying the eerie mood. Nearby, a London hostel serves as a grim waypoint where a victim’s bloodied return and mounting dread unfold, while the surrounding woods become the site of past and present killings tied to the curse.

🏰 Haunted 🎭 Aristocratic 🗺️ Manor 🕯️ Supernatural 🏢 Studio 🚗 Industrial

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 18:59

Main Characters – Terror (1978)

Meet the key characters of Terror (1978), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Ann Garrick

Cousin of James and an aspiring actress who becomes entangled in the family curse. She is hypnotised at a party, uses Mad Dolly’s sword to wound James, and later dies when the curse’s spirit fatally impales her. Her uneasy memory and shifting grip on reality drive much of the film’s escalating horror.

🎭 Ambition 🌀 Possession 🔪 Violence

James Garrick

A film director who hosts the horror screening and believes his film is rooted in true events. He inherits Mad Dolly’s sword and survives initial attacks, but his perception of reality becomes increasingly unstable as supernatural forces close in.

🎬 Director 🕯️ Haunting 🧭 Reality-Shift

Lady Garrick

A noble matriarch from the family’s past who is executed in the original tale. Her confrontation with Mad Dolly and the subsequent curse loom over the Garrick descendants, anchoring the supernatural menace in the family’s history.

🏰 Aristocracy 👻 Ghosts 🗝️ Mystery

Lord Garrick

Patriarch who orders Mad Dolly’s execution, setting the family’s doomed saga in motion. His role is retrospective, shaping the curse that plagues later generations.

🗡️ Authority 🕯️ Era-Old 🧭 Legacy

Suzy

Ann’s roommate in London who ends up entangled in the terror as the stalking figure closes in. She witnesses police questioning and experiences a sequence of near-misses that hint at a malevolent presence.

👀 Observer 🧭 Suspense 🧩 Mystery

Gary

A mesmerist who hypnotises Ann as a party trick, triggering the chain of violence that reveals the curse’s grip. His actions catalyze the breakdown of reality for several characters.

🪄 Manipulator 🌀 Psyche 🧨 Catalyst

Philip

James’s assistant at the film studio; he is present during the eerie disturbances and is decapitated when props and equipment go berserk, underscoring the film’s intrusion into reality.

🧰 Studio 🧪 Tension 🔪 Violence

Viv

One of Ann’s friends who is murdered at the hostel; the death underscores the toll of the curse on the group and escalates the sense of danger surrounding the Garrick circle.

🎀 Victim 🧭 Fear 🚨 Tragedy

Carol Tucker

A guest who departs the Garrick house only to be murdered later in the woods, her fate reinforcing the curse’s reach beyond the estate.

👗 Socialite 🗡️ Attack 🕯️ Haunting

The Mechanic

A tall, shadowy garage worker who stalks Suzy and plays a crucial role in the sequence of near-fatal encounters on the road and at the garage.

🛠️ Worker 🚗 Shadow 🕳️ Suspense

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 18:59

Major Themes – Terror (1978)

Explore the central themes of Terror (1978), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

🔮 Supernatural Curse

A centuries-old curse from the witch Mad Dolly lingers across generations, resurfacing through living characters and deadly events. The sword, the beheading, and the mysterious deaths mark a pattern that transcends time, suggesting a fate that cannot be escaped. The film’s ending reinforces the idea that past horrors bleed into the present, affecting everyone connected to the Garrick line.

🎬 Meta-Film

The movie within the movie blurs fiction and reality as the ending reveals itself as a real haunting rather than mere cinema. Characters confront a story that mirrors their own lives, and the audience’s awareness of the film’s fiction heightens the dread. This meta aspect underscores how storytelling can trap both viewers and participants in a shared nightmare.

🕯️ Haunted Lineage

The Garrick family lineage is depicted as perpetually tainted by tragedy, with each generation confronting the consequences of past choices. Descendants grapple with corridors of power, fame, and ancestral guilt, which manifest as psychological and supernatural disturbances. The theme explores how heritage shapes identity and fate, driving characters toward confrontation with their inherited sins.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 18:59

Mobile App Preview

Coming soon on iOS and Android

The Plot Explained Mobile App

From blockbusters to hidden gems — dive into movie stories anytime, anywhere. Save your favorites, discover plots faster, and never miss a twist again.

Sign up to be the first to know when we launch. Your email stays private — always.

Explore Movie Threads

Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Supernatural Slasher Horror Movies like Terror

Stories where an ancient, unstoppable supernatural force enacts a violent curse.If you liked the relentless, curse-driven killings in Terror, you'll find similar movies here. These films feature an unseen or ancient supernatural force as the slasher, creating a unique blend of folk horror and gruesome slasher tropes for a distinctly chilling experience.

supernaturalslasherdreadatmosphericgoryrelentlesscursewitchcraft

Narrative Summary

The narrative revolves around a group, often connected by bloodline or a shared past transgression, being picked off one by one by an inhuman force. The story is less about whodunit and more about the inevitability of the curse, following a steady, grim progression towards a final, often devastating, confrontation with the supernatural.

Why These Movies?

These movies are grouped by their core premise: a supernatural slasher. They share a high intensity, a dark and oppressive tone, and a focus on atmospheric dread over mystery. The experience is defined by feeling hunted by something beyond human comprehension.

Bleak Gothic Horror Movies with Ancestral Curses like Terror

Tales of families confronting a grim supernatural fate inherited from the past.For viewers who appreciated the theme of ancestral doom and the bleak, hopeless finale in Terror. This collection highlights similar films where a family's dark history comes back to haunt them with supernatural terror, leading to an emotionally heavy and grim conclusion.

gothicbleakancestral cursedoomhopelessdreadsupernaturalpsychological

Narrative Summary

The narrative pattern follows a protagonist or family discovering a terrible secret about their lineage, which triggers a supernatural reckoning. The journey is one of escalating dread and psychological breakdown as they futilely try to escape a fate that was sealed generations ago, culminating in a tragic and hopeless ending.

Why These Movies?

These films are united by their core theme of ancestral curses and their consistently bleak, Gothic atmosphere. They share a heavy emotional weight, a dark tone, and a pacing that steadily builds towards an inevitable, devastating conclusion, offering no respite or hope.

Unlock the Full Story of Terror

Don't stop at just watching — explore Terror in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what Terror is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.

Terror Summary

Read a complete plot summary of Terror, including all key story points, character arcs, and turning points. This in-depth recap is ideal for understanding the narrative structure or reviewing what happened in the movie.

Terror Summary

Terror Timeline

Track the full timeline of Terror with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.

Terror Timeline

Terror Spoiler-Free Summary

Get a quick, spoiler-free overview of Terror that covers the main plot points and key details without revealing any major twists or spoilers. Perfect for those who want to know what to expect before diving in.

Terror Spoiler-Free Summary

More About Terror

Visit What's After the Movie to explore more about Terror: box office results, cast and crew info, production details, post-credit scenes, and external links — all in one place for movie fans and researchers.

More About Terror

Similar Movies to Terror

Discover movies like Terror that share similar genres, themes, and storytelling elements. Whether you’re drawn to the atmosphere, character arcs, or plot structure, these curated recommendations will help you explore more films you’ll love.