The Terrorists (1988) Poster

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6/10
Someone break that drum!
Sandcooler8 March 2023
Nick Millard filmed "The Terrorists" in between visiting relatives in Munich, and that's pretty much what this movie feels like. It's basically a travelogue with some plot woven in for good measure. The 'story' is about a group of radicals trying to assassinate Jimmy Carter during his visit, but obviously Millard didn't have the money, energy or creativity to stage a thing like that. Instead, we get the next best thing: all gunfights take place in ugly hallways and a huge explosion that kills eight people is not seen, but just mentioned by a news reporter (Millard's wife, who else?). It's the lamest cop-out ever. I love it. I wouldn't want it any other way.

Technically things happen in this movie, but none of it matters or makes any sense. At one point Ray Myles (sporting the best and worst Russian accent ever) tells the main villain he's going to turn him in, while in private and unarmed. This has got to be the least intelligent intelligence officer of all time. Most of the movie hinges on our heroes finding the terrorist leader, who is nicknamed The Professor. Eventually they get their big break in the case: turns out he's... a professor. Talk about hiding in plain sight! By the way: while the action takes place in Munich, The Professor still somehow lives in Millard's house. That place is pure magic, I fully expect to wake up there tomorrow.

Apart from the obligatory stock footage from his adult movies (six minutes, seriously?), this movie actually moves along well. I've never seen Millard use so many characters either, and only one of them is played by him. Some of them have got to be in-laws though, because the name Grabinger comes up several times. That's his wife's maiden name. I have to look up how to do my taxes every single year, but somehow I have brain cells that remember this very important tidbit. Anyway, there are many action set pieces throughout this movie and the editing actually makes them look pretty dynamic for once. The editing also makes them look like sight gags from "The Naked Gun", but that movie is an even bigger classic so why complain? This thing just flies by, and for once that's not just because it's 60 minutes long (it is though, obviously).

There is one slight downside to the movie though. The soundtrack is just complete garbage. I mean, Millard soundtracks tend to be minimalistic, but this just has some lunatic randomly beating a drum with no sense of rhythm. Is this supposed to be a military march of sorts? Thank God Millard found/fell asleep on a Casio keyboard for the "Mac 10" soundtrack. My ears are bleeding from this drivel.
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2/10
At least it's film!
Chainsaw Slasher8 June 2008
I'm familiar with Nick Millard. From Criminally Insane to his ridiculous Death Nurse films. Both Death Nurse films and the sequel to Criminally Insane are shot on video. But for The Terrorists, the film is shot on what looks like grainy 16mm stock, which is the only improvement from his previous films. But with this video release, every shot is improperly framed. The lower half of the screen seems to be cropped out. It's quite odd. Did the video distributors mess with the film or is Milliard just horrible with a film camera? I don't know. Regardless, the film is shot just as bad as his previous films. The pacing of the editing is all wrong. The only action in the film are the gun fights, which are just a back and forth of gun shots that seems to go on and on without anyone moving or dodging bullets. It seems the budget for this film was a lot higher than those of his previous films (since it was shot on film and in Germany). At least his horror flicks had some cheese appeal, this was just boring. It's also worth mentioning that I notice the doctor from Death Nurse in this film.
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10/10
Nick Millard strikes again!
udar554 June 2008
When a Congressman's soldier son is gunned down in Germany, Military Investigator James Luke (Marland Proctor) is sent to solve the crime. Getting grief from his CO, Luke teams up with German cop Paul Steger (Hans Grabinger), who is not known for his subtlety with crooks (he kills them). The duo eventually uncover a radical terrorist organization led by a guy named The Professor who are planning to assassinate Jimmy Carter when he arrives in Munich.

This Nick Millard directed actioner runs just 60 minutes and refined viewers will recognized his inimitable style carried over from his horror features like CRIMINALLY INSANE and SATAN'S BLACK WEDDING. To my knowledge, he has made three action films (this, .357 MAGNUM, GUNBLAST). All three star Proctor and are quite possibly the worst movies ever made. Of course, they are all highly entertaining. From his off center framing to chainsaw editing (the shoot outs are simply a work of art!), Millard makes Ed Wood look competent. The best part of this flick is when the heroes realize The Professor is named so because he is a college professor. Way to keep on the DL Prof!

This was made in 1980 and actually shot on location in Munich, Germany. Which makes me wonder how the hell Millard managed that? As with GUNBLAST, Millard inserts a 10 min. striptease to pad the running time. Anyway, it wasn't released on video until 1988 by World Vision.
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