Sorry, this movie sucks

Brilliant and touching

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

RELEASED TO TV IN 1973 and directed by Paul Wendkos, "Terror on the Beach" stars Dennis Weaver & Estelle Parsons as a couple and their two college-age kids (Susan Dey and Kristoffer Tabori) who take a camping trip to a beach a few hours north of Los Angeles where they're terrorized by a group of hippies (Scott Hylands, Michael Christian, Henry Olek, etc.). Will they make it out?This movie effectively takes advantage of the subdued paranoia traditional folks developed toward hippies after the Manson murders put the kibosh on the 'peace & love' counter-culture movement. Hippies were never viewed the same after the horrific Tate murders of August 8, 1969. The drug-addled Woodstock took place just days later and it was indeed 'three days of peace & music,' but The Altamont Speedway Free Festival in early December (less than four months later) put the kibosh on the hippies' idealism forever. It's a shame too, as they had a hold of something real underneath their drug-obsessed fog (not that all hippies were druggies, not at all, but it seemed to be the norm).Despite being a TV production, "Terror on the Beach" is a serious look at the average nuclear family of 1972 (when the picture was shot) pitted against a small group of hippies on the beaches of Central California. The score is cogently eerie and off-kilter and the hippies are portrayed in a questionable light with a mocking, mischievous manner, but not over-the-top.This is a limited-environment flick, akin to "Prey" (2007) and "Wind Chill" (2007), where the events take place in a fairly one-dimensional setting. The main downside is the stupid reactions of the family in response to the malevolent shenanigans of the hippies. For instance, after the hippies harass the family by yelling out from the dunes at night, they obviously needed to take turns standing guard. But, no, they all just go to sleep. Seriously? If you can roll with this flaw (which can be defended on the grounds of the family' naïveté) it's a worthwhile TV movie similar to the Outlaw biker films that were popular from 1966-1973 and on par or superior to most.THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour, 13.5 minutes and was shot at Pismo Beach, a 3-hour drive north of Los Angeles. WRITER: Bill Svanoe.GRADE: B-/C+INSIGHTS ***SPOILER ALERT*** (Don't read further until you see the movie).It has been criticized that it was unlikely that the other hippies would just stand around watching the fight between the father and the lead hippie at the end. But I found it believable because they were all still young and were disillusioned with the direction their leader, Jerry, was taking them. Frank, the captured hippie, said they were supposed to be an alternative family, but Jerry basically ruined it with his dubious Manson-ish leadership wherein he was increasingly turning the group into thugs to survive without getting a job. Plus, with the possible exception of David, I think they all felt bad about how they were treating an innocent and loving family. This can be observed in Frank after DeeDee (Dey) selflessly tends to his forehead wound.

for the time as other reviews have mentioned, the idea has its moments, Dennis Weaver (of Spielberg's "Duel" fame) has believability as always playing the victimized average American 70's dad getting abused by some kind of horrific reality. Beyond his control, the world and its people take on sinister tendrils and horrors.Susan Dey and Kristoffer Tabori are the siblings, off at college but not happy, accompanying Weaver and their mom to a day trip on Pismo Beach. The mom is well-played by the understated Estelle Parsons.While the psychological undertones are there, the action is not delineated, it starts with a good suspense premise, but sort of tapers to a slow end. Look for veteran actor Henry Olek as disenfranchised hippie, Jerry the leader ostensibly is a Charles Manson-like cult figure. Although other than their garb, aimlessness and need for a "family" there is fist-fighting and wrestling, no murder. The theme of "survival of the fittest" is intimated and could have been more explored.I did not grow up in the 70's but have studied the films and actors prevalent at that time. Also the political and economic climate as well as gas lines, recessions layoffs and a popular book my Dad had, "The screwing of the average man". It seems that history repeats itself. We are now in a similar recession, people are getting desperate, the fallout is happening now from another war, disenfranchised people and the poor in America....it goes on. But back to the film. Younger generations including my own have interest in the 70s because like it or not we have to learn from history.Recommended. 8/10.

I remember watching this when it first aired - even then, I thought it was lame. That doesn't mean it's not fun, however. Poor Dennis Weaver, cast as a milquetoast yet again, plays the middle-class head of a rather dull family who take a little vacation on the beach (hence the title). No sooner are they settled than the trouble begins, with Pa, Ma (Estelle Parsons) and the kids (Susan Dey and Kristofer Tabori) victimized by a group of would-be Hippies who make the kids in "Hot Rods To Hell" and "Outrage" seem like Hell's Angels. They spend too much time playing idiotic "mind games" with the family, who are apparently too terrified (or too stupid) to simply pack up, jump in the car and head home. Oh yes, Papa is a pacifist unlike the son, who thinks he's a coward, but events will bring Dad around. There are no characterizations beyond this. Parsons, who looks frumpy and tired, just whines throughout. Dey looks fetching, but adds little (dramatic) substance and Tabori is simply there to egg Dad on. As for the hippies, they have no motivation at all, let alone credibility. This is very rarely seen these days, but, as bad movies go, it's well worth looking out for, even though it may not sound like it here.And You really haven't lived until you hear Dad Weaver lead his family in a mind-bending rendition of ''I went to the animal fair''(?). Remember,however, a picture is worth a thousand words and "Terror on the Beach" is quite a picture.

Being born in the 1960's I grew up watching the TV "Movies of the Week" in the early 70's and loved the creepy movies that were routinely shown including "Crowhaven Farm", "Bad Ronald", "Satan's School for Girls", "Kolchak the Night Stalker", etc, but this one is just plain dumb.This is obviously the writer's trying to capitalize on the horrific Manson murders from a few years earlier. The movie stars Dennis Weaver of "McCloud" and "Duel" fame as a father who takes his family camping on a beach. The family encounters some hippies who for some reason decide to terrorize the family. The reason for this is never explained, and Weaver's pacifistic stance is hard to swallow. For God's sake, call the police, beat the hell of them or something, just don't sit there and whine about it. The acting is pretty lame, the story unbelievable, etc. Susan Dey looks cute in a bikini but that's about it. Ignore this if it ever airs on TV.