Customer Reviews

Terror Peak

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Volcanic scientist Janet Fraser (Lynda Carter) and her new husband Kevin (Parker Stevenson) are off to New Zealand for their honeymoon. Along for the ride is Janet's daughter Melanie (Emily Barclay) whose approval for their new marriage Janet and Kevin are struggling to gain. Kevin is a travel agent who is looking for exciting new prospects for his clients, and when he hears of an adventure camp at the base of a long dormant volcano at the north end of the island called Mount Extreme, he takes his family there to try it out. Patrick, the owner of the camp, explains that the original natives of New Zealand, the Maori, still claim the land that the camp is on, and warn that the mountain, which in their ancient tongue is called Momatenamantico, or "Terror Peak", is a danger to all. When Janet, whose first husband was the victim of an earlier deadly eruption she ignored in the Phillippines, sees that the danger is real, she tries to get the camp evacuated and warn the neighboring towns, but is ignored by all. But when the volcano erupts, trapping her daughter Emily and a local guide Jason (Anthony Starr) in one of the volcano's caves, Kevin personally tries to save them while Janet organizes a larger hair-raising rescue attempt by helicopter.

This is a good family-orientated film that is exciting as well as shot in one of the most beautiful islands in the South Pacific. Lynda Carter, Parker Stevenson, and Emily Barclay do a fine job of acting in coming to grips with their personal demons including guilt, personal illness and jealousy to try to save their family and others whilst caught in one of the most terrifying kinds of natural disasters. There is also the aspect of the Maori culture, not well known in many parts of the world, that tries to show the respect due to the earth, and how the earth can sometimes threaten its'inhabitants.

I am a disaster movie buff, and for a good disaster, I can forgive a lot. But Terror Peak doesn't make the cut, by a wide margin. The story is disheveled, with very little glimpse of good volcano activity, and too much running around scared and "human concern". There is only one really good scene, where three people are darting among small ground explosions caused by gaz bursts, trying to get to safety. The whole part of Melanie and the guide stuck in a cave, running up and down for an exit, with vapor and fumes amok, is laughably contrived, and drags on for much too long. See Dante's Peak for a much better volcano pic.

There's little to tax the mind with this faux-disaster movie, it plays everything straight forward. A mother (Lynda Carter ) and daughter (Emily Barclay) accompany mom's new husband (Parker Stevenson) on a business trip. They just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and a volcano erupts....while they're still on/in it. What was supposed to be a bonding experience soon becomes a rescue mission. Stepdad has to save his stepdaughter and her hiking buddy before the lava gets to them. It's a foregone conclusion as to what happens; this was a family film, barely a notch above an After School Special, there was no high body count (only one body that I can recall).
I don't know why the DVD synopsis tried to make more of it than the movie's plot allows by calling the husband and wife "a thrill-seeking couple." It was a lousy business trip gone bad. They weren't there to defy the mountain gods or make a honeymoon of it. This was a couple in their 50's; the husband had asthma for pity sake, barely in condition to make a rescue never mind anything risky like mountain climbing for the fun of it.
The only thing worth watching in this movie were some of the lead actors, otherwise, it was pretty low-key: a pleasant time waster. The only major distraction was Emily Barclay's obnoxious performance as the pouty daughter. She spent most of the movie either scowling or screaming. A little of that goes a long way.
Surprisingly, I decided to keep this movie for future viewing. I like Lynda Carter & Parker Stevenson and it was nice to see them act again. It would also have been nice to see them work with better material but you have to take what you can get. When you can get it.

It's Got Lynda Carter in it! OK, OK, I am a huge Lynda Carter fan and anything with her in it will get my attention, if not me buying a copy of it! A bit predictable but... It's Got Lynda Carter in it! }:o)