The Terror Within

Plot

In a post-apocalyptic future, human survivors are fighting a group of mutant monsters they refer to as "Gargoyles".

Two of these survivors Michael and John are out surveying the world after a chemical or biological attack which left a large portion of the population mutated or dead. The survivors are part of the Mojave Lab and have lost contact with their sister Rocky Mountain Lab.

Over the radio Sue and David hear John and Michael fall under attack from the gargoyles while investigating a large group of buzzards. In order to find John and Michael, David and Linda go out of the bunker but find John and Michael dead. They also find a live girl named Karen who they bring back to their bunker.

While under anesthesia Karen gives birth to a gargoyle which gets loose in the bunker. Hal develops a plan to kill the gargoyle in which Andre and Neil fall prey to the gargoyle. The gargoyle then proceeds to wound David and injure his dog Brutus while also kidnapping Sue with the intentions to reproducing with her.

These creatures reproduce quickly by raping human women and impregnating them. The gestation period is short and deadly. The creatures are very strong and able to heal after some wounds such as burning, beating, and electrical shock. They are vulnerable to the high-pitched frequency of a dog whistle (used by a lead character to ward them off).

Sue becomes impregnated by the gargoyle; she later kills herself via drug overdose. Linda and David then hatch a plan to kill the gargoyle by luring him into the ventilation system where he becomes trapped and falls into a running exhaust fan dismembering him. David and Linda re-establish radio contact with the Rocky Mountain Lab and along with Brutus leave the bunker with a high frequency megaphone to brave the outside world. They lie and wait for a number of gargoyles to enter the open bunker and implode it.

Linda and David leave the bunker; it is implied that they are on their way to the Rocky Mountain Lab. Abortion becomes a topic of debate between the humans when one of the characters is raped by one of the creatures; they are unsure if the woman is pregnant by her human partner or the monster.

Cast

Release

The film was given a limited release theatrically in the United States by Concorde Pictures in January 1989. It grossed $858,591 at the box office.

Joe Bob Biggs called it "a pretty decent new flick... This movie should be required viewing for every member of the Supreme Court. We're talking 17 dead bodies. No breasts. Snake-eating. Bloody fetus monster. Multiple throat-slashing. Giant gargoyle rape. One self-abortion. Exploding sheds. Exploding gargoyles. Gratuitous monster abortion scene, the best one since It's Alive! Buzzard Fu. Crossbow Fu."

The Los Angeles Times said the film "comes out emphatically in support of a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy, if not in all instances, at least in cases of rape by a gooey 9-foot-tall mutant...the only way to enjoy this [film]... s to savor star George Kennedy's badly synced post-production dialogue and think back to his role in the sci-fi cheapie movie-within-the-movie in Albert Brooks' "Modern Romance," which was full of hilarious bits about the perils of film dubbing. Nine years later, thanks to producer Roger Corman, Kennedy really is in that movie."

During a screening of the film in Austin, Texas, a teenager brought a gun to the theatre and shot her friend in the head as an April Fools' joke.

The movie launched a long running collaboration between Corman and Andy Stevens.

The film was released on VHS the same year by MGM Home Entertainment. In 2010 Shout! Factory released the film on DVD, packaged as a double feature with Dead Space as part of the Roger Corman Cult Classics collection.