CRUISE INTO TERROR (1978) Reviews and overview

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Cruise Into Terror – aka Voyage Into Evil – is a 1978 American made-for-television horror film directed by Bruce Kessler (Deathmoon; Kolchak: The Night Stalker; Simon, King of the Witches) from a screenplay by Michael Braverman. The movie stars Dirk Benedict, Frank Converse, John Forsythe and Christopher George.

Gerald Fried (Maneaters Are Loose!; Survive!; The Baby) contributed a suitably strident score.

An Egyptian sarcophagus, recovered from the sea in the Gulf of Mexico, contains the son of Satan, and its effects start to make the passengers of a small ship behave strangely…

Reviews:

“Thanks to its low budget, most of the shenanigans are filmed at the dock or on threadbare sets that seldom resemble the location that they cut to, and padded out with fog, flashing lights, hammy dialog, mismatched stock footage of lagoons, sharks, wavy horizons and a coral reef – all of which do nothing but add silly charm to the laughably plotted goings-on.” DF Dresden, Are You in the House Alone?, Headpress, 2016

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“Amid much eye-rolling, mumble-mouthed dialogue and really terrible acting (Christopher George, as a business man who wants to sell the artifacts for big bucks, is the worst), my all-time favourite moment is when the sarcophagus starts to breath like an inflating/deflating balloon whenever it is threatened or trying to influence somebody (such as the repressed/horny Meriwether).” David Churchill, Critics At Large

“A bunch of past their prime actors bicker over what to do with a Sarcophagus (sell it, throw it offboard, burn it?). Occasionally someone dies, and later we learn the devil’s son is on board. I’ve seen my share of 70’s made for TV horror and this is certainly above average when it comes to entertainment value even if its entirely in a so bad it’s good manner.” Fulci 420, Letterboxd

“The cast has a whale of a time with the subject matter and while the jolts are few, this one is not nearly as bad as you may have heard. Any contrived chiller with the likes of both Georges, Stella Stevens and Ray Milland can’t be all bad…” The Terror Trap

Cast and characters:

  • Dirk Benedict … Simon McLane – Demon KeeperSssssss
  • Frank Converse … Matt Lazarus – The Haunting of RosalindDoctor Cook’s Garden
  • John Forsythe … Reverend Charles Mather – Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles TV series
  • Christopher George … Neal Barry
  • Lynda Day George … Sandra Barry – Mortuary; It Happened at Lakewood Manor; Day of the Animals; et al
  • Jo Ann Harris … Judy Haines – Deadly Games; Goober and the Ghost Chasers; The Beguiled
  • Lee Meriwether … Lil Mather – Hell’s Kitty; The Munsters Today4D Man
  • Ray Milland … Doctor Isiah Bakkun – The Attic; Frogs; The Premature Burial; The Uninvited; et al
  • Roger E. Mosley … Nathan
  • Hugh O’Brian … Captain Andrews – Ten Little Indians; Rocketship X-M
  • Stella Stevens … Marilyn Magnesun – Megaconda; Little Devils: The BirthWacko; The Manitou
  • Hilarie Thompson … Debbie Porter – Killer’s Delight; The Fury; Hex
  • Marshall Thompson … Bennett – Bog; First Man Into Space; Fiend Without a FaceCult of the Cobra; et al
  • Ruben Moreno … Emanuel

Release:

Cruise Into Terror was shown on the ABC network on February 3, 1978

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