29 March 2024
Terror on the Beach (1973)
74 min.
Directed by Paul Wendkos.
With Dennis Weaver, Estelle Parsons, Susan Dey, Kristoffer Tabori, Scott Hylands, Michael Christian.
The Glynn family is in need of a little downtime so they decide to trek out to a secluded beach for some recuperative seaside recreation.

En route, a gang of ruthless drifters forces the Glynn camper off the road...the die has now been cast.

Once on the beach, the baddies surround the family and initiate a game of psychological terror.

But anti establishment goons always underestimate the strength of besieged suburbanites...and soon begins an energized war of wills and wits!

Well made TV terror (think Race with the Devil, just replace the devil cult with dirty hippies) is nicely acted (especially by Dey and Weaver).

Boasts a few decent scenes, ie the night sequence with the villains scaring the family by blaring various animal sounds through a stereo and then recording their reactions for playback.

The tepid ending stretches credibility though, an unfortunate climax that needed to serve the lowkey suspense better.

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