The Unknown Terror
| The Unknown Terror | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster. | |
| Directed by | Charles Marquis Warren |
| Produced by | Charles Marquis Warren |
| Written by | Kenneth Higgins |
| Starring |
John Howard Mala Powers |
| Music by | Raoul Kraushaar |
| Cinematography | Joseph F. Biroc |
| Edited by | Michael Luciano |
Production company | |
Release dates |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Unknown Terror is a 1957 American science fiction/horror film. The film was written by Kenneth Higgins and directed by Charles Marquis Warren. (The original working title was Beyond Terror.) The film was theatrically released in 1957 on a double bill with Back from the Dead.
Plot
The mysterious disappearance of Jim Wheatley, while exploring the "cave of the dead" near a Mexican village, brings his sister, Gina, and her husband, Dan Matthews, to the territory to search for him. Embittered, crippled Pete Morgan insists on going along and reminds Dan that his condition is Dan's fault since it happened in an accident in which Pete saved Dan's life. Plus, Gina was Pete's sweetheart before the accident.
Things become tense when native wife Concha arranges for the men to be led to a place where they can hear the voices of the dead crying from beneath the earth. While they are gone, a grotesque, demented man apparently covered with a foamy fungus attacks Gina and chases her into the jungle.
This creature is run off, but the party determines to find a way to the source of the underground sounds. They do, and find a cave filled with a fast-growing parasitic fungus, some humans who come into contact with it and been turned into monsters, and a stairwell leading to the house of the thuggish researcher, who in fact has created this monster-making fungus artificially and does not plan to stop experimenting with it.
Cast
Starring:
- John Howard as Dan Matthews
- Mala Powers as Gina Matthews
- Paul Richards as Peter Morgan
- Gerald Milton as Dr. Ramsey
Featuring:
- May Wynn as Concha Ramsey
- Duane Gray as Lino
- Gerald Gilden as Raoul Koom
- Sir Lancelot as Sir Lancelot
And:
- Patrick O'Moore as Dr. Willoughby
- William Hamel as Mr. Trainor
- Charles Postal as Higgs the Butler
- Martin Garralaga as Old Villager
- Charles Gray as Jim Wheatley