I have an unhealthy appreciation for Roger Corman's films. While it's true that the man makes more commercial product than transcendent art, there's an honesty to it. Corman has never pretended that his films were anything more than cheaply made diversions, the B-film playing at the drive-in while folks either grab a drink, a snog, or just drive away to beat the crowd. Rather than delude himself or put on a facade of being some misunderstood genius, like a Uwe Boll, Corman wisely leaned into his real talent as a budget-savvy producer and a mentor for younger artists. Much like Ed Wood's famous use of an ailing Bela Lugosi as a lightning rod of production value and legitimacy, this film is Corman's "Gallant" to that "Goofus" of a concept.

The Terror is not the most well-remembered of Corman's in-betweener movies--films made possible by shaving off a few thousand dollars from a larger product and recycling sets and actors to essentially make s…