Terror At The Red Wolf Inn — Terror At The Red Wolf Inn(DVD)
Terror At The Red Wolf Inn (aka Terror House) sits somewhere between mystery, low-key horror, pitch-black comedy, and proto-slasher. The early 1970s film features a selection of quirky to low-key sinister characters, a feeling of building unease/ foreboding, and some neat moments of creepiness/ darting terror. Here from Cheezy Movies is a recent bare-bones region free DVD of the film.
Terror At The Red Wolf Inn (Club Dead, Terror on the Menu, Terror House) is from the year 1972. And was largely filmed in & around an 1800's California coastal mansion. It was directed by Bud Townsend- who between the late 1960s and mid-1980s made nine films. Going from wax museum-based horror Nightmare in Wax (1969), onto adult fantasy Alice in Wonderland: An X-Rated Musical Fantasy(1976). Though to sports comedy Coach (1978), and softcore drama Love Scenes (1984).
The version we have here runs at one hour & seventeen minutes- according to IMDB there is a one & a half an hour version too- and this would certainly make sense, as there is little gore or violence- even though it’s still a most engaging watch.
The film kicks off on a sunny day in the city- as we see slightly kooky ‘n’ quirky college student Regina(Linda Gillen) riding her bike back to her tower block apartment. She finds there a letter informing her she’s won a prize- though she hasn’t entered a competition. She rings the number on the letter- to be told she won a holiday- a taxi picks her up, she gets on a plane, and the next thing she lands at a small airport in the dark. Here she is met by ‘baby’ John Smith(John Neilson) an early twenty-something- who seems quiet-if-nice enough- though on the way to their destination, he speeds, getting chased by the police, then hides from them.
They arrive at the coastside mansion to be greeted by Arthur(Henry Smith) & Evenly( Mary Jackson)- who are apparently John’s grandparents. He tends & talks to plants, while she loves cooking for their guests. Also at the mansion are three other guests- who are of a similar age to Regina- most notable of these being African-American bookworm Edwina (Margreta Avery).
The group sit down to eat, and both Arthur & Evenly seem the perfect hosts- filling their guests with food, booze, and merriment. However, the meat they are eating looks rather human ribcage-like. And as the days go by one guest leaves after another- seemingly in the middle of the night.
It’s not too much of a spoiler/giveaway- as the film's poster/ tagline (Guess what we're having for dinner?) gives away that what we’re dealing with here is cannibals. Though as mentioned earlier- it’s largely done in a rather tame/ PG manner.
Acting-wise both Smith & Jackson are excellent as the initially seemingly kind & caring 60-something couple- each slowly but surely showing their quirkier & creepy sides. Neilson is most effective as man-child John- who at points has decidedly odd/ scary turns- like the mentioned speeding & later on beating/ then punching a shark(this is rather unpleasant if you’re an animal lover- though it’s largely shown off screen/ brief). And Gillen is good as the naïve yet curious Regina- who slowly but surely figures out what’s going on.
On the more atmospheric/ light horror side of things, we get some effectively tense scenes of characters looking around the mansion and its outbuildings. Later on, we have a few jarring jolts, and an instant of drugged body being carried through the nighttime mansion is most creepily effective. With the whole thing resolving with an effective chase sequence, and a neat enough twist in its tail- as the set out like- a-menu- credit rolls.
I’ve been aware of this film’s title for many years and always fancied checking it. And I must say I was pleasantly surprised- as it’s a really very engaging, well-acted, at points tense to darkly comic ride of a film. And it predated the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre by two years- in its portrayal of a cannibalistic family.
Moving onto this DVD- we get an okay-looking VHS print of the film- which is largely fairly bold/well-defined. Sure, there are a few moments of print damage here & there- but nothing too drastic. As with all Cheezy Movies we only get trailers as extras on the film- though of course, this is a budget title retailing just under the $10.00 mark.
So, in finishing if you’re a fan of 1970s exploitation that hovers around the mystery, horror, and proto-slasher genres Terror At The Red Wolf Inn is most certainly something you’ll be wanting to check out. Another most worthwhile release from the folks at Cheezy Movies.