''Inn of the Damned'' is a 1975

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

, directed by Terry Bourke. It has been called Australia's first "horror Western".

Plot

In 1896, a crazed woman and her husband run an inn in eastern Victoria and take revenge for the deaths of their children years before. Cal Kincaid, an American bounty hunter, arrives to investigate recent murders and puts an end to the killing.

Cast

Judith Anderson Dame Frances Margaret Anderson, (10 February 18973 January 1992), known professionally as Judith Anderson, was an Australian actress who had a successful career in stage, film and television. A pre-eminent stage actress in her era, she won two ...

as Caroline Straulle *

Alex Cord Alexander Viespi Jr. (May 3, 1933 – August 9, 2021), known professionally as Alex Cord, was an American actor, best known for his portrayal of Michael Coldsmith Briggs III, better known as Archangel, in 55 episodes of the television series ''A ...

as Cal Kincaid * Michael Craig as Paul Melford *Robert Quilter as Biscayne *

Joseph Furst Joseph Fürst (13 February 1916 – 29 November 2005) was an Austrian-born international film and television actor known for his English language roles in Britain and Australia, after first appearing on the Canadian stage. Career Fürst was r ...

as Lazar Straulle *

Tony Bonner Anthony Frederick Bonner (born 23 November 1943) is an Australian television, film and stage actor and singer. Bonner became famous in the 1960s children's television series '' Skippy the Bush Kangaroo'', later moving on to lead roles in the ...

as Trooper Moore *

John Meillon John Meillon, ( ; 1 May 1934 – 11 August 1989), was an Australian character actor, known for many straight as well as comedy roles, he became most widely known internationally as Walter Reilly in the films ''Crocodile Dundee'' and ''Crocodil ...

as George Parr

Production

Like Bourke's previous feature, ''

Night of Fear "Night of Fear" is the debut single by British rock band the Move, written by Roy Wood. The song was first released on 9 December 1966, and reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart on 26 January 1967, staying for ten weeks in the charts. "Night ...

'', the film was originally a one-hour script intended for a projected TV series, ''Fright''. It was filmed in the

Mangrove Mountain Mangrove Mountain is a suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, located about upstream and north of Spencer along Mangrove Creek. Culture The Central Coast Soaring Club is located near Mangrove Mountain. The club c ...

region of the NSW Central Coast and at Artransa Studios in Sydney. Filming began in November 1973 and took nine weeks but the film was not released until late in 1975. Shooting was marred by disputes between the producers and its principal investor,

Australian Film Development Corporation The Australian Film Development Corporation was an organisation created and funded by the Australian Government in the 1970s, intended to allow filmmakers in the Australian film industry to create movies for everyone to see. In 1975 it was repla ...

.Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, ''Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production'', Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, p 295 At the time it was the most expensive local film made in Australia.

Release

Critical reception

AllMovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...

called it "more odd than good", and "best viewed as a curiosity."

DVD Verdict DVD Verdict was a judicial-themed website for DVD reviews. The site was founded in 1999. The editor-in-chief was Michael Stailey, who owned the website between 2004 and 2016, and the site employed a large editorial staff of critics, whose reviews ...

wrote, "as curiosities go, this Australian horror

(?) from the early '70s definitely deserves some attention."

Home video

The film was released on DVD alongside 1972 Australian horror film ''

'' (also directed by Bourke) by Umbrella Entertainment on 16 March 2005. This combo was re-released for Blu-ray on 09 November 2022 as volume 20 of Umbrella's

Ozploitation Ozploitation films are exploitation films – a category of low-budget horror, comedy, sexploitation and action films – made in Australia after the introduction of the R rating in 1971. The year also marked the beginnings of the Australian ...

collection.

References

External links

* *
''Inn of the Damned''
at Oz Movies {{Terry Bourke 1975 films 1975 horror films 1970s Western (genre) horror films Australian Western (genre) horror films Films set in 1896 Films set in colonial Australia Films set in hotels Films set in Victoria (Australia) Films shot in Sydney Works about bounty hunters 1970s English-language films Films directed by Terry Bourke