''Inner Sanctum'' is a 1991

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

erotic Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, scul ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

which stars

Tanya Roberts Tanya Roberts (born Victoria Leigh Blum; October 15, 1949 – January 4, 2021) was an American actress. She played Julie Rogers in the final season of the television series ''Charlie's Angels'' (1980–1981), Stacey Sutton in the James Bond fi ...

Margaux Hemingway Margaux Louise Hemingway (born Margot Louise Hemingway; February 16, 1954 – July 1, 1996) was an American fashion model and actress. She gained success as a supermodel in the mid-1970s, appearing on the covers of magazines including ''Cosmopo ...

Joseph Bottoms Joseph Bottoms is an American actor who won the 1975 Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year for his role in '' The Dove''. He is also well known for his roles in the television mini-series ''Holocaust'' and Disney's '' The Black Hole''. Ca ...

and

Valerie Wildman Valerie Wildman is an American actress and humanitarian. Early life Wildman was born in Miami Beach, to Leslie Ames, a Ford model and the first "Revlon" girl. Wildman holds a master's degree in Counseling. Film career Valerie Wildman’s fi ...

, and was written by

Mark Thomas McGee Mark Thomas McGee (born 1947 in San Gabriel, California) is a screenwriter and author. Most of his movie work was for Fred Olen Ray and Jim Wynorski. Although he played bit parts in some of these movies, he is not an actor and has been confused with ...

and directed by

Fred Olen Ray Fred Olen Ray (born September 10, 1954) is an American film producer, director, and screenwriter of more than 200 low-to-medium-budget feature films in many genres, including Horror film, horror, science fiction, action film, action/adventure f ...

. The film was made for $650,000 and was very successful, leading to Ray making a series of erotic thrillers. "I didn't really know what an erotic thriller was when I did ''Inner Sanctum''", admitted Ray later. "I watched '' Wild Orchid''—fast-forwarded through it, actually—to see what was expected of me."

Plot

Jennifer Reed, heiress to a huge fortune, believes that her husband Baxter, an insurance agent in Los Angeles, is unfaithful to her. Unable to reconcile with it, she takes a full pack of sleeping pills and falls down the stairs. A few weeks later, Jennifer, now in a wheelchair, becomes even more jealous of her husband because he does not spend time with her, giving more attention to nurse Lynn Foster. Foster had previously been responsible for home care of a patient. After the patient died mysteriously, Nurse Foster married the widower, who then also died under mysterious circumstances. Baxter attempts romance with his colleague Anna Rawlins, who does not reciprocate his feelings. Moreover, Baxter suspects that she wants to get rid of his wife. Jennifer discovers that someone has started following her, and her neighbor suspects Lynn. Complicating things, Jennifer carries a million dollar life insurance policy, which policy will not be paid in case of suicide, only murder.

Cast

– Lynn Foster *

– Anna Rawlins *

– Baxter Reed *

– Jennifer Reed * Brett Baxter Clark – Neil Semple * Suzanne Ager – Maureen * Jay Richardson –Lieutenant Wanamaker * William Butler – Jeff Seigel * Ted Newsom – Sergeant Levy

Sequel

The film's success led to a sequel ''Inner Sanctum II'' in 1994, also directed by Fred Ray, and starring

Michael Nouri Michael Nouri (born December 9, 1945) is an American screen and stage actor. He is best known for his television roles, including Dr. Neil Roberts on ''The O.C.'', Phil Grey on ''Damages'', Caleb Cortlandt on ''All My Children'', Eli David in ...

, Tracy Brooks Swope (as Jennifer Reed),

Sandahl Bergman Sandahl Bergman is an American actress and dancer. She is best known for her role as Valeria in the film ''Conan the Barbarian'' (1982), for which she won a Golden Globe and a Saturn Award. Early life Bergman was born in Kansas City, Mis ...

David Warner David or Dave Warner may refer to: Sports * Dave Warner (strongman) (born 1969), Northern Ireland strongman competitor * David Bruce Warner (born 1970), South African alpine skier * David Warner (cricketer) (born 1986), Australian cricketer Oth ...

, and

(reprising her role of Anna Rawlins).

References

External links

* * * 1991 films 1991 crime thriller films Films directed by Fred Olen Ray American crime thriller films 1990s erotic thriller films American erotic thriller films 1991 drama films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films {{1990s-crime-film-stub