A sheriff investigates why the guests at a local hostelry check in but never check out.A sheriff investigates why the guests at a local hostelry check in but never check out.A sheriff investigates why the guests at a local hostelry check in but never check out.
Judith Anderson
- Caroline Straulle
- (as Dame Judith Anderson)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaActress Carla Hoogeveen, who played Beverley, also starred in writer-producer-director Terry Bourke's previous picture Night of Fear (1973). This movie was their final feature film collaboration.
- GoofsBiscayne is handcuffed, but when he was shot in the showdown with Kincaid, the handcuff comes off of his left wrist.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Flicks: Episode #1.17 (1975)
Featured review
Down-under motel hell is a best western tale of terror
I first saw 'Inn of the Damned' years ago then caught it again recently and I'm pleased to report having only grown more fond of this quirky Australian western-horror, a highly original one-of-a-kind tale featuring a cast so talented and diverse it simply can't miss.
Director Bourke seizes the opportunity to spend an ample budget (a record at the time in Oz) on building an elaborate mystery, the characters afforded more depth than usual, in particular Cord's likeable Dirty Harry-esque bushranger hunter who becomes suspicious of the old Inn after a disappearance. Dame Judith Anderson and Joseph Furst are both first-rate as the reclusive inn-keepers guarding a harrowing secret, and there's even space for both John Meillon AND Michael Craig in the deeper-than-expected casting.
It's essentially a horror movie set in 1890s outback, so whilst there's horse chases, stagecoaches and spurs in abundance, it's still a bona fide thriller delivering well-timed shocks and some ghastly make-up effects.
Initially I felt the film was perhaps 20 mins longer than needed, but I came to appreciate the character backstories including the victims (often depicted simply as bait for an opportunistic killer). Instead we've an assortment of eccentric lodgers each bringing their own sordid situations into the orbit of the senile serial killers.
Special mentions also go to local stage actor & playwright Robert Quilter as the despicable vagrant-criminal Biscayne, and then the Diana Dangerfield (Brisbane-based theatre actress & playwright)/ Carla Hoogeveen (also seen in Bourke's earlier anthology 'Night of Fear') lesbian love triangle was an unexpected detour which despite the salaciousness, felt more art-house than exploitation due to the capable performances.
Overall I can understand the criticisms at the film's perceived padding, but realistically there's plenty of blood-letting at regular intervals and if you invest in the characters, there's a tense, unsettling climax to make the wait worthwhile.
Director Bourke seizes the opportunity to spend an ample budget (a record at the time in Oz) on building an elaborate mystery, the characters afforded more depth than usual, in particular Cord's likeable Dirty Harry-esque bushranger hunter who becomes suspicious of the old Inn after a disappearance. Dame Judith Anderson and Joseph Furst are both first-rate as the reclusive inn-keepers guarding a harrowing secret, and there's even space for both John Meillon AND Michael Craig in the deeper-than-expected casting.
It's essentially a horror movie set in 1890s outback, so whilst there's horse chases, stagecoaches and spurs in abundance, it's still a bona fide thriller delivering well-timed shocks and some ghastly make-up effects.
Initially I felt the film was perhaps 20 mins longer than needed, but I came to appreciate the character backstories including the victims (often depicted simply as bait for an opportunistic killer). Instead we've an assortment of eccentric lodgers each bringing their own sordid situations into the orbit of the senile serial killers.
Special mentions also go to local stage actor & playwright Robert Quilter as the despicable vagrant-criminal Biscayne, and then the Diana Dangerfield (Brisbane-based theatre actress & playwright)/ Carla Hoogeveen (also seen in Bourke's earlier anthology 'Night of Fear') lesbian love triangle was an unexpected detour which despite the salaciousness, felt more art-house than exploitation due to the capable performances.
Overall I can understand the criticisms at the film's perceived padding, but realistically there's plenty of blood-letting at regular intervals and if you invest in the characters, there's a tense, unsettling climax to make the wait worthwhile.
helpful•20
- Chase_Witherspoon
- Dec 31, 2022
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- A$417,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 58 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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