Casa do Terror

"A college student returns to her dorm room after class and discovers she is the winner of an all-expense paid vacation to the Red Wolf Inn. Before she can share her good fortune with her parents, she and two other girls are whisked away to begin their vacation of a lifetime. When one of the guests suddenly disappears, the young woman doesn't believe the explanation the old couple who run the inn gives her concerning the strange goings on at the Red Wolf," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.

Offering a delicious slice of low-budget horror cheese; director Bud Townsend and writer Allen Actor, along with a wonderful cast, should absolutely exceed your expectations. There are some flaws, and unanswered questions -- like, what happened to Myrtle? -- but, "Terror House" is too fun to pass up.

Linda Gillen (as Regina McKee) plays a sweet, adorable lead character; and, doesn't she have a great arrangement of The Beatles' "White Album" photos on her dorm wall? John Neilson (as "Baby" John Smith) is just as adorable, albeit touched; love him licking his finger after going for the bottle of after dinner brandy. It's a wonder neither Ms. Gillen nor Mr. Neilson became better known; they certainly had the hair to succeed through the 1980s.

Players in tasty supporting roles include overeating Margaret Avery (as Edwina), hortophile Arthur Space (as Henry), and well-read Janet Wood (as Pamela). But, the best of all may be marvelous "Grandma" Mary Jackson (as Evelyn Smith); her performance definitely is one to savor. Like Ms. Jackson says, "Don't be a party pooper!" Mind your "Grandma", and give yourself a big helping of "Terror House".

****** Terror House (1972) Bud Townsend ~ Linda Gillen, John Neilson, Mary Jackson

The Folks at Red Wolf Inn mixes cannibalism and comedy together surprisingly effectively. Regina (Linda Gillin) is the young student who win an holiday at the Red Wolf Inn, run by a nice old couple (Arthur Space and Mary Jackson). They have a somewhat retarded young grandson, about 18 years old, known as Baby John (John Neilson). It starts out wonderful for Regina, who really enjoys her stay and the wonderful food she is served. When the other young guests starts to disappear, Regina discovers that the nice old couple and Baby John is in fact carnivorous cannibals. She try to escape, but is caught and brought back. Baby John falls in love with the doomed girl and tries to help her escape, but they are caught.

"Baby John Smith," Grandma Evelyn angrily scolds him, "you've been a bad boy, get the belt !!" Baby John gets the belt and hands it over to Grandma Evelyn. Here we quickly understands that Baby John has been through this before... Without being told, as Grandma Evelyn stands with the belt in her hand, watching, Baby John pull down his trousers and pants. He bends over the front of the car they tried to escape in and put his hands at the far edge of the front of the car.

Grandma Evelyn stands beside him, lifts up the tail of his shirt that has been concealing his bare bottom. She raises her arm in the air, then : "SMACK", as she slap the belt down across his bare bottom. She gives him nine slaps. During the spanking scene, the camera shifts from Baby John's embarrassed face as he's looks at the startled Regina, standing in front of him.

After she has spanked him, she orders him to get in the house. He refuses, grabs Regina and runs away. The old couple run after them with their big mean dog, not intent on letting their dinner run away...! I have not given away the ending !! There are more, but this I can't tell...

For those of us that loved the low-budget cult movie horror circus of the early 1970s....this is black comedy in a manner that quite simply doesn't excist anymore...Thanks mainly to excellent playing by the entire cast and a fair amount of genuine wit, as opposed to gross humour, the film actually works as that most difficult of generic hybrids, the horror comedy. Young John Neilson as Baby John makes a disturbing mix of horror and comic relief, including his hilarious spanking scene. Notice that the final credits are presented in the form of a menu. It`s another forgotten low budget horror classic from the glorious days of the early 70s, the decade when they really knew how to make low budget horror classics.

The first time I saw ANY footage of this film was when I was looking through junk reels of 35mm film. There were only two reels of it, but I figured with a title like "Terror at Red Wolf Inn", it had to be worth sampling. At 40 minutes, the film ran out through the projector and I was hooked. It was almost an entire year before I tracked down a copy of this film on video.

This film has a great nutty charm that, if you're not careful, you may take too seriously. It involves a lonely girl who gets a letter saying she's won a vacation to the titular resort. All of the arrangements are laid out for her, down to a private plane to fly her there. Upon arriving, she meets the inhabitants of the Inn. There's an old couple, their semi-retarded grandson and two cute fellow guests. They're treated to three hearty squares a day and incredibly bizarre parties. The girls are encouraged to eat and eat, but they're not allowed to help serve the food or enter the always locked walk in cooler...

The film is a black comedy with a lot of style. It's extremely easy to see where the film is headed (I caught it in the first reel), but I don't think that's supposed to be an extremely clever plot twist, just a framework to let know-it-all horror fans revel in their superiority. Thing is, once the average horror film viewer thinks he/she knows what's coming, THAT'S when the rug is pulled out from under them. I could never quite guess exactly what was going to happen. The film alludes to things constantly while delivering plot points that don't turn out exactly as one may think they would.

The acting is great and the cast seems to be having a lot of fun in their roles, especially Linda Gillin, who nails her character fabulously as a lonely college girl eager to make friends and find romance.

The scenes to watch out for are the screamingly funny "shark" scene, the abduction of the character of Edwina, which uses a music box lullaby to an extremely creepy extent and the climax/punchline of the film, a denouement that, while totally implausible, is quite unexpected.

It's funny that no one talks about this film much considering how much "Motel Hell" has ripped it off. Worth finding and savoring.

Last note, take special attention to the end credits. They compliment the film to a "T"!

Wow. Haha, this one rulez. The version I saw was called TERROR ON THE MENU and made me think twice about that Subway sandwich I had squirreled away for a late night snack ... Eww. This is a nice, subtle little Regional Horror/Comedy effort who's nuances may elude modern day audiences (re: the morons who liked stuff like CHAOS or SAW) but movie fans with a taste for the bizarre and a morbid sense of humor will be well served. Ladled in pun.

THE PLOT: A young circa 1972 era Earth Mother type college babe finds out on the last day of classes that she has been selected the "winner" of an all expenses paid getaway vacation to the Red Wolf Inn, a picturesque Bed & Breakfast on the coast run by an older couple who are the very definition of Ma & Pa Kettle. Some other young ladies are also staying as guests, and after a very elaborate dinner party one of them vanishes. Then another. She starts to get the idea that something is wrong, especially when the grandson of the family catches a shark at the beach one day and proceeds to beat the thing to death against a rock.

That's all I am going to reveal, except to heap praise on that first dinner party, one of the most outrageous cinematic eating experiences since the Eyeball Soup and Chilled Monkey Brains gags from Indiana Jones. The best part of it is the way that the characters chew their food. They don't just masticate, they linger over every mouthful with Pa Kettle stuffing his jowly cheeks with bite after bite of fresh rib tenderloin to the point where he starts to hyperventilate. He chews and chews and chews with an almost orgasmic pleasure that is not just disturbing, it is obscene. They eat and eat and eat until everyone is stuffed and exhausted from the effort ... And then it is time for a slice of that special Key Lime cake. Oh yeah.

This is one of those movies that you are either going to get or you won't. My favorite bit of dialog is when Ma Kettle brings the young guest a plate of sandwiches. She bites down, savoring the special flavor and asks, "What is this?" "Fillet, my dear. Fillet." Lead Linda Gillen is also a bit of subtle mastery, having a kind of quiet sexiness about her that is extremely infectious + kissable, and Ma & Pa Kettle are just the spittin' image of wholesome Americana. They are all about sit down dinners, Sunday afternoon drives, garden chores and old fashioned telephones. Everything in the movie is the perfect display of harmless tradition right down to their grandson and his cousin, the local sheriff. Some folks these days might not understand but if you bring your appetite and finish your plate, I am sure you'll feel right at home. It's like David Lynch crossed with that old TV series V.

The only problem I had with the film is the last 2 seconds after the hilarious closing credits: The filmmakers decided to try and have their cake and eat it too, so to speak, though any movie this perversely good natured gets a pass for not knowing when to quit. Pass the salt.

8/10

Brad Pitt look-alike John Neilson plays Baby John, the twenty-something grandson of elderly couple Evelyn (Jackson) and Henry (Space) who run a quaint seaside bed & breakfast sinisterly named the "Red Wolf Inn" where the menu is expansive in both volume and origin. Baby John takes a liking to one of the three nubile young house guests invited to holiday at the inn after supposedly winning a competition. Mysteriously, two of the girls disappear without saying goodbye leading the third (Gillen) to suspect that the overly gracious hospitality is not all as it seems.

Director Townsend has fashioned a reasonably taut thriller with a capable cast led by newcomer Gillen, as the perky yet naive college student duped into the darkest depravities of a twisted old couple and their behaviourally immature grandson. Jackson and Space manage their quirky characterisations with seasoned professionalism, Neilson is a twisted yet somewhat sympathetic man-child, and the supporting cast including Margaret Avery and Michael MacReady add familiarity, but it's Gillen's engaging personality that is the real surprise package.

While no longer an original concept, and not quite a masterpiece, in 1972 it was a pioneering concept, well handled with enough drama, humour, horror and realism to punch above its relative bantam weight. My only gripe is with the farcical conclusion, by which I felt somewhat cheated; despite the curious ending, it's not a comedy, which more than a few chilling moments will attest, and entertain.