BootDigest
Such a frustrating disappointment
Dorathen
Better Late Then Never
Manthast
Absolutely amazing
Chase_Witherspoon
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.
Coventry
It's really enchanting to see how simple-minded the set-up of certain 70's horror movies is. "Terror House", for example, is so incredibly charming but simultaneously effective and even a bit disturbing. Regina is a college girl who one day receives a letter claiming that she has won a holiday in the Red Wolf Inn resort and, boom, she's off no question asked. She receives a warm welcome from the elderly landlady and her husband, and the son Baby John is quite the cute wild-child who likes to drive over people's fences and chases away from cops for fun. There are two other young female guests and the food is absolutely delicious! The film illustrates the "yumminess" of the food through filming six people feasting from a buffet for five whole minutes. Naturally the clue of the film is revealed at that point already, but you won't mind too much because everything is so cheerful and the performances are so vivid! Regina has the time of her life, stuffing herself with excellent food and falling head over heels in love with Baby John even though he jumps out of refrigerators holding butcher knives in his hand from time to time, and she doesn't pay any attention to the little things that aren't kosher around the house. Isn't it a bit odd that the landlady insists for the girls to weigh themselves after each breakfast? Or that the phone is out of order all the time? Only when the second girl leaves the Red Wolf Inn without saying goodbye, supposedly like a thief in the night, Regina finally becomes suspicious and tries to use her charms to her away from the place. "Terror House" is a pleasantly deranged early 70's shocker with a nice twist on the typical crazy family plot. The film is very low budget, but this is largely compensated through the enthusiasm, goodwill and energy provided by everyone involved in the production. The last supper sequence is terrific and suitably macabre, with chopped off feet floating in the soup bowl and that sort of stuff. Stay seated also for the cute and original menu-styled end credits!
Hitchcoc
A couple of the people in this movie can act. The rest are just abysmal. There are so many unresolved issues and so much lack of information that the whole thing drops from its own weight. It's the kind of story that might have been featured in one of those Creepshow episodes or some old anthology thing. As a movie, it gets caught in the sludge. A young college student is tricked into going on a vacation, all expenses paid. She even gets to travel in a private jet. Where do these people get all the money. Unfortunately, when she gets there, she is staying with a group of people who eat their guests. About one third of the movie takes place at a dinner table. Of course, our being in on it makes it repulsive. The young woman tries to get away, but does a bad job of it. Of course, the grandpa cares about his plants a bit. There's also the handsome psychotic grandson who likes girls but doesn't want to mess up the menu. If this sounds dumb, I'm not giving it half its due. There was a certain atmosphere about late sixties/early seventies schlock horror. Maybe it's the smell of cheap. Anyway, nothing much to recommend this.
pumaye
This is a sort of tame, really tame version of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, with a young girl winning a voyage to Red Wolf Inn, hosted by a weird couple of elder husband and wife, with a not so bright grandson.She will find more than she bargained for. For today standards the movie is slow, boring, really silly, but with the usual photography of the movies of that era, a mark of the period, perhaps the only interesting thing of this movie. This is the kind of movie that you are normally unsure if you really want to watch it, but when it is finally the time to watch it you regret it. Definitely
