TERROR AT RED WOLF INN (1972) Directed by Bud Townsend
Academy VHS
THE FILM
When one of those generic sweepstakes mailers arrives in your mailbox, promising free vacations or heaps of money, leave the phone on the hook. Let's face it. If Ed McMahon's puss is nowhere to be found, you're going to be up poop creek. Miss Regina McKee, you really need to get out more.
Released theatrically as The Folks At Red Wolf Inn and seeing a handful of cut 80s video releases under numerous titles, Terror At Red Wolf Inn follows wide-eyed college student Regina from dorm to jet to cake. Lots of it. Subsequently, director Bud Townsend (Nightmare In Wax) delivers a snarky little exercise in atmosphere that almost gets everything right. I hope you like food.
In a dorm room displaying Jean-Paul Belmundo and Beatles posters, naive Regina opens a sweepstakes invitation for a free vacation. She calls the number. Big mistake. Arriving at Red Wolf Inn, that charming gothic beach resort, Regina meets the crew. Evelyn, old lady of the house; Henry, Evelyn's plant-loving husband; Baby John, the old couple's man-child grandson; buxom Pamela, a guest ("Hello, I'm a model."); ginchy Edwina, the other guest ("I like books!"). Evelyn cooks a gigantic feast, consisting of ribs, corn, cake, booze, and a suite of Pomp and Circumstance. Henry gets orgasmic. You'll probably be grossed out. As the film moves along, we find that Pamela has mysteriously disappeared after her final night party. Then Edwina. We also learn that shark violence, trippy cake-filled dreams, and drinking brandy all lead to falling in love. So what's in the old meat locker, which "never gets used"? People gots to eat. Maybe pretty girls taste better than most.
For all its faults (languid pace, inconsistent tone, a campy wrap up that almost kills the whole thing), Terror At Red Wolf Inn is surprisingly regal. The combination of little explanation, musty locations, and off-kilter editing produces a restless anxiety that fills in the cracks when other elements don't. You never really know what's coming, so the slight weirdness that erupts along the way seems all the more effective as a result. Granted, this is a pretty low budget film, stuck between the trappings of a TV snoozer and the appeal of a gritty little horror frolic, but that's not really an issue. Director Townsend seems to make the most with what he's got, throwing in a stylish, blue-tinted climax and frequently interesting shots to deliver the simple plot. No classic, but it tiptoes within a one mile radius.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
According to Fred Adelman at Critical Condition, the print featured on this Academy release is a PG rated cut, shorn of additional violence that appeared in the theatrical release. The cuts are sometimes obvious, but the whole thing looks nicely 70s; sharp, subdued color-wise, and filled with white speckling. The mono sound was just fine.
EXTRAS
Academy, my friend, you have once again fallen off the wagon. I hate to see you like this.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Terror At Red Wolf Inn is a baby step in the movement towards realist horror in the mid 70s, mixing up slight humor and a musty ambiance for a solid night's viewing. Even despite a couple of obvious bumps. Be on the lookout.
— Joseph A. Ziemba, 11.03.05 | 
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