Inn of the Damned (1975)

Director: Terry Bourke

Writer: Terry Bourke

Composer: Bob Young

Starring: Judith Anderson, Alex Cord, Michael Craig, Joseph Furst, Tony Bonner, John Meillon, John Morris, Robert Quilter

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Murder... Mystery... Madness...

Plot: A sheriff investigates why the guests at a secluded hostelry check in, but never check out.

My rating: 5.5/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

Hmmmm.  I bet this looked a lot better on paper.  In execution, it loses something.  It feels like it was made by a first time director/writer but it's Bourke's fourth or fifth picture.  Bourke adds odd bits of out and out comedy every once in a while and it's completely against the tone of the film.  The music doesn't help, either.  Young composed a nice main theme in the vein of a Spaghetti Western but much of the rest of the score doesn't quite hit the right beats.  Part of it is the orchestration.  Maybe the music budget suffered.  Alex Cord does a fine job and some of the photography looks good but it's the pacing and overall lack of suspense that brings the picture down.  Add some very nice nudity to the plus column.

Dark Age (1987)

Director: Arch Nicholson

Writers: Sonia Borg, Tony Morphett, Grahame Webb

Composer: Danny Beckermann

Starring: John Jarratt, Nikki Coghil, Max Phipps, Burnham Burnham, David Gulpilil, Ray Meagher, Jeff Ashby, Paul Bertram, Ron Blanchard, Gerry Duggan

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Death is only one bite away.

Plot: In Australia's Northern Territory, a massive saltwater crocodile is attacking and killing people. A ranger is assigned to deal with the killer crocodile, but he finds himself at odds with the local Aborigines, who believe the crocodile contains the spirit of their past, and want this Goliath-sized beast preserved. The ranger must work with the Aborigines to develop a plan to respect their wishes as well as protecting the local residents threatened by the crocodile.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again? Probably not.

#36 on my on-going quest to watch every film from the amazing documentary, NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD: THE WILD, UNTOLD STORY OF OZPLOITATION! (2008)

I love Australian films and I'm partial to the many types of JAWS (1975) clones that followed in the wake of that massive hit.  This is one of the better ones. This is such a clone of JAWS that there are even some scenes that copy it and more successfully than I've seen done before.  Remember when Chief Brody caused a panic when he ran toward the beach yelling for everyone to get out of the water?  In this one it's Cathy (Coghill) doing it and you'll instantly recognize the editing, camera shots and people's movement in and out of the line of sight.  It's fucking great.  And what's better?  It ends with a small child getting chomped by the giant croc!!!  It's already a better film, right?  Yup.

This is one of the few JAWS rip offs that I can forgive because there's so much that's different about it in the location, animal, the use of the Aborigines and the final act of the film.  They make it their own.  The score doesn't work for me and part of that is the cheap sound of the 80s synthesizer.  There are a great number of scenes that don't have any music which was a pleasant surprise.  Some of the action cues are hokey.  If this sounds like your type of flick then it is.  It's not quite good enough for me to find a permanent home in my collection but I'm definitely glad I saw it.

Razorback (1984)

Director: Russell Mulcahy

Starring: Gregory Harrison, Arkie Whiteley, Bill Kerr, Chris Haywood, David Argue, Judy Morris

More info: IMDb

Tagline: It's waiting outside and it can sense your fear. No nightmare will prepare you for it!

Plot: A wild, vicious pig terrorizes the Australian outback. The first victim is a small child who is killed. The child's granddad is brought to trial for killing the child but aquitted. The next victim is an American TV-journalist. Her husband Carl gets there and starts to search for the truth. The local inhabitants won't really help him, but he is joined by a hunter and a female farmer to find the beast.

My rating: 5/10

Will I watch it again? Nah.

#35 on my on-going quest to watch every film from the amazing documentary, NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD: THE WILD, UNTOLD STORY OF OZPLOITATION! (2008) (part of the TRAILER TRASH PROJECT).

This is the picture Russell Mulcahy did before HIGHLANDER (1986). I like the Australian outback location shooting. It looks so desolate and unforgiving. I liked the look of the film even if it is at times too stylish for its own good. This is a killer animal movie and yet it sometimes has the appearance of an arthouse flick. The two rednecks are annoying as hell. I would have preferred they seem more realistic, twisted and sadistic rather than just complete childish assholes with a streak of violence. Maybe there's people like that out there in the world but it's so cliche. By the time you realize the big showdown is coming between the hero and the assholes, and let's not forget the pig, I was so ready for it to end. It was a long 15 minutes. It's too bad, too, 'cause I thought this one could be a lot of fun. Giant killer boar? I can buy that...just not wrapped up in this ribbon.

The Naked Bunyip (1970)

Director: John B. Murray

Starring: Graeme Blundell, Barry Humprhies and a cast of dozens and dozens of everyday people you'll never meet

More info: IMDb

Tagline: The first serious study of sex in Australia (in a funny sort of way).

Plot: A shy young man is hired by an ad agency to conduct a survey on sex in Australia. The somewhat clueless young man investigates homosexuality, transvestites, prostitution, and strip clubs along with every other variant on the "norm". While doing his interviews he meets celebrities, self proclaimed sex experts, prostitutes, female impersonators, pop stars, actors, and legislators as well as self appointed morals guardians.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again? Nah.

#5 on my on-going quest to watch every film from the amazing documentary, NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD: THE WILD, UNTOLD STORY OF OZPLOITATION! (2008)

While this isn't one of those "everything you always wanted to know about..." kind of flicks, it does cover an awful lot of ground on a wide range of subjects, all pertaining to sex and sexuality. Barry Humphries (as the very funny Edna Everage - not yet Dame Edna) was one of the brighter spots but he/she is only in it in the beginning, but the survey she takes, with all manner of questions, is hilarious.

On the question of "Do you believe in circumcision?"

"The only thing about circumcision, I feel, is that it really isn't taken far enough!"

One great reason to watch this is not for the few laughs (which are front-loaded in the film, btw. There aren't nearly as many laughs for the rest of the picture as in the first twenty minutes) but for the clothing styles, music and overall late 60s culture in Australia. It's wonderful to watch. And it's funny (or not) how much we as a society, in a lot of ways, haven't changed all that much. The more things change, the more they stay this same isn't too far off the mark. But the biggest surprise for me was that at no point in the TWO HOURS AND SIXTEEN MINUTES (!) did I get bored! It was quite entertaining. It's actually kind of fun...or maybe it's just that everything sounds better when spoken with an Australian accent...

Stunt Rock (1978)

Director: Brian Trenchard-Smith

Starring: Grant Page, Monique van de Ven, Margaret Gerard, Paul Haynes

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Death Wish At 120 Decibels

Plot: Australian stuntman Grant Page goes to Los Angeles to work on a television series. He uses his spare time to lend his expertise to rock band, Sorcery, whose act features duels between the King of the Wizards and the Prince of Darkness, with his cousin playing the Prince. Page helps the duo develop pyrotechnic magic tricks for their shows, and also finds himself in a budding romance with a magazine writer as he recounts to her his own exploits as a stuntman and daredevil as well as various stunts by other greats.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again? Yeah, I can see that happening in another twenty years.

#43 on my on-going quest to watch every film from the amazing documentary, NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD: THE WILD, UNTOLD STORY OF OZPLOITATION! (2008)

If you dig the whole stuntman scene then this is right up your alley. You almost wouldn't suspect that Grant Page is not an actor but a stuntman (well, until he starts doing a shitload of stunts). He does a great job on both fronts. He's very charismatic and his enthusiasm is contagious. There's enough stunts to keep anyone like me happy but that's only half the picture.



It's split between two worlds, the stunts on and off the set and the band Sorcery (a real rock group with a Spinal Tap vibe) as they perform on stage. They put on quite a show. Their rock music is fine but it's their wizard show, complete with smoke, fire and magic, that take the focus. Sometimes it can feel overstayed but overall, STUNT ROCK is an unusual and interesting film that I'm sure I'll have to check up on in a few years.

The Stuntmen (1973)

Director: Brian Trenchard-Smith

Starring: Bob Woodham, Herb Nelson, Warren Campbell, Grant Page

More info: IMDb

Plot: An Aussie documentary on their greatest stuntmen of the day, showing various types of stunts first as they would look in a movie, then breaking them down and showing how they're achieved.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again? Maybe.

I've been a fan of stunts since I was a kid and I really appreciate the quality and the risks involved. This documentary, shot by Trenchard-Smith (director of such amazing Ozploitation greats as TURKEY SHOOT (1982)), is split into different categories of films you would find stunts like a war picture, western, etc showing us stunts from explosions, motorcycle stunts, man on fire, falling off a horse and so on. The stuntmen are very likable and funny. It's always nice watching things like this that give personalities to people you know are there but you rarely get to meet. A lot of these folks turned up in the fantastic documentary, NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD: THE WILD, UNTOLD STORY OF OZPLOITATION! (2008).

Mad Max 3: Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

Directors: George Miller & George Ogilvie

Starring: Mel Gibson, Bruce Spence, Adam Cockburn, Tina Turner, Frank Thring, Angelo Rossitto, Paul Larsson

More info: IMDb

Tagline: A lone warrior searching for his destiny...a tribe of lost children waiting for a hero...in a world battling to survive, they face a woman determined to rule.

Plot: Bartertown is a city on the edge of a desert that has managed to retain some technology if no civilization. Max has his supplies stolen and must seek shelter there in a post apocalypse world where all machines have begun to break down and barbarians hold what is left. He becomes involved in a power struggle in this third Mad Max film where he must first survive the town, survive the desert and then rescue the innocent children he has discovered.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again? Sure, in another 20 years.

OK, as a piece of entertainment goes, as an action movie goes, it's fun. I dug it. Tina Turner surprised the hell out of me in that she didn't suck. It's the longest of the three Mad Max pictures but it doesn't feel like it. The action scenes were fun and the prerequisite car chase at the end wasn't as inspired as the previous films but it was still exciting. It's too bad that Brian May wasn't back for the score. Instead we get Maurice Jarre who did a pretty decent job of it.


The kids were handled OK (except for when they start attacking in Bartertown) It was done better than most movies would have dealt with them but that still doesn't help the fact that this is a really weak story. There's no story arc for starters. Max goes to Bartertown, fights a guy to the death but doesn't kill him so he's banished to the desert. Some kids find him and think he's their savior. Max and some of the kids go chasing after a couple of them that escaped to the desert in the night and they all end up at Bartertown where they liberate a prisoner who knows how to drive the train out of Bartertown. There's a big chase ending with Max sacrificing himself so the kids can fly safely back to their little paradise. Where's the arc? It's pointless that max did what he did because the kids ended up back where they started.


Hell, what's the point of even having the tribe of kids anyway? They were a cross between the Peter Pan kids and Ewoks and that ain't good. It didn't really occur to me that there wasn't a good plot until after it was over but the funny thing is, I enjoyed it far more than I should have and that's largely due to Miller and the cast and I was surprised with what they did with a weak story and a larger budget. To paraphrase Tina Turner, we didn't need another sequel but since it's here, we'll take it.

Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)

Director: George Miller

Starring: Mel Gibson, Bruce Spence, Michael Preston, Max Phipps, Vernon Wells

More info: IMDb

Tagline: In the future, cities will become deserts, roads will become battlefields and the hope of mankind will appear as a stranger.

Plot: A former police officer is now a lone wanderer, traveling through a devastated Australia after a nuclear war looking for now-priceless petrol. He lives to survive and is none too pleased when he finds himself the only hope of a small group of honest people running a remote oil refinery. He must protect them from the bike gang that is terrorizing them whilst transporting their entire fuel supply to safety.

My rating: 9/10

Will I watch it again? Guaranteed!


For as fun as MAD MAX (1979) was, THE ROAD WARRIOR is even better. It was only a few years ago that I watched this all the way through for the first time. I recall I had a bad feeling about it when they introduced the dog. Oh, great, I thought, they're going to do the same typical bullshit with the dog that they do in every other movie. Nope. They didn't and I liked what they did with it. Then the same thing happened when they introduced the feral kid and they totally surprised me with how well they treated that character. NICE! That's just indicative of the whole picture, really. George Miller & co. took cliches and did the unexpected with them.





The story is all too simple but it's how it's treated that makes it stand taller than most action movies from the past forty years. The stunts are bigger than the last movie and the whole thing wraps up nicely. The desolated Australian landscape is put to great use and you really get the look and feel for a post apocalyptic world without them spending an awful lot of money. It's a stellar ride and a whole lot of fun.

Storm Warning (2007)

Director: Jamie Blanks

Starring: Nadia Fares, Robert Taylor, David Lyons, Mathew Wilkinson, John Brumpton

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Survival Can Be Murder

Plot: Husband and wife Rob and Pia's weekend boating idyll quickly turns into a holiday nightmare when the weather turns bad and their craft gets lost in the storm, landing them in a desolated swamp. Seeking refuge in a dilapidated house, the couple's problems only worsen when the owners -- hillbilly rednecks with a barn full of marijuana -- return and proceed to enslave and humiliate them.

My rating: 5/10

Will I watch it again? Nope.

#56 on my on-going quest to watch every film from the amazing documentary, NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD: THE WILD, UNTOLD STORY OF OZPLOITATION! (2008)

Snoozeville. It's a good looking film but it's also a by-the-numbers-vacationers-terrorized-by-rednecks-nothing-new-and-uninspired-horror-flick-with-a-bland-score (by director Blanks). Why do rednecks all have to be crazy? Really? Can't someone do something different with that stereotype? And while I'm at it, it would sure be nice if we had a movie like this end with the 'good guys' dead. Why do they (or just one) ALWAYS have to survive? Just sayin'.

Next of Kin (1982)

Director: Tony Williams

Starring: Jacki Kerin, John Jarratt, Alex Scott, Gerda Nicolson

More info: IMDb

Tagline: There is something evil in this house.

Plot: In a rest home for elderly people, a daughter reads her mother's diary. Soon events that are mentioned in the mother's diary begin to happen to the daughter.

My rating: 3/10

Will I watch it again? No.

#37 on my on-going quest to watch every film from the amazing documentary, NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD: THE WILD, UNTOLD STORY OF OZPLOITATION! (2008)

Of all of the Ozploitation flicks I've seen, this is the dullest. I was on board for it. Hell, it's got Jack Jarratt, the killer from WOLF CREEK (2005). That didn't matter. The nice look and style of the film didn't matter either. It was far too slow for me to get into...and I tried.

Mad Max (1979)

Director: George Miller

Starring: Mel Gibson, Joanne Samuel, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Steve Bisley, Tim Burns, Roger Ward

More info: IMDb

Tagline: The Maximum Force of the Future.

Plot: In a post apocalyptic future, jaded motorcycle cop Max Rockatansky (Gibson) is ready to retire. But his world is shattered when a malicious gang murders his family as an act of retaliation, forcing a devastated Max to hit the open road seeking vengeance. As he travels the Australian outback's empty stretches of highway, he tours the bloodstained battlegrounds ruled by marauding bikers who feed on violence.

My rating: 8/10

Will I watch it again? Oh, yeah!

#44 on my on-going quest to watch every film from the amazing documentary, NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD: THE WILD, UNTOLD STORY OF OZPLOITATION! (2008)



It's kick ass. That's all that needs to be said. There's plenty of action and UNFUCKINGBELIEVABLE car stunts that put modern films to shame. Gibson is fun and it's too wild seeing him so young. In my younger days I remember this had long stretches of boring but I can't imagine now what I must have been thinking. Yeah, there's some lovey-dovey stuff in the middle but it's the quiet before the storm and when Max gets mad...IT'S ON!























Fun score by Brian May. The real stars here, though, are the stunts and stuntmen. They're fucking insane. The camera mounts on the cars, being so low to the road were ground breaking. You see those kinds of shots now but you didn't 30+ years ago. MAD MAX is a film that is often overshadowed by it's sequel which is understandable. It's got even more action and the stunts are even more insane. THE ROAD WARRIOR is a more enjoyable film but the apple didn't fall far from the tree that brought this franchise to life.

Long Weekend (1978)

Director: Colin Eggleston

Starring: John Hargreaves, Briony Behets

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Their crime was against nature...nature found them guilty.

Plot: When a suburban couple go camping for the weekend at a remote beach, they discover that nature isn't in an accommodating mood.

My rating: 8.5/10

Will I watch it again? Absolutely!

#27 on my on-going quest to watch every film from the amazing documentary, NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD: THE WILD, UNTOLD STORY OF OZPLOITATION! (2008)



Very smart horror/thriller with essentially two people trying to work out their relationship on a weekend camping trip. The performances are solid and the longer we get to know them the more their dynamic changes. You might be thinking the guy's a real asshole (and you could be right) but you later find out something about them both that may change your mind. It only adds to the layers at work in this story.





The sound design is excellently handled and feels like a character all its own. Is something supernatural at play or is nature striking back for all the years of abuse it has taken from us? You'll have to watch it to see. It goes places you don't expect and, thankfully, you don't see coming. It's a gripping film and it needs to find a wider audience. This is an outstanding entry in Ozploitation that you need to see. It's fantastic!

Road Games (1981)

Director: Richard Franklin

Starring: Stacy Keach and Jamie Lee Curtis

More info: IMDb

Tagline: The truck driver plays games... The hitchhiker plays games. And the killer is playing the deadliest game of all!

Plot: A truck driver plays a cat-and-mouse game with a mysterious serial killer who uses a young female hitchhiker as bait to lure victims on a desolate Australian highway.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again? Yeah.

#32 on my on-going quest to watch every film from the amazing documentary, NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD: THE WILD, UNTOLD STORY OF OZPLOITATION! (2008)

I became aware of this through the fantastic documentary, NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD: THE WILD, UNTOLD STORY OF OZPLOITATION (2008) of which I'm out to watch every film mentioned. For the most part I haven't been let down. There was one exception (NEXT OF KIN (1981)) which was absolutely dreadful...but that'll be for another day.


Keach plays the goofy truck driver. He really get silly sometimes but it makes sense because I imagine that's how I'd get if I drove a truck alone with only a dog to talk to. I'd be loopy, too, making up lame-ass jokes and back stories for the people I see. JLC is scrummy as always. Mmmmmmmmm. Damn, she's just too cute.


The stunts are great. There's a MAD MAX/ROAD WARRIOR feel to the camerawork which, at the time, was unique and it still adds excitement. The climactic chase at the end was great and suspenseful. With its unusual mix of humor, action and suspense ROAD GAMES makes for a really fun movie, one you certainly wouldn't have expected if you saw it on the video shelf. It's much better than it seems and it's definitely worth a look.

Wake in Fright (1971)

Director: Ted Kotcheff

Starring: Gary Bond, Donald Pleasence

More info: IMDB

Tagline: Have a drink, mate? Have a fight, mate? Have some dust and sweat, mate? There's nothing else out here.

Plot: Wake in Fright is the story of John Grant, a bonded teacher who arrives in the rough outback mining town of Bundanyabba planning to stay overnight before catching the plane to Sydney. But his one night stretches to five and he plunges headlong toward his own destruction. When the alcohol-induced mist lifts, the educated John Grant is no more. Instead there is a self-loathing man in a desolate wasteland, dirty, red-eyed, sitting against the wall and looking at a rifle with one bullet left...

My rating: 8/10

Will I watch it again? At some point, sure.

#3 on my on-going quest to watch every film from the amazing documentary, NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD: THE WILD, UNTOLD STORY OF OZPLOITATION! (2008)



So I finish THE TWO FACES OF DR. JECKYLL (1960) last night around 11:15 and I'm just awake to fall asleep watching another movie when I come across this one in plain view of my to-watch stack. All I knew is that it was featured in the great Ozploitation documentary sited above. Done. I suppose it was the title that suggested to me this would be a horror film but it is not. Hell, the trailer makes it look like an action movie. You could make a case that it has horror elements but they're thinly veiled and you'd have to broaden your definition of horror for that to happen.

Hey, look, kids! It's John Meillon! You know, the guy that played 'CROCODILE' DUNDEE's buddy, Walter Reilly! Neat! Exclamation points rock!

Fantastic performances, especially by Bond as the "I want to be anywhere but here" Outback teacher, John Grant. Pleasance plays 'dastardly' all too well. Every character has flaws, even Grant, and for some they aren't pretty.


A few things I learned watching this movie: Everyone in the Outback drinks heavily, gambles heavily, loves to kill kangaroos, loves to drink as soon as they wake up from drinking and they're all aggressively cordial. West End beer must be either really fucking good or really fucking cheap 'cause that's just about what everyone drinks.


WiF is brutally stark film that doesn't paint a pretty picture for Australia, unlike modern horror films. It's a beautiful country but you'd never know it from this movie. The opening shot starts on Grant's schoolhouse and slowly pans a 360 showing you nothing but the same desert in every direction. You quickly understand how Grant feels and how primitive everyone behaves because there's simply nothing to do in town but drink, gamble, and shoot some 'roos.


I'm certainly glad I watched it although had I known how dark and deep it was, I would have set it aside for a different time because what you really want to watch on a late Friday night is a horror movie or the action film the trailer suggests. No regrets, though. Nope, not a one.