# Kadaicha

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1988 Australian film

Kadiacha Double feature DVD cover + Innocent Prey Directed by James Bogle Written by Ian Coughlan Produced by David Hannay Charles Hannah Starring Zoe Carides Tom Jennings Eric Oldfield Natalie McCurry Steve Dodd Cinematography Stephen F. Windon Edited by Andrew Arestides Music by Peter Westheimer Production company David Hannay Productions Distributed by CBS-Fox (video) Release date 1988 (1988) Running time 88 minutes Country Australia Language English Budget A$600,000 (est.)

***Kadaicha*** (known ***Stones of Death*** in the U.S.) is a 1988 Australian [horror film](/source/Horror_film) directed by [James Bogle](/source/James_Bogle) and produced by [David Hannay](/source/David_Hannay_(producer)). It was released on video.

## Plot

A series of unexplained of teenage murders occurs in an exclusive residential development. It is discovered that the development has been constructed on top of an old [Aboriginal](/source/Aboriginal_Australians) burial ground.

## Cast

- [Zoe Carides](/source/Zoe_Carides) as Gail Sorensen

- [Eric Oldfield](/source/Eric_Oldfield_(actor)) as Alex Sorensen

- Tom Jennings as Matt Taylor

- [Natalie McCurry](/source/Natalie_McCurry) as Tracy Hocking

- Kerry McKay as Shane

- Fiona Gauntlett as Fizz Dryden

- Bruce Hughes as Tony Pirrello

- [Steve Dodd](/source/Steve_Dodd) as Billinudgel

- [Deborah Kennedy](/source/Deborah_Kennedy) as Mrs Millhouse

- [Sean Scully](/source/Sean_Scully_(actor)) as Mr Fitzgerald

- John Paramor as Detective Rose

- Nicholas Ryan as Franky Boland

- [Rhoda Roberts](/source/Rhoda_Roberts) as Lisa

- Sara Dakin as Deb Hartley

- Harry Cripps as Jeff Cross

- Terry Markwell as Gloria

- Nicholas Flanagan as Constable Todd

- Don Chapman as Sergeant Hanley

- Alan Lovell as Constable O’Bersky

- [Anthony Ackroyd](/source/Anthony_Ackroyd) as Constable Pritchard

## Production

*Kadaicha* was directed by James Bogle, in his feature film debut,[1] for producer [David Hannay](/source/David_Hannay_(producer)), who was producing low-budget commercial films at the time. There was an interest in Aboriginal themes during the late 1980s.[2] It was the last of four low-budget films made by executive producer [Tom Broadbridge](/source/Tom_Broadbridge) and producer David Hannay for the video market,[3] and produced via David Hannay Productions.[4]

Charles Hannah co-produced the film, which was based on a screenplay by Ian Coughlan. [Cinematography](/source/Cinematography) was by [Stephen F. Windon](/source/Stephen_F._Windon), and Andrew Aristedes edited the film. The original score was composed by Peter Westheimer.[5][4]

*Kadaicha* was filmed on location in [Sydney](/source/Sydney), Australia,[5][6] on a budget of an estimated A$600,000.[3]

The title derives from the device used in the film, called "kadaicha stone".[1] The word is a variant spelling of "[kurdaitcha](/source/Kurdaitcha)", which in the lore of some Aboriginal peoples in central Australia was a kind of magic man or evil being who killed people.[7][8][9]

## Release

Some sources suggest that it was originally intended for cinematic release,[10] but *Kadaicha* was released on video in 1988,[3] in the United States under the title *Stones of Death*, and in the Netherlands as *Death Stone – Kadaicha*. Other European countries gave it similar titles in translation.[5]

The film was distributed internationally by Broadstar Entertainment Corporation.[4]

It was released on DVD in October 2017 by [Umbrella Entertainment](/source/Umbrella_Entertainment) in Australia,[11] and as part of a box set titled *All the Haunts Be Ours: A Compendium of Folk Horror* by [Severin Films](/source/Severin_Films) in 2021.[12]

## Reception

The film received mixed reviews on its re-release. Kevin Bechaz gave it 3 out of 5 stars, calling it enjoyable for what it is – "genre cinema at its most obscure".[11] Another reviewer called it "a forgettable teen horror flick", but liked its "message about the consequences of greed and self-interest, and how innocent lives can be lost as a result", and for its exposure of the "lack of respect for Aboriginal lore and sacred territory, the history of past conflicts between white colonialists and Aboriginal people.[13] At least two reviewers noted its borrowing from the 1982 American horror film directed by [Tobe Hooper](/source/Tobe_Hooper), *[Poltergeist](/source/Poltergeist_(1982_film))*.[10][11]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-moria_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-moria_1-1) ["Kadaicha (1988)"](https://moriareviews.com/horror/kadaicha-1988.htm). *Moria - The Science Fiction*. 6 July 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-signet_2-0)** ["Interview with James Bogle", *Signet*, 7 October 1998](https://archive.today/20130112094751/http://www.signis.net/malone/tiki-index.php?page=James+Bogle&bl)

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-stratton2_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-stratton2_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-stratton2_3-2) [David Stratton](/source/David_Stratton), *The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry*, Pan MacMillan, 1990 p295-296

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-as_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-as_4-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-as_4-2) ["Kadaicha"](https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/the-screen-guide/t/kadaicha-1987/687/). *Screen Australia*. The Screen Guide. Retrieved 23 March 2026.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-eofftv_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-eofftv_5-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-eofftv_5-2) Lyons, Kevin (25 August 2025). ["Kadaicha"](https://eofftv.com/kadaicha-1988/). *The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film and Television*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20260323012039/https://eofftv.com/kadaicha-1988/) from the original on 23 March 2026. Retrieved 23 March 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Scott Murray, *Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995*, Oxford University Press, 1996, p95

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Kurdaitcha"](https://openmovportal.ca/argus/final/Portal/Main.aspx?component=AAFG&record=df44c5f3-8376-4877-85d2-73d5ef6258a2). *[Museum of Vancouver](/source/Museum_of_Vancouver)*. Retrieved 23 March 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Musharbash, Yasmine (1 January 2014). ["Here be Kurdaitcha: Towards an Ethnography of the Monstrous in the Margins of a Central Australian Aboriginal Town"](https://www.academia.edu/11000884/Here_be_Kurdaitcha_Towards_an_Ethnography_of_the_Monstrous_in_the_Margins_of_a_Central_Australian_Aboriginal_Town). *Places and Spaces of Monstrosity, edited by Craig Douglas and Rosalea Monacella*. Retrieved 23 March 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["'Kurdaitcha'"](https://www.samuseum.sa.gov.au/collection/archives/provenances/series/items/aa-108-50-1-1-62). *SA Museum*. 1 January 1912. Retrieved 23 March 2026.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-bmovie_10-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-bmovie_10-1) ["Review: Kadaicha (1988) – The B-Movie Film Vault"](https://bmoviefilmvault.com/review-kadaicha-1988/). *The B-Movie Film Vault*. 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2026.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-bechaz_11-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-bechaz_11-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-bechaz_11-2) Bechaz, Kevin (8 October 2017). ["Umbrella Entertainment: KADAICHA & INNOCENT PREY"](https://www.cinematicrandomness.com/umbrella-entertainment-kadaicha-innocent-prey/). *cinematic randomness*. Retrieved 23 March 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["All the Haunts Be Ours: A Compendium of Folk Horror Vol. 1 \[15-Disc Blu-ray Box Set\]"](https://severinfilms.com/en-au/products/folk-horror-box?srsltid=AfmBOoom6wxl1Q_VkT3hiUc5Kj0HqMu3z_x4R8QpZH3GB9qzFQgNzMyt). *Severin Films*. 22 March 2026. Retrieved 23 March 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** ["Kadaicha: a forgettable teen horror flick from the late 1980s – Under Southern Eyes"](https://undersoutherneyes.edpinsent.com/kadaicha/). *Under Southern Eyes – A personal journal of film and documentary reviews*. 26 August 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2026.

## External links

- [*Kadaicha*](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095423/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier))

- [Kadaicha](https://www.ozmovies.com.au/movie/kadaicha) at Oz Movies

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Kadaicha](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kadaicha) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kadaicha?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.