The Tale of Ruby Rose (1988): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1988, The Tale of Ruby Rose is a thriller, drama and horror film directed by Roger Scholes, running about 100 minutes.

What it’s about. The year is 1933. Ruby Rose (Melita Jurisic) is an Australian woman living with her Welsh immigrant husband Henry (Chris Haywood) in the Tasmanian highlands. Cut off from her superjudgmental family, for whom Henry had once worked as a humble farm hand, Ruby remains isolated in her tiny house. Superstitiously terrified of the dark, she begins developing her own folklore about the inky blackness that surrounds her each night; this folklore eventually develops into Ruby's own personal religion, created to ward off the evils that she imagines lurk in every corner. Only by venturing out of her house and rekindling her relationship with her embittered father is Ruby able to exorcise her fears. Almost hypnotic in its stark beauty, Tale of Ruby Rose is proof enough that writer/director Roger Scholes deserves to be far better known.

Who’s in it. The Tale of Ruby Rose stars Melita Jurišić as Ruby Rose, Chris Haywood as Henry Rose, Rod Zuanic as Gem and Martyn Sanderson as Bennett, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 5.7/10, The Tale of Ruby Rose has drawn a solid, mixed-to-positive response.

Where to watch. In AU you can rent or buy it from Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube and Fetch TV. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch The Tale of Ruby Rose page.

If you liked it. Fans of The Tale of Ruby Rose tend to enjoy The Dark Knight, Pulp Fiction, Parasite and Fight Club.