Director: David Schmoeller
Writers: J. Larry Carroll and David Schmoeller
Starring: Chuck Connors and Jocelyn Jones
Available On Video: DVD from Full Moon Home Video
Body Count: 6
Review: Way back before Charles Band and co. began Full Moon Entertainment and began churning out some of the best (or worst, depending on your point-of-view) direct-to-video horror/scifi flicks of the modern day, they actually had a fairly successful string of theatrically released features, the most noteworthy being movies like Re-Animator, From Beyond, Trancers, and this little-known barely-a-slasher movie.
The tagline reads "Every year young people disappear." Ominous, eh? Well, it definitely was in 1979, when Tourist Trap was made. And I've got to tell you, sure this is dated, and sure, it's probably not very likely to ever win any awards or be cited by future directors as having a profound influence over their carerr, but Tourist Trap surprisingly manages to pull off a lot without giving in to the cliches that you would expect (especially given that this flick was made right after Halloween hit it big).
A group of young people (what else?) get stranded on their way through a desolate region of California, and stumble onto the widower-owner of a local "museum." Seems that back before the "new highway" was put in, all kinds of people came through here, and it was a pretty popular place, thanks to the owner's talented brother, who hand-crafted some extremely creepy-looking mannequins based on famous historical figures. Well, then things got a little weird.
Telling much more about the backstory of Tourist Trap would spoil a lot of its charm, but the film basically revolves around a madman turning these young kids into mannequins. That itself doesn't sound so special, but what's interesting about Tourist Trap is that there's all kinds of quirky little things thrown in here and there (telekinetic powers, etc.) that just made this story so bizzare that it works.
In addition to this, the film sets you up thinking that you're going to get a lot of typical teens-in-trouble action that usually accompanies films from this era, but instead what we get is more-or-less a slasher movie for kids. There's hardly any blood, no nudity, and no graphic language--in fact, as David Schmoeller admits on his audio commentary on the DVD version, the film was released with a PG rating! That might turn off some viewers looking for gore and T&A, but I've got to tell you, the story is so offbeat that you really don't notice these slasher staples are missing. Definitely a surprise. Now don't be expecting to be blown away by anything in Tourist Trap (this was a cheap movie, and it was made in 1979), but if it's a Saturday afternoon and you can't think of anything else to do, I think you'll come out okay with this flick.
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