The Tourist Trap

Rating:
Summary: The Rifleman is mad! MAD I SAY!!!!!!!!!!
Review: A rare horror gem of uncommon power. A backroads tourist trap lures naive teenagers into a sense of safety when suddenly Lucas Mcann jumps out from the shadows and fire his rifle away. Oh yes, Mark was in trouble again. This is one of those movies where the hot chick always gets it before you've gotten to confirm whether the poor girl was cold or not. If not for the nice gorey approach and the demented performance by Chuck Connors I would say this movie was a waste of film. But alas, it truly is a classic in every sense of the word. And at this price who could say no?

Rating:
Summary: ONE OF THE BEST MODERN HORROR FILMS EVER MADE!
Review: While traveling by car along a deserted road, Woody and Eileen's car unexpectedly gets a flat tire. Woody walks to the nearest gas station to find a tire and get some help, but is lured by the voice of a woman into the backroom of the station. Then he is brutally impaled by a large metal rod as things begin to be thrown at him by unseen hands and manniquins pop out of unexpected places.

Back at the car, Eileen is found by her friends, whom are also traveling. They drive off to find Woody, but are sidetracked when the car breaks down. While the boy in the group fixes the car, the girls head off to some nearby waterfall and take a swim. Soon, they are interuppted by the owner of the property, Mr Slaussen (Chuck Conners) who welcomes them to stay at his "wax museum" while he and the boy go to try and fix the car.

Eileen is fascinated by the house resting nearby, and goes to investigate, despite Slaussen's warnings. Slaussen soon returns, only to find that the girl is gone, and goes out to look for her. While he is gone, they go to the house to look for her. The other girl backs down, and goes back to the "museum", while the other proceeds inside.

The girl finds her alright- sitting in a chair in one of the rooms. But it isn't Eileen anymore. She's been turned into one of the manniquins! The girl tries to escape, but there is a maniac in the house with her, one dressed just like Eileen- and she must escape before it is too late!

What is Slaussen's secret? Is it really what you think it is? This movie can be pretty confusing at times, but you forget all about that. This house is just littered with spooky, creepy manniquins with wide, gaping mouths, and the accent is punctuated perfectly by Pino Donaggio's wonderful score. The movie is very dark, and the ending is super creepy. There is not any nudity or gore found in this movie- the thing that makes it scary is the amount of suspense found deep within the heart of the story. This may- in some way- seem like a rip-off of House of Wax, but it really isn't. It's a very original horror film with a great plot, and is one of the best movies ever made. Trust me, horror fans- don't be repelled by the PG rating- the suspense is all it needs to bring it to that higher level. There are plenty of shocking scenes to keep any horror fan's eyes glued to the screen.

Rating:
Summary: Don't be fooled by PG Rating!
Review: This film (director said so himself) was distroyed by its PG-13 rating. The reason for it is...there is no language. The suffucation scene is one of the most gruesume in history! ( By todays standards this film WOULD be rated R, and was when it was released on DVD) Its Quality! Although as the film goes on its more and more apparent this is a blantant Texas Chainsaw rip off (it was even almost shot in texas suprise suprise) It does have it own original qualities. The mystery in the film is somewhat dissapointing but by no means boring! Yes its true the film is not in widescreen( even though it claims to be) and there's no where near 40 trailers (i believe there's 7) But its not low quality nor is it low budget. the effects were done by the same person who did TCM (suprise suprise again) Overall this film is well done and exceptionally scary.

Rating:
Summary: Have you met my mannequin?
Review: This one is a little bit wacky. Its kinda the archetype of late 70's slasher movies. You've got girls in cut-off shorts, tube tops and open-toed sandals. You've got a broken down car, a hot summer afternoon, and, of course, skinny dipping. In this movie, a bunch of girls (that might as well be wearing "upcoming victim" tags on on their backs) stumble onto a kindly old chap in overalls, who takes them to the quaint little tourist trap he runs in the middle of nowhere. Its one of those kinda roadside museums with the really fake looking wax statues. Anyway, one by one, the girls start getting murdered. Usually, the culprit appears to be statues or dummies, but we soon learn that the kindly old chap (that kooky Chuck Connors) is actually a maniac with telekinetic powers. The blonde chick that played in that movie Sheena has kind of a bit part, at least until she takes an hatchet in the back. We see another chick, tied down to a table, get wet plaster poured on her face until she suffocates. There's a part where the token male victim of the movie is frozen in place and then snapped apart like a mannequin. And, most importantly, we get to see Chuck Connors wearing a little-girl-mannequin mask with blonde pigtails. Now, where else are you gonna see something like that???? Anyway, the girl that survives is of course the one with the most virtue (or should I say the one with the only virtue?) which keeps in accordance with that particular unspoken rule of horror films. And she's destined for a showdown with Chuck Connors and his army of bald, glassy-eyed killer dummies. The moral I think we learn from this is: if you're on a trip, just stop long enough to buy tomatoes and then keep going. And watch out for seven-foot hicks wearing little girl pigtail masks.

Rating:
Summary: Watch this movie after midnght...
Review: This movie freaked me out many years ago late night on cable. I always remembered it and just bought it on DVD. I'm happy to say that it holds up well after all these years. Watch it late and it'll really get to you. Nice to see Chuck Conners again and my god where did he come up with this kind of insane performance. Some truly terrifying scenes in this film. And Tanya Roberts has one of her first roles here and is a stunningly beautiful woman(and still is with her role on That 70's Show). And that last shot in the film.....woah!! Great Stuff! Now I've got to see if Black Christmas is on DVD yet.

Rating:
Summary: Full Frame
Review: I gave this only 2 stars for the fact that I was asked to rate the DVD and not the film itself. Not only does it not contain the 40 trailers promised above (as mentioned by another reviewer) but it isn't in widescreen either. I wrote to the company and they said that it IS widescreen, but I can't seem to find it on any DVD player I put it into. There isn't even an option for full frame or widescreen. Hmmmmm. As far as the movie goes, I agree with those before me. It's a great little flick that delivers some cool moments for those ready for something slightly different. Very deserving of its cult status.

Rating:
Summary: A sleeper that has withstood the test of time, fun to watch.
Review: Some films just fade away, but Tourist Trap has withstood the test of time and has justifiably becaome a cult favorite. Though not completely original, it holds its own with a sense of humor, genuine creepy moments, some very unusual mannequins, a brilliant score by Pino Donaggio, and the fun performances by Chuck Connors and the cast. Don't let the PG rating keep you away (though the DVD cover lists an R), this film proves that gratuitous gore and nudity are not needed in every horror film tomake it entertaining. Those elements are usually used to cover the lack of thrills in a film. Here, the scares are merited and effective. Plus, only Chuck Connors could carry a scene in which he has to share soup with a mannequin! A classic scene indeed. This film is a must for fans of '70s horror fare!

Rating:
Summary: Eeeeeeeeeeeeee
Review: It seems a lot of the old horror "B" movies have been coming out in the recent past on DVD. I've been building my DVD collection with the Massacre series and the like. Seeing this is the season for horror movies, I've been desperate for good movies I haven't seen yet. I've been scouring Amazon's reviews and purchased this movie based solely on previous comments by those who have seen "Tourist Trap". I have to say, I am not the squeamish type. I can watch "Dawn of the Dead" while eating King Crab legs. I watched "Tourist Trap" on DVD for the first time last night. And let me repeat myself. Eeeeeeeeeeeeeee. What a creepy movie. Chuck Conners is no longer "The Rifleman" for me. The movie has a bit of gore but leaves most to imagination. The Mannequin thing has been done a million times, but not like this. I don't want to spoil the movie for anyone, so I won't say anymore. Thanks to all the previous, positive reviewers that turned me on to this gem. My suggestion for horror genre lovers. Read my lips. "BUY THIS MOVIE". You can't beat the price. And if you don't put this flick along with your best top 5 horror favorites, you can beat on me via email. [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: IT HAUNTS YOU !
Review: This Movie Was Pretty Cool. Today Was The First Time I`ve SeenIt. It Played On The Movie Channel. And I Mean, I Only Caught The EndOf It....But WOAH, I Mean I COULDN`T Change The Channel I Was Hooked IWanted To See What Would Happen Next. If You Don`t Notice This...You Should ! This Movie Has THE Biggest Resemblence To THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. Its Like...People Are In Mask For One Thing. People Are Trying To Leave An Old Abandoned House With Psychotic People Inside, And Always Get Caught. This Movie Contains A Surprise Ending. For Those Of You Looking For The 40 Trailers...You Can Access Some Of Them. And Some Are After The Credits. Or Through A DVD-Rom. The VIDEO Is Still Available, So Don`t Listen To The Person Who Wrote The Other Review. Though. This (the dvd) Is A Very Good Price. And On Some Parts Of The Movie. The PUPPET MASTER Theme Is Used. That Is SCARY ! I Reccommend This From What I`ve Seen. FULL MOON HAS DONE IT AGAIN...!

Rating:
Summary: BIZARRE
Review: For all of us that grew up on Saturday afternoon horror. I am eternaly thankful for WOR Channel 9 in New York for showing this film back in the early eighties and forever damaging thousands of little wide eyed kids. To watch it now is even better. The strange dummies with the flopping mouths, the grunting, mumbling, terrifying character of "Davey", the plaster face scene...this scares you not because of the violence, but because of the threat of violence. The suspense here is numbing. It is a bit cheesy, acting wise, but I give it five stars as a horror movie. It delivers, absolutely. Like stepping into a nightmare where nothing has to make sense. This in itself is a reason for horror fans to own a DVD player. The picture quality and widescreen are much appreciated , by the way. And make sure to visit the cast and crew menu for an interview with the director.