Retrospective: Tourist Trap (1979)

[David N. Butterworth]

TOURIST TRAP (1979)
A film review by David N. Butterworth
Copyright 2017 David N. Butterworth

** (out of ****)

The 1970s was the primo decade for horror movies, ripe with unquestionable
classics such as "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," "Carrie," "The Exorcist,"
"Jaws," "Alien," "Suspiria," "Halloween," "Dawn of the Dead," and "Last
House on the Left," to name a few. The limp 1979 mannequin horror "Tourist
Trap" was a late addition to the genre but despite its emphasis on
atmospheric--rather than visceral--horror, it really can't compete. The
film's lack of gore, coupled with even less skin (despite an early
skinny-dipping sequence), will leave genre fans feeling cheated. In
addition, the scares aren't particularly shocking, just creepy. Chuck
Connors ("The Rifleman") slums it as the backwoods proprietor of Slausen's
Lost Oasis, a wax museum that nobody visits anymore now that they went and
built that gosh darned interstate an' all. When a gaggle of comely
comrades (among them Tanya Roberts, who still can't act) stumble upon the
place after their car dies, Slausen uses his telekinesis-controlled
mannequins to knock off the poor unfortunates rather than enjoying the
unexpected business (one wonders if his telekinetic demonstrations might
have sold more tickets than the waxworks themselves). The first death
scene is easily the best, insanely loud and overedited to the point of
nausea, with projectiles flying, doors and windows slamming, and pinhead
dummy's mouths flapping down to emit hideous cackles and wails. Pino
Donaggio's score is a disappointment though.

--
David N. Butterworth
rec.arts.movies.reviews
butterwo...@gmail.com