My lifelong phobia of dolls, mannequins, and puppets of every kind brought me to an unknown film called “Tourist Trap.” While the synopsis of the 1979 slasher flick looked hokey, the images were creepy enough that I gave it a whirl.
It’s not “Hereditary” and you’ll grasp that from the opening scenes. It’s a movie from an era post Michael Myers and pre Jason and Freddy. It looks gritty. The acting is bad. The story is predictable. But don’t let the PG Rating fool you. Its 85 minutes of vintage horror at its finest. Well, as fine as that shaky bar can be.
The movie was written and directed by David Schmoeller – his full length film debut. Schmoeller has done some other things; “Puppet Master” being his most well-known piece. You’ll easily catch “Psycho” and “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” as influences. More subtle to some would be the classic Twilight Zone episode “After Hours” which terrified me as a kid.
The music was done by Italian composer Pino Donaggio (which sounds like a great wine). The score was a source of contention for me; it’s great at times and ruinous at others. Typical for the time period the film was done.
The Plot (or lack thereof)
A group of friends wander into a seemingly abandoned tourist trap called Slausen’s Lost Oasis. Said oasis consists of a museum of automated wax figurines. They meet the owner. He appears friendly enough, albeit a bit odd. And cue the killer mannequins!
Chuck Connors stars as Mr. Slausen. He was a pretty big name in the western era, but I didn’t know him from anything. He’s good in the role of Slausen, a character who lost his wife years ago, lives with a crazy brother, and laments the past when his wax museum was highly successful.
The victims are predictable characters.
Hot 70s gals played by Jocelyn Jones, Robin Sherwood, and Tanya Roberts (who appeared as a member of Charlies Angels). Jon Van Ness and Keith McDermott play the “studly” guys – sleeveless shirts and no muscle definition whatsoever. Dawn Jeffory-Nelson and Shailar Coby play supporting roles.
You won’t recognize a single name or face. Most of their actor bios indicate they best known for “Tourist Trap” which means they aren’t known at all. The acting is comically bad but again, we aren’t here for that.
The chilling nature of the mannequins is ripe for terror. I watched knowing this is a weak spot for me, and had goosebumps multiple times throughout. The figures giggle, they whisper, they drop their jaws in an uncanny way and sing. Simply put they are creepy AF and as such, make the movie quite spooky.
The biggest issue is, whilst the bookends have their moments, the middle gets a bit clunky. The movie opens with a terrifying bang then slows to a crawl. I would have liked more mindless mannequin gore since again, that’s the only reason I’m wasting my time watching this.
“Tourist Trap” is an under the radar slasher film. It’s not good. Not at all. But it has some really scary parts and is short enough that anyone wanting a fun Halloween season movie will enjoy it. Especially if they share my affinity for mannequins.
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