Tourist Trap is full of typical
characters and elements borrowed from a variety of horror classics.
Somehow it all works for me.
Written by BHM
Contributor Michael Saunier June 12, 2007
Release:
1979 Directed by: David Schmoeller Written by: Larry J. Carroll and David Schmoeller
Starring:
Chuck Connors as Mr. Slausen Jocelyn Jones as Molly Jon Van Ness as Jerry Robin Sherwood as Eileen Tanya Roberts as Becky
Tourist Trap is a roadside attraction that
all fans of the horror genre should pull over for. I heard about Tourist
Trap quite some time ago and ordered it only to have it sit
in my tower of yet-to-be-watched DVDs until a few days ago.
I will start off by saying that I am creeped out by mannequins. The
idea of those frozen, smooth-featured statues staring into nothing is
really unsettling to me. If you feel the same way, then you will likely
agree with me that Tourist Trap is the blueprint
for how to use mannequins to scare people effectively.
Tourist Trap starts out with a group of young kids
getting stranded in the middle of nowhere. One of them, Woody, ventures
off alone to take a flattened tire to a gas station only to be
assaulted by the maniacal laughter of dummies and flying objects
courtesy of an unnamed killer’s power of telekinesis.
Let me point out that telekinesis is
a weak horror element in my opinion, with the exception of Carrie. But
Tourist Trap’s use of telekinesis does not annoy me the way
others do because there are other good scare tactics also instead of
over-using telekinesis and turning this film into a one-trick pony.
But I digress…
The rest of the kids stumble upon the garage where Woody met his
untimely end and find his tire sitting in the grass nearby. The girls
do what any hot girls who can’t find their friend would do -
go skinny-dipping in the local pond!
Molly
(Jocelyn Jones) is cooling off in the water when Mr. Slausen, played
nicely by Chuck Connors, shows up toting a shotgun. He’s a
nice guy with an awkward way about him and takes a liking to the
obviously virginal Molly. Becky, played by Tanya Roberts from
Charlie’s Angels fame and Eileen (Robin Sherwood) play the
all-important sexy bad girls who are marked for death.
Slausen brings the girls to his museum filled with wax figures and
oddities, “Slausen’s Lost Oasis”, so they
can wait while he and the remaining male friend Jerry go to his home to
get tools to fix their car. Brother Davey lives in a nearby house and
Slausen warns them to stay away - because of coyotes (?) Slausen comes
back later without Jerry which leads the girls to venture out and
investigate. The kids meet Davey, Slausen’s mask wearing
brother, who tries to capture them and turn them into mannequins.
This movie
borrows heavily from other proven classics of the time but spreads it
out enough to avoid being a tired clone of one specific movie. For
instance the mask is similar to Michael
Meyers’ in Halloween,
the killer and environment recall images of the Texas
Chainsaw
Massacre’s Leatherface, and the
killer’s power is
reminiscent of Carrie.
All the movies
that Tourist Trap pays homage to were made just a
few years earlier, but watching it today doesn’t feel at all
like plagiarism. Maybe if I had watched Tourist Trap
when it was originally released I would be singing a different tune.
The mannequins used in Tourist Trap are simply
excellent with distorted voices and drop-down jaws that are a superb
supporting element. The chase scenes are well done and overall the
movie keeps a good pace.
Tourist Trap is, without a doubt, worth your time.
Even though it follows a cookie cutter plot of kids getting stranded
and chased and borrows from other proven and better movies, it does it
well and keeps a few twists up its sleeves to make it fresh.
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or comments about Tourist Trap? Contact
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The mannequins used in Tourist Trap are simply
excellent with distorted voices and drop-down jaws that are a superb
supporting element. The chase scenes are well done and overall the
movie keeps a good pace. 
