Tourist Trap (1979) (UK’s 88 Films Blu-ray Review)
Directed By: David Schmoeller
Starring: Chuck Connors, Jocelyn Jones, Jon Van Ness, Robin Scerwood
Rated: 15 (UK)/Region ALL/1:85/1080p/Number of Discs 1
Available from 88 Films
A group of young friends stranded at a secluded roadside museum are stalked by the owner of the place, who has the power to control his collection of mannequins. Will these dumb kids be able to survive this night of horrors? Will Chuck Connors turn in a very good performance in a role we’ve never seen him before? Could this good film really be a product of what would eventually become Full Moon Entertainment? I can at least answer a few of these questions with these reviews.
Tourist Trap is a film that these days seem to fly under the radar a bit, but if you like horror you shouldn’t overlook it. It’s a small cast, a simple story, and it does bring the freaky with its overall presentation. It also stars the Rifleman himself, Chuck Connors. Connors gives us a performance worth remembering in a role that is nothing at all like we are used to seeing from him. That right there makes this movie worth checking out in itself. But the environment and dated look of the film adds even more to it if you are just now taking a look at this film for the very first time. I just recently saw it for the first time when I watched it for a podcast. And I am very impressed with what I saw. And I think what you get here is something that could impress you too.
Also the plot revolves around many things such as dumb kids, evil brothers, and very spooky mechanical mannequins. The mannequins in questions are ten shades of eerie looking. It is these types of things that make this such a fun horror film. The ending of this film might take you by surprise. It’s a little out of left field and shocking. It might not even make that much sense if you really think about it. But for some odd reason, as weird as it truly is, it fits here. The film could have given us more blood and more kills, but I don’t think it’ll bug you too much once you’ve seen it. What we have here is a very good film from 1979 that would fit well into anyone’s collection. Now I don’t think the transfer is spectacular by any means, but it isn’t bad. You have to look at the source here and see that they probably did the best with what they had to work with, but I don’t feel it will blow anyone away. Still, you do have the case of it looking better than it has before, keep in mind I’ve not seen the American Full Moon Blu-ray yet.
– Audio Commentary by Director David Schmoeller
– Interview with David Schmoeller
– Original Trailer
– Booklet Notes by Calum Waddell
– REVERSIBLE SLEEVE INCORPORATING
