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TIT

Tourist Trap: VHS Retro Big Box Collection[BR+DVD]
(Chuck Connors, Jocelyn Jones, Jon Van Ness, Tanya Roberts, Robin Sherwood, et al / Blu-ray + DVD / PG / (1979) 2020 / Full Moon Features - MVD Visual)

Overview: Every year young people disappear! An eerie and deserted wax museum, SLAUSEN'S LOST OASIS, is the site for spine-tingling terror where four unsuspecting young travelers (including TANYA ROBERTS from Charlie's Angels) are lured into a very deadly 'Tourist Trap.'

Slausen (CHUCK CONNORS) is the reclusive and bizarre owner of this attraction, which is actually more like a macabre chamber of horrors.

The grotesque and frightening mannequins in this sordid sideshow are only the beginning of the murderous mayhem and nightmarish madness to come!

Blu-ray Verdict: In truth, 'Tourist Trap' is a bizarre, yet great horror film from the late '70s. The film is about a group of young adults, Becky, Jerry, and Molly, who are traveling in a jeep through a desert area.

Their two other friends, Eileen and her boyfriend Woody, are in a separate car. When a wheel goes flat, Woody takes it to a nearby gas station and meets a grisly fate to some bizarre telekinetic mayhem and some creepy mannequins.

The friends get tired of waiting for Woody and go to a local "tourist trap" mannequin/wax museum. In front of the entrance, the car randomly breaks down, and the girls find an oasis area to go swimming in.

It's there that they are approached by Mr. Slausen, who runs the roadside attraction that is now closed down. He takes them up to the old western wax museum, and the girls stay behind while he and Jerry go to fix their car.

Eileen, the more curious of the two, wanders to an old house nearby, where she also falls prey to the hands of a mysterious masked killer and a bunch of life-like mannequins.

After awaiting for Eileen, Becky and Molly go to look for her. That's when the real horror begins and where we discover that the telekinetic (can move objects with his mind) masked brother of Mr. Slausen begins to kill off the teens one by one; whilst controlling his large amount of humans-turned-mannequins!

Sound similar to the 1953/2005 'House of Wax' movies (especially the latter day remake)? Well, it is, that's why. Funnily enough, I'd heard of this movie down the years, but had never seen it.

Now having watched it, sure, I can now see the striking similarities the two movies share, and how 'Tourist Trap' was obviously a BIG contributor to the 'House of Wax' remake (which happens all the time in movies).

That said, the mannequins in this movie are scary to begin with, some with moving eyeballs, some with no eyes at all, and some with dropping mouths that sing too! For me personally, the whole singing thing was extremely creepy and the mannequins themselves eerily designed

Shit, mannequins are creepy to begin with, they're so lifelike yet they really aren't and given that 'Tourist Trap' also tightly blends elements from 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' (the masks the killer uses are similar to those of Leatherface), with a little bit of the original 'House of Wax', all brought together with a pinch of telekinetic powers that are displayed in 'Carrie," and, well, the result is VERY satisfying.

Indeed, overall, the telekinesis aspect was a nice touch to the movie for it made the killer all the more menacing and inescapable. The masks were terrifying too and the plastering scene was really disturbing in and unto itself!

Pino Donaggio's score, if not a little overused during some scenes, was chillingly '70s good also and whereas some of the acting may not have been particularly on form, none of it was really that bad either.

Chuck Connors is fabulous as the covertly, shadowy Mr. Slauson, giving the character a shady, but friendly feel. Better known for her role on Charlie's Angels and such, a young Tanya Roberts is also in the film.

Robert A. Burns serves as the art director and overall I think he did a splendid job with what he had to embrace a cinematic feel here reminiscent of his work on the original 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre.'

At all times during the "horror" scenes, he brings a cluttered, musty atmosphere to both the rundown museum and the old house filled with mannequins.

I found it a little odd that the original rating for the film was PG for it seems a little too scary to have such a tame rating, but the film really isn't overly violent, I guess (having now watched it twice in two days!).

In closing, 'Tourist Trap' is an eerily unique, fast-paced, and extremely under appreciated horror classic, for my money. Directed by 'Puppet Master' director David Schmoeller and co-produced by Charles Band (the guy who founded Full Moon Features, and has been throwing countless 'Puppet Master' sequels and knock-offs at us for decades now!), 'Tourist Trap' has an almost instant lived-in vibe about it!

From the strains of Donaggio's aforementioned bizarre, yet familiar score to the horrific yet low-budget effects, this is definitely a Full Moon Features production of the highest order.

Oh, and speaking of Full Moon Features, they have now brought it out as this quite beautiful 'Tourist Trap: VHS Retro Big Box Collection' [Blu-ray + DVD] that also comes complete with a Mr. Slausen Figurine!! This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:

Interview with director David Schmoeller
Rare Trailers
Director's Commentary

Amazon Purchase Link

Original Trailer

www.MVDvisual.com





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