Tourist Trap (1979) Review
Ten years before collaborating on the successful cult classic Puppet Master, director David Schmoeller and producer Charles Band created Tourist Trap, a bizarre lost-in-the-wilderness thriller that sees a group of young friends falling foul of a devilish museum of mannequins. Starring screen legend Chuck Connors and Charlie’s Angels beauty Tanya Roberts, the movie failed to make much of an impact upon its initial release but has since gained a reputation as a lost oddity. Full of bizarre imagery and a genuinely creepy villain, Tourist Trap is one of the most impressive and overlooked post-Texas Chainsaw Massacre rural slashers, inspired by an earlier Schmoeller short The Spider Will Kill You. Although Band would go onto greater acclaim through his work with Empire and Full Moon, his seventies output (which included Mansion of the Doomed) would remain his most effective.
Having experienced a burst tyre, Woody (Keith McDermott) heads down a deserted country road to look for a gas station where he can pump up his spare. With the sun beating down on him, he tries to cool himself down but finds that his flask is empty. Meanwhile, Eileen (Robin Sherwood) has been left with the car, where she is picked up by their friends; Becky (Roberts), Jerry (Jon Van Ness), and Molly (Jocelyn Jones). Woody eventually finds himself at an out-of-the-way station and heads into the diner, but is unable to find any help. But a strange noise from the back room grabs his attention and he goes in to investigate, where he finds a figure lying in the corner whimpering. Ill-advised, he leans forward and tried to make the person but suddenly it sits up to reveal itself as a creepy mannequin, which laughs menacingly as the door slams shut behind him.
He soon realizes there is no escape when suddenly a dummy’s head crashes through the window. Opening a door, a hairless mannequin bursts out and shakes back-to-front on a spring as the three figures begin to laugh frantically at him. He tries to break out through the door but as he reaches his arm through the hole something grabs his hand, keeping him from running as objects begin to randomly fly towards him, metal pipe eventually finding its way into his back. As they search for their friend, the group stumble upon a sign for Slausen’s Lost Oasis and find Woody’s tyre discarded by the side of the road. Soon enough, the jeep breaks down, forcing Jerry to try to fix it as the girls take a dip in the water. But whilst her friends strip off and take a swim, Molly seems reluctant at first but finally relents. Mr. Slausen (Connors), the elderly owner of the property, appears at the shore with a shotgun, immediately claiming how he used to charge visitors to swim but the tourist trade has since dried up.
The kind old man offers to tow their car to his house where he can try to fix the problem. Arriving at what was once his tourist museum, they discover a house filled with mannequins, where he explains that once his wife had died all he had left was ‘this junk and my memories.’ Molly takes a liking to the old man, feeling sorry for his lonely life. Mr. Slausen explains that his brother had designed the mannequins but his talents had developed so much that he had been hired by the city. But when he reveals that he is based in the museum and only ‘Davey’ Crockett (Shailar Coby) lives at the house Eileen grows suspicious. Ignoring his warning of not wandering outside due to wild coyotes, she lets the curiosity get the better of her and suddenly vanishes. But when her friends grow worried and try to find her, they discover the shocking truth about the museum.
Tourist Trap’s weakest asset is the acting, with the attractive cast lacking any distinctive characteristics or screen charisma. Jones, in particular, makes for a feeble final girl, almost sleepwalking through her role, although the sexual appeal of Roberts helps keep Becky interesting. Connors is suitably creepy in his role as the old man who may not be what he seems, but the remaining performers are generic and lack sympathy. The script borrows heavily from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (a group of kids find an old gas station, they trespass where they are not welcome and are eventually dispatched by a bulking-yet-effeminate killer) but has enough originality and suspense to provide enough genuinely unsettling moments. The concept of city slickers wandering too far into the wilderness and angering the locals has been re-used countless times since Deliverance but it is such an interesting premise Schmoeller (and co-writer J. Larry Carroll) manage to craft an interesting tale.
By far the film’s most impressive elements are the special effects and production design, performed by Richard O. Helmer (Apocalypse Now) and Robert A. Burns (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), respectively. The mannequins prove to be the most chilling feature, their blank expressions and unsettling laughter creating an eerie atmosphere. One sequence in particular that lingers in the memory is when one victim is literally transformed into a dummy, her face being drowned in plaster. The one plot point that never quite works is the telekinesis, which takes away from the realistic elements of the story and instead lifts it into the supernatural, immediately diluting the constant sense of dread much of the film employs. Whilst the end result is somewhat disjointed, Tourist Trap is still an effective and unique horror that still stands as arguably Charles Band’s best effort.
July 18, 2009 @ 11:07 pm
Good review, mate!! Tourist Trap is one of my faves, and it is definitely underrated. I think that is part to it being relatively bloodless, but it makes up in atmosphere by the bucketload.
July 19, 2009 @ 6:20 am
Agreed! Very atmospheric and at times suspenseful which is why I wear my Tourist Trap shirt with pride..heheh
July 19, 2009 @ 10:39 pm
There are some aspects of this that I really like – the telekinetic abilities of the killer create some genuine suspense when he bolts shut doors and animates the lifeless mannequins. Also the cast and the basic premises of the plot are appealing.
However, the movie could have benefitted from tighter editing and camera work. And chatty killers are risky at best – here, it’s a double edged sword, because his voice would have been rather creepy, if he didn’t keep yacking on like that.
July 20, 2009 @ 12:46 am
I to love “Tourist Trap” for what’s already been mentioned. The “Texas Chainsaw..” attitude, the desolation factor, love the creepy atmosphere, the telekinesis is on the “What he Hell?” side but actually makes all the more freaky and the mannequins? Well they are even more creepy than “Maniac”. Like when there jaws drop open and go AAAAAH AAAAH AAAAh. Great film that’s not the norm.
July 20, 2009 @ 4:05 pm
This is a HORROR CLASSIC! I’ve always loved this movie since I was really little and if you look for Shaye St. John on YouTube, they seem to have drawn a lot of insipiration from the mannequins…LOL!!
July 21, 2009 @ 5:53 am
TOURIST TRAP IS GREAT AND DAVID AYRES DID A GREAT JOB WITH THE MAKE-UP FX THIS IS A VERY CREEPY MOVIE THAT DIDNT NEED BLOOD, EVEN THE GAY CHUCK CONNERS PULLED OFF A GREAT JOB AS THE LEAD.
July 21, 2009 @ 5:54 am
oops sorry bout the caps i sometimes forget forums hate caps
July 31, 2009 @ 3:11 pm
” Tourist Trap” is another horor gem from the 70’s. When I was a kid the vhs box cover was enough to get me NOT to rent it! Ha..ha. Years later I did watch it and loved it. Found it used on a speacial edition DVD not too long ago. It’s still a great film. The opening alone is goosebump material. Chuck conners was wonderful. I like how he brought that “old school” feel to the film…..good stuff! If you havent seen this film or havent seen it in awhile I recommend you check it out!
Did i mention the absolutly gorgeous tanya roberts (That 70’s show)? She was def the “megan fox” of the late 70’s early 80’s.
She’s more than just eye candy here and does a pretty good job.
August 20, 2009 @ 7:56 am
Though this film doesn’t come close to being as “memorable” as most of its counterparts, it still holds the distinction – for me – as the horror film with the creepiest opening sequence in horror history!
September 23, 2009 @ 6:24 pm
Maybe I wasn’t in the mood but I found it boring. Good masks but that’s all. Terrible acting by the girls…so disappointing!
September 25, 2009 @ 5:52 am
My first glimpse of Tourist Trap was on USA’s “Saturday Nightmares”. Never looked at mannequins the same ever since.
March 17, 2010 @ 3:43 am
I watch this at least twice a year. One of my top 100 favorite films. His mask is just creepy. In one scene though, you can actually see director David Schmoeller’s reflection in glass, but I can’t say because it’s one of the death scenes.
Top 100 Slasher Horror Movies
May 5, 2010 @ 5:52 pm
[…] Tourist Trap – Chuck Connors plays Mr. Slausen, a kindly man who takes in a group of teenagers with car […]
August 23, 2013 @ 8:02 pm
I just watched this on youtube. The thumbnail really made me curious as it looked like some freaky doll thing so I though I would watch it, and I’m quite into the retro horror thing after I watched Basket Case 2. I LOVED THIS FILM!, I REALLY FUCKING LOVED THIS FILM.. like how has this not got more attention?. Its so freaky and eerie, not to over the top I guess with the normal looking rooms and the personality it has. One thing I wish that would of happened in the movie is having Mr. Slausen explain, or the movie atleast show how he can move these Mannequin’s an make objects fly and stuff, atleast towards the end show that he is like a wizard or something, apart from that.. this movie. This fucking movie, what a legend!