Tourist Trap (1979)

continued...

... other girl who I couldn't place, and Jocelyn Jones from the Great Texas Dynamite Chase playing the good girl oddly enough. She still looks pretty damn good, but it's odd seeing one of the Dynamite girls not wearing denim cut offs. And not robbing banks with a dynamite stick. The guys are typical 70s filler, neither of whom can act too well, but do make handy victims.

The film is very well made, and moves along pretty crisply. As is proper, it does open with an unrelated murder, which is always a good way to start a movie. But more importantly, it has a genuine creepiness about it, mainly due to the Mannequins. This film had the creepiest mannequins this side of "Maniac" (1980), and the atmosphere really works well. For an example of how to make a very bad film with a lot of the same premises, watch the last "House of Wax" with Paris Hilton. Clearly whoever made that film saw this one, because there are a lot more parallels between "Tourist Trap" then with the first two (also superior) "House of Wax".

This was also one of the horror films that used to pop up regularly on the Late Show on most regional channels. (Maybe make that Late, Late show). I also vaguely remember it popping up on TBS, back in the good old Night Flight days. Either way, this film really does come recommended. It's the type of decent, craftily made ‘B' material that doesn't really get made anymore.

...back to beginning