The 1970s was the primo decade for horror movies, ripe with unquestionable classics such as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Carrie, The Exorcist, Jaws, Alien, Suspiria, Halloween, Dawn of the Dead, and Last House on the Left, to name a few. The limp 1979 mannequin horror Tourist Trap was a late addition to the genre but despite its emphasis on atmospheric—rather than visceral—horror, it really can’t compete. The film’s lack of gore, coupled with even less skin (despite an early skinny-dipping sequence), will leave genre fans feeling cheated. In addition, the scares aren’t particularly shocking, just creepy. Chuck Connors (The Rifleman) slums it as the backwoods proprietor of Slausen’s Lost Oasis, a wax museum that nobody visits anymore now that they went and built that gosh darned interstate an’ all. When a gaggle of comely comrades (among them Tanya Roberts, who still can’t act) stumble upon the place after their car dies, Slausen uses his telekinesis-controlled mannequins to knock off the poor unfortunates rather than enjoying the unexpected business (one wonders if his telekinetic demonstrations might have sold more tickets than the waxworks themselves). The first death scene is easily the best, insanely loud and overedited to the point of nausea, with projectiles flying, doors and windows slamming, and pinhead dummy’s mouths flapping down to emit hideous cackles and wails. Pino Donaggio’s score is a disappointment though.
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(c) 2017 David N. Butterworth
butterworthdavidn@gmail.com
La Movie Boeuf 