Tourist Trap (1979) Starring Chuck Connors, Jocelyn Jones, Jon Van Ness, Robin Sherwood & Tanya Roberts Written by David Schmoeller & J. Larry Carroll Directed by David Schmoeller

Sometime when I was a teen-ager, WWOR-TV channel 9 out of New York City was airing TOURIST TRAP, a film about bizarre goings-on at a museum of mannequins (Yikes!), on a Saturday afternoon. Having been a diligent reader of the movie timetable in my local newspaper for many years, I was perplexed to learn that I was unaware of it. I later discovered that while TOURIST TRAP played mostly at theatres very far from my hometown, none of which I had heard of, it also played at one of New York's City's largest theatres, the 1,440-seat Loews Astor Plaza in Times Square(!) Produced by Irwin Yablans, who brought us HALLOWEEN and HELL NIGHT, and directed by David Schmoeller, TOURIST TRAP is, bar none, the most frightening movie ever made about mannequins, and a prime example of low-budget horror filmmaking from a bygone era. In the hot California sun, several friends are embarking on a weekend of fun. Eileen (Robin Sherwood) and Woody (Keith McDermott) are stranded after their tire blows out. Woody goes off alone in search of a gas station, leaving Eileen behind. Soon afterwards, Jerry (Jon Van Ness), Molly (Jocelyn Jones), and Becky (Tanya Roberts) come by and pick up Eileen in Jerry's jeep. Woody would have done well to stay with Eileen. The gas station he finds is deserted except for a few mannequins that seem to have a life of their own. The sequence where he is confronted by them and eventually dispatched is unquestionably one of the most bizarre and frightening openings ever done in a horror film.

Meanwhile, the others pass a sign for Slausen's Lost Oasis (and find what they believe to be Woody's tire near the road). Inexplicably, the jeep conks out. As Jerry tries to fix it, the girls take an opportunity to go swimming in a pond. They meet Mr. Slausen (Chuck Connors), a congenial elder who appears with a rifle, but he is friendly and non-threatening. He owns a now-defunct roadside souvenir shop/wax museum, and reminiscences about his old Oasis and how he had to close it down years ago. Molly takes a liking to him and on behalf of the others, accepts Slausen's offer to give them a ride to his place. When they arrive, he shows them his museum of oddities, the creepiest of which is a replica of his wife who has since passed on. Most sinister of all, however, is the house that sits behind the museum. When asked who lives there, Slausen replies, "Just Davey," and leaves it at that. Naturally, there's always one who's curious and in this case, it's Eileen. When Slausen and Jerry go back to fix the jeep, Eileen, against the wishes of Becky and Molly, ventures out and never returns. When Becky and Molly get worried and go looking for her, they find themselves in a heap of trouble.

TOURIST TRAP is a classic example that a low budget can be a horror film's greatest asset. The film's theme is familiar by now to die-hard horror film fans. However, it's done with such panache that any complaints of a lack of originality go by the wayside. Despite this, TOURIST TRAP possesses an air of originality thanks to Nicholas Von Sternberg's beautiful visual style and superb editing by Ted Nicolaou. Other watershed horror films that come to mind are PSYCHO and THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, the latter of which is TOURIST TRAP's most obvious inspiration thanks to the production design by Robert A. Burns. It is very creepy and unnerving.

Chuck Connors gives a wonderful and surprisingly sympathetic performance as Mr. Slausen. As the story progresses, the natural inclination on the part of the viewer is to refute the plausibility of the off-the-wall set pieces that slowly mount. However, I find that if you watch it from the standpoint of falling asleep and having a nightmare, the film is much more frightening and believable. The film imbues Mr. Slausen with a sense of pathos and never seems to make up its mind as to whether or not we should, to quote TENEBRE's Inspector Germani, hate him or feel sorry for him.

When I was seven, my sister and I used to venture into my grandmother's basement which was populated by some truly frightening dolls. One of them had outstretched hands with no hair that walked when you wound it up and it was very frightening. This film has that kind of effect.

TOURIST TRAP inexplicably received a PG rating during its October 1979 theatrical release which, the director implies, killed it at the box office. While the film contains no overt bloodshed, one of the murders is particularly gruesome and cruel - this is discounting the opening scene.

The NTSC DVD transfer of this film is a revelation. Colors that were originally muted on the old 16mm faded prints that made the rounds on late night television and cable are now rich and vibrant. Pino Donaggio's brilliant score, which is not only one of the best elements in the film but also one of the best in the entire genre, comes through in full force. The soundtrack was released on a Varese Sarabande long-playing record in 1979, though it is missing a few cues. A deluxe CD release of the complete score would be a welcome addition to the collection of anyone who is an aficionado of this film. The style of this score anticipates some of Donnagio's best work that he would later do for Brian DePalma's DRESSED TO KILL and BLOW-OUT.

As a bonus, director David Schmoeller offers a running commentary throughout the film, though I wish he divulged more information than he actually does. Minutes of commentary are separated by minutes of silence, or of Mr. Schmoeller shifting in his chair. Although he mentions TOURIST TRAP's origins - a film school thesis project called THE SPIDER WILL KILL YOU that he made in 1974 and which runs 30 minutes - he never discloses the film's budget, something I would have liked to have learned. While THE SPIDER WILL KILL YOU does not appear on the DVD, unfortunately, it can be downloaded from thoratthebusstop.com for 99 cents in m4v format. If you click on the link labeled "THOR Store," you'll be taken to a page where you can purchase downloads and merchandise. THE SPIDER WILL KILL YOU is located on page two. It is transferred from less-than-pristine elements, and the image is dark and murky in some sequences, but it is definitely worth watching to see how TOURIST TRAP developed. The film was photographed by TOURIST TRAP's editor, Ted Nicolaou.

The DVD states that it contains forty trailers to other horror films, but I was only able to access seven of them.

Despite my carpings, the DVD is well worth owning and can be had for a few dollars on Ebay. The trailer for TOURIST TRAP is included. The film is flawed to be sure, but it's one of my personal favorites and if you're brave enough, do a search on Ebay for "tourist trap mask" and you'll find several truly creepy mask replicas from the film, sold by Ebay seller mphsmh2010. Halloween isn't that far off!!