Tourist Trap

Plot synopsis:
Eileen (Robin Sherwood) and her boyfriend Woody (Keith McDermott) are driving through the desert. When their car gets a flat, Woody goes to find a gas station. Their friends Becky (Tanya Roberts), Jerry (Jon Van Ness) and Molly (Jocelyn Jones) are traveling separately in a different vehicle. They reach Eileen waiting at the car and they all drive off to collect Woody.
Woody has found a gas station but it appears deserted. He enters the back room but becomes trapped. Various mannequins appear in the room, and multiple objects fly at him until a metal pipe impales and kills him.
The others find a tourist trap and conclude Woody is there. As they drive in, their vehicle mysteriously breaks down. Jerry tries to fix his jeep and the girls go skinny dipping in a nearby oasis. As they swim, Slausen (Chuck Connors) appears holding a shotgun. Though outwardly polite he also seems embittered by the decline of his tourist trap since the highway was moved away. The nude girls feel awkward in the water as he chats and they apologize for trespassing.
Slausen offers to help Jerry with the jeep, but insists the group go to his house with him to get his tools. There, they see the tourist trap: animated waxworks figures, including armed bandits. Eileen is curious about a nearby house, but Slausen insists the women stay inside the museum. Slausen takes Jerry to fix the jeep leaving the women. Eileen leaves to find a phone in the other house. There she finds several mannequins inside the house. Someone calls her name, and a stranger wearing a grotesque mask suddenly appears behind her. Various items in the room move of their own accord and the scarf Eileen is wearing tightens and strangles her to death.
Slausen returns to Molly and Becky saying that Jerry drove his truck into town. When told that Eileen left, he goes to the house and finds Eileen has been turned into a mannequin. He returns and tells Molly and Becky he did not find Eileen and will leave again to continue the search. Frustrated the women also later leave to search for her. Becky (in her bare feet) enters the nearby house and finds a mannequin resembling Eileen. Becky is attacked by the masked killer and then by multiple mannequins. She later wakes up tied up in the basement along with Jerry. Jerry says the killer is Slausen's brother. Also held captive is Tina (Dawn Jeffory), who is strapped to a table. She is killed when the masked man covers her face with plaster, causing her to suffocate. Jerry frees himself and attacks the killer, but is soon overpowered. Jerry tries to reach for a key but the killer telekinetically moves it from his reach.
Molly, still outside searching for the others, is pursued by the masked man. She meets Slausen who drives her to the museum and gives her a gun while he goes inside. The masked man appears and Molly shoots, but the gun is loaded with blanks. The man removes the mask: it is Slausen. She panics and tries to elude Slausen but is soon captured and restrained to a bed.
Becky and Jerry escape from the basement, but get separated. Slausen appears and takes Becky to the museum. There the Old West figures begin shooting at her, and she is killed by an Indian Chief figure who throws a knife at her, stabbing her in the back of the head. Back at the house, Jerry arrives to rescue Molly, but he is revealed to have unknowingly been turned into a mannequin. Slausen dances with the figure of his wife, and Molly sees that the wife has become animated. Traumatized, she kills Slausen with an axe.
The film then ends where it takes place the next morning, and a grinning Molly is seen driving away in the jeep with the mannequin versions of her friends.

Tags: insanity, cult, murder

Review:
For being close to 26 years old, the film has stood up extremely well - a creepy back woods setting, decent effects, and few hidden surprises in the script; it's worthwhile viewing for any horror enthusiast.
There was a time, back before USA became the home of Emmy-award winning programming, when you could turn on the TV on a Saturday night and be treated to such highbrow programming as "Slugs," "Shock Waves," and the pervasively atmospheric creepfest, "Tourist Trap." Out of all the horror films I remember from my childhood, TT arguably left the most visible mark.
Scenes of a woman's face being turned into a plaster mask, a man impaled by a flying pipe, and a knife to the back of the skull left haunting marks on my neuroses that periodically popped up in the years that followed (during which, unfortunately, TT was near impossible to find on VHS).Having 'grown up' considerably since that time, and recently revisiting the 'ol "Trap" on DVD, I must say it has lost only a smidgen of its ability to shock.
As is properly cited on the DVD, the film branches off into different levels of insanity, to the point where kindly Mr. Slausen's (Connors) mannequins begin to resemble real live people...Not a masterpiece but far from a waste of time, "Tourist Trap" is a montage of elaborate face-masks, creepy vocal distortion, atmospheric nights, and desperate, panicked emotion.
There are, of course, mannequins, Tanja Roberts with dark hair in a tube top with big boobs, Chuck Conners wearing masks and talking like Harvey Fierstein(he did such a good job I didn't believe it wasn't two people!), an almost unwatchable suffocation scene and enough warped moments to give you nightmares for awhile.The DVD is a surprisingly stunning transfer with an OK commentary track by the director, who's other films didn't impress me much.
1979's Tourist Trap is a clever, unique B thriller that stands out as one of the best of it's kind.Travellers stop at a lonely wax museum where the owner's mannequins are a little too life-like for comfort.While the film has hints of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Tourist Trap is mainly a creepy psychological thriller worthy of The Twilight Zone.
Then, you see "Tourist Trap", and you think 'how did I miss this film?', which could easily be discussed in the same breath with Halloween, Nightmare on Elm St. and Creepshow.This is a great, fun, scary movie.
Tourist Trap has a big scare scene very early on, which could have been too much, too soon, but it really worked, and set the unnerving tone that the rest of the film continues.
"Tourist Trap" is a genuinely spooky low-budget horror film that will surely satisfy horror fans.It contains extremely strange atmosphere and there are some quite unnerving moments of total dread and fear.Some scenes are downright bizarre for example there is one scene when Chuck Connors sits down to have dinner with a mannequin that comes to life and starts conversing with him before its head falls off.There is very little gore,but the violence is quite strong for PG-rated horror film.The mannequins look very sinister and the climax is horrifying.David Schmoeller returned to make several other genre films including "Crawlspace","Puppet Master" and "Netherworld".Still "Tourist Trap" is definitely his best horror film,so if you want to be scared give this little gem a look.9 out of 10..
When I saw this movie on TV when I was a kid,it scared the hell out of me.Probably because mannequins give me the creeps too.Jocelyn Jones(Molly)is an excellent actress.She uses her facial expressions,especially her eyes,at playing terrified.Chuck Connors is great as Mr.Slausen.I was happy to see him play such a different roll.The other actors in this movie are great too!
Gritty and unpolished, but never succumbing to over-the-top shenanigans that plague so many horror movies, Tourist Trap slow burns with a nightmarish tone, and a very effectively eerie score courtesy of Pino Donaggio.Many mannequin horrors have come since, but none are as effective as this low-budget classic from 1979.
Following in the footsteps (and twisting them around) of the great classic wax films (House of Wax, Mystery of the Wax Museum), Tourist Trap takes the slasher genre to a whole new level of strange and fascinating with its bizarre story and style.
One of the best killers in the slasher subgenre.Scares/Suspense: From the opening scene on, the film maintains a great blend of the creepiness of the mannequins, jump scares from the attacks, and a strong level of suspense in the stranded situation.
Like "Chain Saw," It is a gritty, ugly and ultimately an undeniably humorous offering of macabre madness.Stranded by the side of the road (aren't they always), a group of young folk are taken in by an odd yet seemingly well-meaning owner of a local, deserted tourist attraction, played to perfection by Chuck Conners.
The only good thing in TOURIST TRAP are the following: music by the always great Pino Donnagio, the original movie poster and Tanya Roberts, who's totally hot.
This movie contains what is probably the greatest opening sequence in 80's horror cinema when a teenager, on a stroll after engine trouble, is trapped in a deserted house and assaulted by a creepy collection of wax statues.
Four other lambs to the slaughter arrive at the house and encounter an utterly insane maniac that looks somewhat like a mixture of Leatherface (from "Texas Chainsaw Massacre") and one of those mad sculptors from old wax-museum movies.
Though for me it's a more psychological reason on how much we blur the line between real and unreal and by doing that we become unable to distinguish the difference, which makes us vulnerable to whatever forces threaten us from both realms.This is an under the radar gem that I really like, I really like the plotline which is the typical one you've seen in lots of horror films like "Wrong Turn", "House of 1,000 Corpses" etc.
Not that that's a big deal as it doesn't seem like he has anyone to really call but I feel that little thing is a big way of telling you not just he doesn't get out much but how long he hasn't gotten out.The killer Pugface doesn't disappoint, the mask he has along with that voice it will just give your spine a chill tickle, he looks and sounds like Zeke the Plumber from an episode of "Salute Your Shorts" wonder if the writer of that episode saw this film, on a side note that guy creeped me out too.
This film really had the best use of puppeteering, electro magnets, automation and even make up designs as there were some people made to look like mannequins/ wax figures, those make up effects were convincing because half the time I wasn't sure.
And just simply blurring the line from the real and unreal just like some of the poor characters, even you at time have trouble distinguishing the difference as it's constantly messed with; there is one final scene near the end which I'll admit gave me chills I won't say what it is but it's the time when that line between both real and unreal almost completely disappears.But the very best thing about this film is the score which is great, it's one of my favorite horror movie scores ever.
Cast is good, Chuck Connors as the wax museum's owner and a young Tanya Roberts are the most featured but Robin Sherwood (who quit acting to manage a home furnishings business) is the strongest of the leads.
The "Creature" Davey and his army of murderous mannequins make quick and brutal work of the friends, until only one remains.Although not a Slasher movie "Tourist Trap" still contains elements of slasher movies such as the chase scenes and the stalking and the fact the killer wears a mask.The seemingly telekinetic abilities of the killer to lock bolts and animate the wax dummies, is used to great effect.
These wax figures are blatantly plastic shop dummies- but this only goes to serve as even more eerie when their eyes move with an incredible human The acting is actually pretty good, Chuck Conners gives a well rounded and creepy performance as Mr Slausen, Jocelyn Jones is great as the female lead..
Though not completely original--it owes much to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, it holds its own with a sense of humor, genuine creepy moments, a brilliant score by Pino Donaggio, and the fun performances by Chuck Connors and the cast.
In real life, a good mannequin will make you do a double take - and here, that's about the last thing you're likely to see, if you happen to be stuck at Slausen's defunct wax museum and roadside stand.
The rest of the cast may be relatively unknown (wasn't Jocelyn Jones in that Texas car chase movie as well?), but Chuck Connors and Tanya Roberts were and are, just familiar enough to audiences, to make you think - Stephen King style - that this could happen to you, or people you know.Comparisons to Psycho (plot) and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (overall look and feel), even if they aren't the first associations in my mind, are valid.
I just watched it again recently.What was wrong with me back then?This movie has what every single other "Halloween" ripoff made does: teenagers, innocent-looking locales, impenetrable nights, "innocent" old men (Connors), great babes (Roberts!) and lotsa blood.But what is different on this variation?Killer mannequins.
Yes, there are some creepy moments, but overall, the movie's never worked on that level for me.I always try to include the good side of any movie I watch, so here it is for Tourist Trap.
However rather than a lone axeman or maniac in a hockey mask doing the bumping, the main bad guy (or guys) is the wax mannequins of the museum and their creator who brings them to life.Quirky from the start, 'Tourist Trap' waits for no establishing set piece scenes or even spends any time introducing characters, it just moves a broken down car load of would be victims (including the delectable Tanya Roberts sporting black hair) off to their impending doom.
After a brief skinny dip, along comes Chuck Connors to tell 'those pesky kids' that the area they are hanging out in, isn't quite right since 'they built the highway' through it, and he ain't telling the half of it!'Tourist Trap' seems to show promise early on when the dummies are first discovered, with some genuinely eerie scenes with dummies in frozen poses and fixed smiles, moving their eyes.
However when their creator is introduced the film takes a different direction, away from the Scooby Doo plot and edges toward Texas Chainsaw Massacre territory with a few supernatural touches and attempts at humour thrown in.Along with the drudging chase sequences through the undergrowth and too many cat and mouse scenes, 'Tourist Trap' eventually sinks in it's repetitive nature, and the unsurprising revelation of the identity of the main villain offers little to the movie's mediocrity..
As a kid watching this I was very scared!Also Chuck Connors is a good actor most famous for the old western TV show The Rifleman.This one is hard to find but does play on cable TV channels every so often in a quite edited format (for time, not gore, there's not too much slasher type stuff in this one).
"Tourist Trap" from 1979 is one film that to me is a B list horror gem the plot is a little silly and the scenes seem far fetched yet, still for it's day it provided fears and fright for an audience.
The plot revolves around a wax museum and a group of teenage kids who wander away(which was typical of late 70' and early 80's horror pictures).Set in the California desert area a group of teenage kids break down and after getting rid of car trouble they find and wonder their way to a creepy and deserted wax house called Slausen's Lost Oasis and each one by one are lured into this trap of death and a wax bath!
I am not going to say this is one of the greats or a lost classic, but I can safely say it is underrated -- considering how few people have heard of it, it is much better than you might think.Stephen King praised the picture, saying the film "wields an eerie spooky power, as wax figures begin to move and come to life in a ruined, out-of-the-way tourist resort." The fact King singled out this film says something, though I am not sure what.
Tourist Trap (1979) is an entertaining horror movie from the late 70's, the movie is about a bunch of young friends who get stranded on an old deserted lane by a creepy old waxwork museum.The owner of the museum seems like a strange but harmless old man, but things take a very nasty turn when members of the young group start getting killed off, who is responsible for the murders, is it old man Slausen or is it his collection of creepy mannequins who seem to be alive and hungry for blood!!!!
Tourist Trap turned out to be a much better film that I was expecting, containing enough great material to make it a classic alongside the likes of Halloween.
I also liked the idea that it was going to be the sleazy Chuck Connors playing the lead part of an old lunatic who lures a young group of people to his shack and allegedly turns them into mannequins.Well, turned out that Chuck wasn't all that great, and the film never was able to compensate for its obvious low budget.
OK...i have seen just about everything....and some are considered classics that shouldn't be ( like all those Halloween movies that suck crap or even Steven king junk).......and some are considered just OK that are really great.....( like carnival of souls )........and then some are just plain ignored............like ( evil ed ) or ( pumpkin head and brain dead "the bud Cort one" ) then some stick in your head once seen and never leave...........that's what this did to me........and for my money this is much better than last house on the left............last house was great till the ending...then it blew chunks.....what kind of dummy is gonna give a blow job to someone who just killed their kids ????.completely stupid ..go find the movie "bully" or even "funny games" if ya want realism and to be creep ed out.........but this damn thing stuck with me for years.........one cause chuck Connors always was scary.........two Tanya Roberts is the best female victim ever........three the chick being smothered in plaster still is one of the all time worst killings on film........and 4th the telekinetic powers thing blew my mind and came totally unexpected.......not to mention the dummies wax figures puppets etc.......it should be right there with psycho,last house,Texas chainsaw,etc.......
A group of young travelers that just ran out of gas go into a weird wax museum called "Saluesen's Lost Oasis" owned by a strange man named Slausen (Chuck Conners) as the dummies are controlled by some mysterious force and a madman with special powers wants them dead.One of the most under-appreciated horror movies of the late 70's!
Tourist Trap is a pretty good horror movie, a bit underrated if you ask me.
Once at the creepy roadside attraction, the friends are stalked by a mask-wearing lunatic who can bring the museum's dummies to life through the power of the mind.Tourist Trap's bad guy is a demented cross between The Texas Chain Saw Massacre's Leatherface and Anthony, the scary kid from the classic Twilight Zone episode 'It's a Good Life', whilst the plot is a blend of elements from the aforementioned TCM, Hitchcock's Psycho, and House of Wax. The atmosphere and execution of Tourist Trap, however, is so totally off-kilter that, in this respect, it's virtually impossible to draw comparison with other earlier movies.Director David Schmoeller's continually inventive and unpredictable treatment of his own script gives the film a distinctly nightmarish quality, and with a brilliant left-field performance from Connors, an impossibly creepy score from Pino Donaggio, a collection of truly unsettling mannequins with detachable jaws, and the presence of super sexy Tanya Roberts, who spends the film in (and briefly out of) tiny denim hot-pants and a figure hugging boob-tube, Tourist Trap is a totally unforgettable and ultimately one-of-a-kind horror experience well deserving of its cult following..
Unfortunately for Molly and her gang of friends they break down near Mr Slaussen's Lost Oasis and become hostages of a psycho with telekinetic powers, loves to don women's wigs and dresses, and makes mannequins out of his victims.People with pediophobia look out this horror film is aimed at you and anybody that believes mannequins and puppets are creepy.Chuck Connors really rises above the material does a standout job as Mr Slaussen and manages to make the character quite energetically comic to watch and very sympathetic near the end (when he confesses the mystery of his missing brother and the death of his wife to Molly).One of the most effective moments in Tourist Trap is Mr Slaussen describing the sensations of plaster being applied to the face of one of his victims and how the panic is going to burst her heart long before she suffocates for lack of breathe beneath the drying plaster.
Tourist Trap is not quite a horror classic, but it's a decent enough film that it will never be forgotten.
A few surprise twists, great hide-and-seek chase scenes, and an effectively ubercreepy atmosphere make Tourist Trap a must see, brilliant cult piece that goes beyond "slasher" and actually touches on Psychological Thriller.Given the competent acting, VERY eerie setting, nice effects for the time it was made, and originality executed in the story not to mention a bizarre and unpredictable ending, this film is definitely worth hunting down a copy.
"Tourist Trap" is a bizarre, great horror film from the '70s.