Today's Pick: Tourist Trap (1979)
The 1970's was a fantastic era for American cinema all around, and the horror genre was no exception. The B-movie went A-list with Steven Spielberg's Jaws, our religious fears were mined with both The Exorcist and The Omen, and another mythical figure took his place in the hall of hallowed monsters in... well, we'll save that for another entry. But, hiding underneath all these mainstream successes are lots of mini-masterpieces waiting to be appreciated by a new generation. One of those happens to be Tourist Trap, an exercise in atmosphere and outright creepiness.
The 1970's was a fantastic era for American cinema all around, and the horror genre was no exception. The B-movie went A-list with Steven Spielberg's Jaws, our religious fears were mined with both The Exorcist and The Omen, and another mythical figure took his place in the hall of hallowed monsters in... well, we'll save that for another entry. But, hiding underneath all these mainstream successes are lots of mini-masterpieces waiting to be appreciated by a new generation. One of those happens to be Tourist Trap, an exercise in atmosphere and outright creepiness.
If you ever saw the in-name only remake of House of Wax back in 2005, you actually saw a somewhat lesser iteration of Tourist Trap. The films are strikingly similar (at the plot level), but where Tourist Trap far excels is its utilization of mood to create almost constant unease. This is a film where the low budget actually works in the film's favor, thanks to co-writer/director David Schmoeller's application of a "less is more" approach. There are only about seven characters in the whole film, and this desolation of people helps enforce the physical desolation surrounding the picture. The aura Tourist Trap gives off is pure spine-tingling emptiness.
The other big factors that make the film utterly chilling are the music and sound design. Pino Donaggio's score is sometimes childish and other times aggressively insane, but it's often the lack of music and/or sound that create the most tense moments. There are also lots of ethereal voices heard throughout the picture that play with volume in the spookiest of ways. The soundtrack alone is worth watching this film, but there's lots of other things to love. Chuck Connors gives a great performance as Mr. Slausen, never winking at the camera or emitting a feeling like he's slumming it in some cheap horror flick. His good ol' boy demeanor adds a charm and warmth to a film that is mostly devoid of either.
Tomorrow brings us the greatest comic book film ever made! Spoiler alert: It's not Howard the Duck. Come back tomorrow and find out!
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