"My brother always makes me wear this stupid mask. Do you know why? Because I'm prettier than him." There is no doubt, he is far prettier than his brother! Join your faithful Grue Crew - Doc Rotten, Chad Hunt, Bill Mulligan, and Jeff Mohr - as they visit Mr. Slausen’s Lost Oasis in Tourist Trap, the film which Stephen King says, “wields an eerie, spooky power.”
Decades of Horror 1970s
Episode 102 – Tourist Trap (1979)
Teenagers come across a shut-in psychopath with telekinetic powers. He proceeds to use these powers to slay them one by one as well as animate the various mannequins he uses to keep himself company.
IMDb
Director: David Schmoeller Writers: David Schmoeller, J. Larry Carroll Production Co: Charles Band Productions Music: Pino Donaggio Art Direction & Makeup (special masks and mannequin effects): Robert A. Burns Cinematography: Nicholas Josef von Sternberg Featured Cast: Chuck Connors as Mr. Slausen Jocelyn Jones as Molly Jon Van Ness as Jerry Robin Sherwood as Eileen Tanya Roberts as Becky Dawn Jeffory-Nelson as Tina Keith McDermott as Woody Linnea Quigley as a Mannequin (uncredited)
Your Decades of Horror 1970s Grue Crew all agree Tourist Trap is an underrated film. In fact, they all admit to paying it little heed in passing until they took a closer look for this podcast. Bill brings up Pino Donaggio’s quirky score and Robert Burns’ art direction and mask designs as contributing factors to the film’s creepiness. The first kill scene really got to Chad as Woody meets his demise in a seemingly abandoned gas station and don’t even mention the hands! Jeff gives some background on Chuck Connors’ athletic exploits prior to becoming an actor and points out an early uncredited role for scream queen Linnea Quigly.
The Grue Crew give Tourist Trap a solid recommendation with the following caveat: be prepared to watch a very odd film. Despite its oddness, you will be watching a very creepy and powerful take on slasher films in this hidden gem from 1979.
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