Shudder Saturday: Tourist Trap (1979)

Another week goes by, another movie watched by myself that I could have sworn I'd already watched years ago. Tourist Trap is quite a well-known horror movie, at least among horror movie fans who didn't just start their journey through the genre in the '90s or at the start of this century, and I always confused it with some other films I'd already seen (probably something like Just Before Dawn). Anyway, now I've finally seen it, and I'm glad.

The first feature from director David Schmoeller, who also co-wrote the thing with J. Larry Carroll, this is an enjoyably simple premise that uses the framework to deliver some impressive imagery and a feeling of spiralling madness. It may seem a bit crude and cheap to modern viewers, but there are still a handful of moments here that really impress.

Chuck Connors plays a man who encounters some holidaying youngsters in a place that is fairly isolated. There are large woods to wander around in, a lake to swim in for a whole, and the titular tourist trap, a roadside museum featuring a number of disturbing mannequins. It's not long until these young people start to get anxious about their predicament, and they start being picked off, one by one, even before you can say "the car engine won't start, dammit." 

Aside from Connors, there's nobody truly memorable in the cast here. You have people like Jocelyn Jones, Jon Van Ness, Robin Sherwood, Tanya Roberts, and one or two others, enough to at least present a generous selection of potential victims. I wouldn't single anyone out as bad, nor would I single anyone out as a real highlight. Connors is fun as the standard old man who advises the younger people against too many shenanigans, but there's more of an impression made by one or two of the aforementioned mannequins.

Considering the relatively familiar and uninspired plotting, Tourist Trap excels thanks to some fantastic visuals throughout, helped by the cinematography of Nicholas Josef von Sternberg, as well as a score from Pino Donaggio accompanying the unfolding insanity. Lots of other people work behind the scenes to make this the best it can be, including Ted Nicolau editing and working in the sound department a few years before starting his own directorial career, and the end result is something that feels as surprisingly influential as it was itself influenced by a number of key horror movie classics.

It could have done with a few more suspects/red herrings, and maybe a few more scenes that showcased some onscreen bloodshed, but this remains a great little horror movie for those who will appreciate the atmosphere, creepy visuals, and general sense of characters being pushed further and further into a bottleneck of absolute insanity.

8/10

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Curse Of The Puppet Master (1998)

Okay. This. This was a film. The sixth entry in the Puppet Master series doesn't really feel like a Puppet Master movie. Instead, it feels like one of those low-budget films trying to cash in on something more successful, which is very odd. Think of how Dolly Dearest compares to Child's Play and you'll get the idea (oh, and for those who have not seen it in years, it does NOT hold up well). A bit of research once the end credits rolled shows that the film also borrowed quite liberally from a 1973 movie named Sssssss, which means I will have to check that out one day. It also helps to explain why this feels less like a film belonging to this series than any of the other instalments I have viewed so far.

The plot this time around concerns a Dr. Magrew (George Peck), the owner of a doll museum known as The House Of Marvels. On a jaunt with his daughter (Jane, played by Emily Harrison), just home from college, the two meet a mild-mannered young man named Robert (Josh Green) who works at a small gas station. Robert also carves small wooden creations that impress both of the Magrews, prompting a job offer. Once back at The House Of Marvels, Robert is shown the living puppets that viewers are already familiar with, and Dr. Magrew admits that he is looking for help in crafting his own new creation. So it looks like everyone could help each other out, much to the chagrin of a local bully (Joey, played by Michael D. Guerin) who seems quite bitter and jealous.

It's David DeCoteau back in the director's chair, credited as Victoria Sloan, but this is one of the many movies that he can seem to do nowadays for the producer-pleasing combination of quick and cheap. Hey, he's made a huge number of films, and kept a whole lot of people in employment, so it works more than it doesn't, but it feels like a further step down for this series after the previous couple of movies.

The script, by Neal Marshall Stevens (credited as Benjamin Carr), is . . . well, it's actually not TOO bad. There aren't any surprises, despite Stevens maybe thinking otherwise, and the broad characters are given the sort of dialogue that feels like it came out of a book entitled "cheap genre screenwriting 101", but it does everything required, sows a couple of good ideas, and at least tries out this particular diversion without really messing up the established history preceding it.

The performances are, to be as nice as possible, pretty much exactly as you'd expect. Peck is quite good fun as Magrew, Harrison is quite sweet as his daughter, and Green does better when he gets to move forward from early scenes that have him perilously close to just being "Simple Jack". Guerin is an irredeemable baddie, which makes things all the more enjoyable when he is finally shown the supernatural power of the puppets.

It's bad, yet it's not awful. There just isn't enough good stuff in the first half, one or two nightmare sequences aside. That wouldn't be a problem in the finale made up for it. It doesn't. In fact, once it became obvious where things were heading (which you should be able to spot quite early on) it then becomes a waiting game to see how well it's all depicted, leading to disappointment when you see that it's not depicted half as well as it could have been.

4/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can buy a decent little set here.

Puppet Master (1989)

A group of psychics gather together to pay their respects to a deceased colleague. Except they actually have another agenda, to learn the secrets of a famed alchemist named André Toulon (played in a short sequence at the start of the movie by William Hickey). And their colleague may be hiding something from them all. It's not long until people start wandering off on their own, which allows them to be terrorised and picked off by Toulon's deadly creations, some killer puppets.

Directed by David Schmoeller, who also worked on the screenplay from a story idea by Charles Band and Kenneth J. Hall, Puppet Master is the first in what would be the most successful series for Full Moon Features (in terms of fan loyalty and number of instalments). Unless I am forgetting another obvious contender.

All of the elements are in place here that let you know this is from the house that Band built. There's a very familiar score from Richard Band, a cast full of relative unknowns, with the exception of Hickey in his small role and Paul Le Mat as someone who turns out to be the lead, in a number of ways. There's a sprinkling of nudity, creative use of the low budget (done better here than in so many other Full Moon Features movies), and a few scenes that recycle footage from earlier scenes. And, of course, you get the main killers, which are among some of the best diminutive creations to be enjoyed in this kind of non-theatrical fare. The film was originally due to be released in cinemas, but Band figured he would make more in the home entertainment market. It's hard to argue against him when you think of how these films have maintained their following for the past thirty years.

The cast are all there to play second fiddle to the puppets, which they all seem fine with. While nobody is doing their very best work, nobody totally stinks up the screen either. Le Mat is a bit bland, but not awful, Robin Frates is the widow of the deceased figure at the centre of events, which automatically shades her with some mystery and suspicion, and Kathryn O'Reilly gamely takes on the role that throws some gratuitous nudity into the mix. Irene Miracle, Matt Roe, and Jimmie F. Skaggs do what is asked of them, and Barbara Crampton appears for a completely unnecessary, but welcome, cameo appearance (her total screentime is probably not even one full minute though).

Although it doesn't make the most of the fun premise, Puppet Master is a film I will always have a soft spot for. It has a weak script, an average cast, and those puppets, with each one at least having a memorably unique trait. That last aspect is enough to keep me happy. I hope to make my way through the entire franchise one day, and I suspect that I have already endured much worse during my cinematic "travels". I know that my optimism may be worn down by the time I get through the first few movies, but I'll cling on to it for now. Watch this space to see if it ever disappears entirely while I get myself up to speed with the escapades of Toulon and co.

7/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can buy a decent little set here.