Thoughts on Tourist Trap (1979)

For the record, the entire movie is free on YouTube: https://youtu.be/YHgfHmb_SdE

Honestly Tourist Trap is one of my favorite slashers ever. It’s so creative and it still has legitimately scary elements even to this day.

First off, the villain. Rarely is a slasher villain so threatening and powerful, usually it’s just a guy with a knife. But Slausen really makes the atmosphere of the film so oppressive, he feels so unstoppable, unpredictable and is completely sadistic. I was shocked to read that the telekinesis was a last minute addition from a producer, I really don’t think the movie would’ve worked nearly as well without it.

Secondly, the fact that this movie is rated PG is just insane. It’s way scarier than a lot of R rated movies that came later.

Thirdly, the opening scene is just amazing. It leaves you in such a state of confusion as to what is even happening, which makes it all the more disturbing. You fully expect to get a couple POV shots and for Woody to just get stabbed, but instead the entire room traps him and torments the shit out of him.

Then there’s the death scenes, which for a PG rated movie…damn they’re good. My personal favorites being the opening scene and the plaster face-mask.

Lastly, the soundtrack by Pino Donaggio is just brilliant. It makes the film much more memorable and unique, and surprisingly fits the tone very well. It’s goofy and lighthearted at points, almost matching circus music, while also utilizing intense and sweeping scores when necessary.

Tourist Trap isn’t a perfect movie, the characters are a little one-note and the climax does drag on for a bit, but overall I was impressed by how much this movie surprised me. It’s a solid 8/10 and a great watch for any horror/slasher fan looking for something new.