Tourist traps... every city and small one horse town on the planet has 'em. From Magic Mountain (aka. Wallyworld) in California, to the Southern Highland's own 'Big Turd'. O.K so it's allegedly a big potato, but it's elongated and brown... as far as my eyes are concerned, it's a turd. But I'm getting a little off the track here, which is exactly what four young twenty something's do when they stumble on the tourist trap in this movie.
The tourist trap in question is a kind of wild west waxworks theme park. It's pissweak in every way, which is probably why it's closed down. The twenty something's break down, and go there for help. Jack Palance lookalike Chuck Connors is there to greet them. He's just a little loopy, but seems harmless enough. What our young hip cats don't realise however, is that the wax dummies are actually alive, possessed by some strange force.
To say any more would give the entire plot away. But unless you're eight years old, you'll probably find this predictable enough after the first fifteen minutes anyway. I have mixed feelings about this film. It does have some truly chilly moments in the first and last quarter, but the middle really lags to the point of tedium. It would have made a great half hour episode of The Twilight Zone, or a solid section of an anthology film, but as a feature it doesn't quite cut it. It will take a patient individual indeed to watch this in one sitting.
Still, it's available for under $10 from Amazon, so you may still want to take a punt if you're unable to find a rental copy gathering dust at you're local video store. It does have a couple of memorable moments, particularly when an axe weilding Jerry attempts to save Molly. This was one of the few plot twists I didn't see coming a mile away. So it's probably worth a look just for that one scene, and the hilarious ending. |