Tourist Trap (film)

The screenplay for Tourist Trap was written by David Schmoeller and J. Larry Carroll, the latter of whom pitched the film to producer Charles Band.[2] Initially, Schmoeller intended for John Carpenter to direct the film, but Carroll was unsatisfied with the financial arrangements, and opted instead that Schmoeller should direct.[2] Carroll and Schmoeller had previously pitched the film to producers Samuel Z. Arkoff and Bruce Cohn Curtis, but were unable to secure a production arrangement.[3]

The original screenplay did not feature the telekinetic powers; according to Carroll, the idea was proposed by Band, who insisted it be implemented into the script.[2]

The production did not appoint a casting director for the film, instead relying on independent talent agents to help cast the roles.[3] According to director Schmoeller, $50,000 of the film's budget was dedicated to salary for the lead actor portraying the villain, Mr. Slausen.[3] The role was offered to several older Hollywood actors, such as Jack Palance and Gig Young, but both turned the project down.[3] Chuck Connors, who was the production crew's third choice for the role, accepted the role.[3]

According to Schmoeller, each of the actors in the film aside from Connors auditioned for their parts.[3] Jocelyn Jones was cast as the female lead, Molly, after Schmoeller had seen some of her previous performances, while Tanya Roberts was given the role of Becky.[3] Jon Van Ness and Robin Sherwood were given the roles of Jerry and Eileen, respectively.[3]

Tourist Trap was filmed in 24 days in Los Angeles County, California, with additional interiors shot at Rampart Sound Studios in Los Angeles.[1] Principal photography began on March 27, 1978.[1] A portion of the interior scenes were shot at an abandoned house located at 5255 Hollywood Boulevard which was scheduled for demolition.[1] Schmoeller made arrangements with the contractor to postpone the demolition of the building for five days, during which time the crew shot footage.[1] By using the abandoned location, the production saved an estimated $30,000 in set construction and soundstage fees.[1] David Wyler, the son of William Wyler, served as second assistant director,[3] while the director of photography was Nicholas von Sternberg, son of Josef von Sternberg.[3]

Production designer Robert A. Burns, who had worked on Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) and Wes Craven's The Hills Have Eyes (1977), handled the art direction—and the majority of the special effects—on Tourist Trap, including the mannequins and their physical manipulations.[3][4] To accomplish the poltergeist-like effects in the film's opening scene, the set was constructed at a rotated 90 degrees; this allowed items to be hurled by the crew from the cabinet—which was, in fact, anchored to the ceiling—to the floor, which appeared on camera as a wall.[3] Other special effects were accomplished with the use of wires.[3] For the death sequence of Tanya Roberts's character, for example, a block of wood was taped behind Roberts's hair; a knife attached to a wire was hurled at the back of her head, which stuck into the wooden block.[3]

Schmoeller recalled the filming process as being a "learning" experience as he was a first-time director, stating in a 2014 interview that he learned a significant amount of "how to work with actors" from actress Jones.[3]

Italian composer Pino Donaggio was in town working on Joe Dante's Piranha (1978) at the time that David Schmoeller was filming Tourist Trap.[4] Since Donaggio spoke Spanish – as did Schmoeller – the director was able to convince the composer to score the music for Tourist Trap. The two would have subsequent collaborations, including Crawlspace (1986).[4]

From contemporary reviews, Variety wrote, "Although pic has some appropriately menacing music and occasionally employs some decent special effects, the plot is too loaded with cliches, from the concept to individual bits of dialog to be taken seriously and not silly enough to be regarded as delightfully bad."[5] Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the film "has some moments of effectiveness, but even the hard-line shiverists are likely to feel it's a long time between shrieks."[6] Tim Pulleine of the Monthly Film Bulletin called the film a "wholly unimaginative exercise in low-budget horror plunders Psycho for its central plot gimmick in a fashion even more hamfisted than it is bare-faced." and, that "Nothing much is made of the potentially sinister import of the wax dummies, by comparison with whom the human performers also fail to come off too well"[7]

From retrospective reviews, Author and film critic Leonard Maltin gave the film one and a half out of four stars, stating that although the film had a couple of genuine scares, it was a "mostly boring thriller".[8] Author Stephen King, in his book Danse Macabre (1981), praised the film as an obscure classic, noting that the film "wields an eerie spooky power, as wax figures begin to move and come to life in a ruined, out-of-the-way tourist resort."[9]

Jason Buchanan from AllMovie praised the film, calling it "one of the most underappreciated low-budget horror films of the 1970's". In his review on the film, Buchanan commended the film's atmosphere, score, Conners' performance, and unsettling use of sound and imagery; comparing it to Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.[10] TV Guide awarded the film two out of four stars, calling it a "bizarre, eerie shocker."[11]

The film was satirized by RiffTrax on November 21, 2012.[12]

The film was released on DVD by Cult Video on July 20, 1998. It was re-released on DVD by Wizard Entertainment on March 19, 2013. Full Moon Features released the film for the first time on Blu-ray on May 20, 2014.[13] The Full Moon Blu-ray release features a truncated version of the film; though the film's violent scenes remain intact, minor plot points are absent from this cut of the film.[14][15]