Tourist Trap (1979)

I love old roadside attractions, which we have a few of here in Oregon.  From the Enchanted Forest to the Prehistoric Gardens, from the Wildlife Safari to the Oregon Vortex and House of Mystery, I enjoy just about anything like that.  When the House of Wax film came out in 2005, it reminded me of some of those old attractions I saw in the past.  Flash forward to earlier this year when I found out there was another film that House of Wax resembled more than the original Vincent Price film.  I'm proud to bring you that film today.  From Full Moon founder Charles Band comes: Tourist Trap!

The film starts with a young man, Woody, rolling a tire down the road in search of a service station.  Upon finally finding one, he heads in but finds everything abandoned.  Hearing a noise from the back, Woody goes to investigate.  Coming upon a spartanly decorated room with a figure laying on a cot, he hears the noise, clearly a voice, and goes to check on the figure.  Suddenly, it jerks towards him, showing itself to be a mannequin.  The door slams shut and locks suddenly, but one of the windows opens, so he approaches it, only to be rebuffed when the window slams shut, as well before he gets to it.  He backs away towards another window, only to be surprised by another mannequin crashing into that one, its head falling into the room and starting to laugh at him.  Woody then moves to another door, but this one's booby trapped as well, this time with a hideously ugly, armless, hairless mannequin laughing with a high-pitched voice.  Woody grabs a pipe laying in the room and bashes a hole in the door, reaching through to unlock it when something grabs his arm as the mannequins keep laughing, the furniture starts shaking and a cabinet starts letting fly with a bunch of bottles and a knife.  Finally, another pipe flies into his side, killing him and causing his blood to drain out.

The rest of the film follows Woody's girlfriend and three other friends as they go looking for him and decide to check out an attraction called Slausen's Lost Oasis, with the help of the owner, Mr. Slausen himself.  But is he as helpful as he seems?  The group's in for a twisted evening.

The movie was pretty good, with some interesting special effects for its time.  I still don't know how they had that stuff flying out of the cabinet and into the viewers faces.  The makeup on the film was done by Face Off judge Ve Neill, and it was done really well.  The mansion where a good bit of the action takes place is amazing, too, and all of the mannequins lining the halls and filling the rooms lend it an extremely creepy vibe.

Chuck Conners played Slausen, the museum owner who typically feels like he's both friendly and creepy at the same time.  Best known for westerns like The Rifleman and Branded, this film was one of his attempts to get away from being stereotyped.  He did a really good job here, showing his versatility.

This was definitely a good film.  While not up to par with special effects nowadays, it does still work and provide a nice, creepy vibe to it.  I give it a 4 out of 5.  Next up, we'll take a look at the movie inspired by this film but given another film's name... 2005's House of Wax, costarring Paris Hilton.  Until then, this is Red Hawk signing out!

Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933) & House of Wax (1953)

Go to some nice, warm place, and I don't mean California! - Florence in Mystery of the Wax Museum

Welcome to the Week of Wax!  A week's worth of films that center around that infamous entertainment duo, museums and wax figures.  While today I love a good wax museum, in my youth I was a bit scared of them.  There was a trip we took to Newport, Oregon that was intended for us to go through a museum called the Wax Works there.  Well, we get there at opening time and in the entryway was a mermaid sitting on a growling, animated sea dragon.  That was a bit too much for my young mind and I ended up sitting in the ticket booth while my mom and her friend went through without me.  I've since gone through the museum, and the neighboring Ripley's Believe It or Not multiple times.

So, since I sort of tripped up on my postings this week, I thought I'd do a twofer article and compare 1933's Mystery of the Wax Museum with its remake, 1953's House of Wax.  They have the same storyline, the same characters, almost, and both starred a famous actor as the genius museum owner.  This way, I can avoid repetition between articles because the two films are extremely close.

Here's the general storyline: a genius wax sculptor (Lionel Atwill in 1933, Vincent Price in 1953) has a museum which focuses more on beauty than grotesquery, with such historical figures as Joan of Arc and Marie Antoinette.  In both, he receives promising news from a possible investor, but his business partner, who's had the wax figures insured, decides to take a shortcut to riches and sets the figures on fire.  The sculptor tries to stop him, but ends up beaten unconscious and left for dead.

Later, a surprisingly alive sculptor reopens a new museum with a more grotesque bent, countered by the beauty works he's more known for.  But for some reason, his new Joan of Arc looks a little too real!

Both films feature excellent performances, especially from their lead actors.  Lionel Atwill played Ivan Igor in his film.  He was also in Doctor X (with Museum costar Fay Wray, who was better known for the original, classic King Kong), The Vampire Bat and his other well-known role, Inspector Krogh in Son of Frankenstein.  The other major part in Wax Museum was Glenda Farrell who played constantly wise-cracking reporter Florence.  I really enjoyed her jabs and jokes.  Turning to House, we have the great Vincent Price, one of my all-time favorite classic horror actors, as Professor Henry Jarrod in the role that solidified him as a great horror actor.  Other notable (or soon to be notable) actors were Charles Buchinsky (aka Charles Bronson of Death Wish fame) as Jarrod's assistant Igor, and future Addams Family star Carolyn Jones as Cathy Gray.

Both films are equally good, but the role of best is determined buy what your looking for.  If you want more of a mystery, with some great comic relief, the older film is for you.  If you want a more serious horror film, then House of Wax is your ticket.  I hereby grant both films 5 out of 5.  We're rushing through the week, so stay tuned for more!  This is Red Hawk signing out!

Altered (2006 film)

"Uglier than I remembered." - Duke

Like The Return, I went into this film with no preconceived notions over any aspect of it.  I don't even remember seeing a preview for it!  It was included in a movie 4-pack along with the previous three movies, and so I decided to work all four into the month.  With this one, I was rather pleasantly surprised.

The film opens with three friends driving through the woods.  They get out of the van and start hunting something in the forest that also seems to be hunting them.  One of the friends, Cody, gets caught in a bear trap about the same time that the creature, an alien, does the same.  Firing his harpoon gun and missing, Cody tries to reload as the alien breaks free of the bear trap and starts to charge him... falling into a pit trap.  Their quarry captured, the three friends take it to the one person who knows more than anyone about the aliens, their old friend, Wyatt.  This leads into a night of terror with the seemingly captive alien soon proving to be not so helpless.

I really enjoyed this one.  The cast worked well together, playing off each other, the alien looked properly menacing, the blood effects were good, and the film felt properly intense.  Viewers who can't handle a lot of gruesome visuals should be warned, there's a game of intestinal tug-of-war at one point that even had me wincing!

Adam Kaufman played Wyatt, the expert who'd had more involvement with the aliens previously than any of the others.  He was also on Buffy the Vampire Slayer as Parker Abrams and also on Steven Spielberg's alien abduction series Taken.  NFL player Brad William Henke played Duke, my favorite of the three who caught the alien.  He also played on Dexter and LOST.  Michael C. Williams played Otis, the more weak-willed of the trio.  He was also in The Blair Witch Project.  Joe Unger has a cameo as Mr. Towner, Cody's father.  He was also in the original A Nightmare on Elm Street (which I covered last year), Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III and Escape from New York.

The film was originally envisioned as a comic take of revenge on abducting aliens in the vein of Sam Raimi and Troma Films named Probed, but decided a horror-comedy might not sell so well.  While I'm curious how the original take would have been, I did like this one enough to give it a 5 out of 5.  And so, until next time, when we start the Week of Wax, this is Red Hawk signing out!

The Return (2006 film)

This was my first exposure to this film, barring advertisements when it first came out.  I didn't know what to expect going in, but I kept an open mind and found an interesting psychological thriller.  So, let's get into it!

The film starts with a young girl, Joanna, and her father arriving at an amusement park where her dad goes to get her some refreshments.  While he's at the stand, Joanna wanders over to a crane machine.  As she searches for a quarter, she hears a voice saying, "Sunshine."  She turns and sees a man in the shadows turning and walking towards her, causing her to scream and run, hiding under a picnic table. As the strange man's footsteps get closer, she screams for her dad again and again, finally drawing his attention.  The strange man's feet stop right next to the table, but disappear as her father arrives.

Flash ahead a number of years and Joanna's now a traveling rep for a trucking company, one of their most successful.  With a highly influential contract coming up, and a connection in the company, Joanna decides to break her own rule: to work in Texas.  While messing up a coworker's pitch for the same job, Joanna gets ready to head back home.  But what awaits her in the Lone Star State?

This movie had an extremely slow pace to it.  There was a lot of build to the climax and reveal, which was interesting, but again, I can see how that could turn a lot of people off.  The movie had a rather disappointing run on release, but that could be due to a lack of advertising.  I have a friend who would dismiss this film as boring, but in my own opinion, it worked.

The cast worked well here, with Sarah Michelle Gellar (Joanna) giving an excellent performance as the woman trying to uncover the meaning behind her visions.  She's also been in The Grudge, Scream 2, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Possession, played Robin Williams' daughter on the underrated sitcom The Crazy Ones, and played Buffy the Vampire Slayer on the TV series based on the film.

All in all, a pretty good, underrated film.  I give it a 4 out of 5.  If you're looking for a good psychological thriller with a slow build and a lot of suspense, you could do a lot worse than this one! Until next time, take care of yourselves, and this is Red Hawk signing out!

Cry_Wolf (Unrated 2005 film)

 

Could one of these be the killer?  Or are they all the prey?

It's a lying game.  The object: avoid suspicion, manipulate your friends, eliminate your enemies. - Dodger

A little late on this posting, I know, but had to do some unforeseen maintenance on my keyboard.  But, it's up and running now, so I'll be doing a twofer soon, two articles in one day.  For now, though, let's take a look at Cry_Wolf!

Sometimes it's hard for me to go into a review of a film without spoiling too much.  April Fool's Day was like that, and so is this one.  Both films also feature groups of somewhat well-off teens with alot of time on their hands.  I'll do what I can to not get too much into detail.

We start the film with a blonde, Becky, being chased through the woods at night.  She tries hiding in the shadows of the trees when her pursuer pulls out a cellphone and dials her number, causing her cell to ring and pinpoint her location.  Before the scene changes, Becky's stalker shoots her down.

We cut to a fall day as a young man, Owen, crosses a large school campus that seems to be abandoned.  Finally, he located the lovely Dodger sitting on a step.  Striking up a conversation with her, he discovers the student body's in an assembly regarding safety after Becky's disappearance.  A teacher suddenly comes through the doors and begins to question Dodger over her inattendance of the assembly when Owen speaks up for her.  After assuaging the teacher, and suddenly being swept up in the flow of students exiting the building, Owen turns to see Dodger has vanished.

That night, Dodger has Owen's roommate, Tom, bring him to the old chapel on campus for a game called Cry Wolf, where one player is the wolf and the others have to figure him (or her) out before the end.  After Owen wins, Dodger comes up with a new game the next day: create a serial killer based around Becky's death and reveal him to the school via a forwarded email.  After Dodger and Owen create the killer, Owen starts getting mysterious IMs from someone claiming to be the Wolf.  With the full moon and Halloween approaching, can Owen uncover the truth before he and his friends become wolf bait?

This film was interesting, but a bit slow in places.  The movie revels in the build to the finale, so there's very little blood or death scenes.  Some might find this fact dull and boring, but I actually did enjoy it.  Julian Morris (Owen) did a great job in the film as our protagonist.  He was also in 2009's Sorority Row remake, as well as Something Wicked, Brittany Murphy's last film.  Lindy Booth (Dodger) was really good here.  She was also in Wrong Turn, the Dawn of the Dead remake and Kick-Ass 2.  Jared Padalecki (Tom) was really good, I enjoyed his interactions with Owen.  He was also in the House of Wax remake, House of Fears, the Friday the 13th remake, and is probably best known for playing Sam Winchester on the TV series Supernatural.  Singer Jon Bon Jovi (Rich Walker, the journalism teacher) did a pretty good job, as well.  He also starred in Vampires: Los Muertos, one of the sequels to John Carpenter's Vampires.

All in all, an okay film, although one I enjoyed a little more on my first viewing.  I'm rating this one a 3 out of 5.  Tune in next time for a Sarah Michelle Gellar film that isn't The Grudge or Scream 2!  Until then, this is Red Hawk signing out!

Slither (2006 film on DVD)

I'm tellin' you, this mornin', I sensed a real change in Grant. - Starla

Welcome to the start of Happy Horrorween for 2014!  Every year, I try to round up an interesting array of well-known classic films and somewhat more obscure fare, and I think I've done a pretty good job this time, if I do say so myself.  I've got the big three at the end of the month, as usual.  I've got a Week of Wax coming up.  I've got Don't Week lined up, plus a week-long look at one of the greatest slasher films of all time, plus its sequels, a remake, and a slight permutation.  So, let's kick things off with one from 8 years ago!

The film starts with intercut scenes of a meteor falling towards Earth and a pair of police officers on speed patrol outside of Wheelsy, South Carolina.  We see the meteor crash in the woods behind the cop car, with both officers oblivious to it.  Later, after being spurned by his wife, Starla, Grant Grant picks up another woman, Brenda, at the local bar's karaoke night, and they head out to the woods.  Getting cold feet about the affair, Grant sees the meteorite and follows a trail to a strange slimy thing that, upon getting poked by Grant, shoots a needle into his chest.  Soon, Grant's eating raw meat by the pound and going through a few dangerous changes...

This film intrigued me when I first saw the ads for it.  It looked weird and did sort of remind me of 1986's Night of the Creeps.  I didn't actually get to see the film until we originally rented it on video.  With all the creepy-crawlies, I could see myself with my feet lifted onto a theater seat if I had!  The special effects were great, the make-up on Grant as his condition worsens throughout the movie is just amazing, and the CGI blended pretty well, too.

The cast worked well in this one.  Nathan Fillion (Bill Pardy) got some good one-liners as the town's chief of police who finds himself over his head in the sudden situation.  He was also in Dracula 2000, has voiced Hal Jordan in various animated DC Comics features, as well as Malcolm Reynolds in Firefly and it's movie spin-off, Serenity.  He's most recently been on ABC's Castle playing the title character there.  Elizabeth Banks (Starla Grant) did well with her southern accent here.  She had a really strong role as the monster's wife.  She was also in 2009's The Uninvited (based off of Korea's A Tale of Two Sisters), the original Spider-Man trilogy, and the Hunger Games films as Effie.  Michael Rooker (Grant Grant) plays his part to the hilt, seeming to have fun with it.  He played the title role in Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (which I reviewed last year) and plays Merle Dixon on The Walking Dead, as well as portraying Sheriff Alan Pangborn in The Dark Half.

When the film came out, Slither drew a lot of comparisons to the aforementioned Night of the Creeps.  While there are certain similarities (alien slugs turning people into zombies), they aren't exactly the same.  In Night of the Creeps, the slugs reproduced inside their victims' brains, with more coming out than went in.  In Slither, the slugs are just used to link their victims to Grant's mind, making them extensions of himself.  Also, the idea of a hive mind is exclusive to Slither.

Due to some unneeded animal violence, I can't give this one a perfect score, but I did really enjoy it.  Therefore, I'm giving this film a 4 out of 5.  Tomorrow, we'll be featuring a film with Jon Bon Jovi!  Until then, this is Red Hawk signing out!