News

Stars: Chuck Connors, Jocelyn Jones, Jon Van Ness, Robin Sherwood, Tanya Roberts, Dawn Jeffory | Written by David Schmoeller, J. Larry Carroll | Directed by David Schmoeller

In the world of slasher films, a sub-genre that’s often more about body counts and formula than genuine scares, Tourist Trap stands out as a unique gem. While many classic slashers rely on predictable tropes – masked killers, doomed teens, and the lone “pure” survivor – this 1979 cult gem, directed by David Schmoeller injects some eerie originality into the mix, offering something creepier, stranger, and far more unsettling than the norm.

The story unfolds on a desolate back road where a group of young travellers finds themselves stranded near a rundown roadside attraction: a dusty old mannequin museum run by the seemingly kind and soft-spoken Mr. Slausen. Of course, this being a horror film, things aren’t quite what they seem. As the teens explore the museum,...

We are still in the heat of summer, and that means there’s still some time for the pool, camping, and leisurely road trips across the country. If you’re inclined to take to the open road, may I suggest sticking to major highways and leaving dusty backroads alone. You don’t wanna end up like the kids in either David Schmoeller’s Tourist Trap or Jaume Collet-Serra’s House of Wax (2005). You’re smarter than that. Sure, there’s a compelling case to be made for swapping out hardtop for gravel and dirt. Perhaps you want to witness relics of the past for yourself – abandoned towns and roadside barbeque pits, or even the scarce side-show attraction (if those still even exist). But don’t be a fool. If there’s anything to be learned here, it’s that disaster awaits around the next bend.

In 1979’s Tourist Trap, a...

It’s time for a new episode of the Best Horror Movie You Never Saw video series, and in this one we’re looking back at a movie I have a great deal of fondness for, the 1979 Charles Band production Tourist Trap (watch it Here)! To find out why we think you should check out Tourist Trap, take a look at the video embedded above.

Directed by David Schmoeller, who also wrote the screenplay with J. Larry Carroll, Tourist Trap stars Chuck Connors as Mr. Slausen, a telekinetic psychopath who lures a group of young people to his ramshackle roadside attraction, unleashing an army of psychically controlled mannequins and other monstrosities upon them. As the terrified youths fight for their lives, secrets are revealed and shock follows shock until the movie reaches its nightmarish, unforgettable finale.

Connors is joined in the cast by Shailar Coby, Jocelyn Jones, Jon Van Ness,...

Stars: Chuck Connors, Jocelyn Jones, Jon Van Ness, Robin Sherwood, Tanya Roberts, Dawn Jeffory | Written by David Schmoeller, J. Larry Carroll | Directed by David Schmoeller

The slasher film does not have that much of a history of being scary. Mostly it’s about some psychopathic killer who easily stalks down his/her victim while they run for their lives but never quite manage to escape. This is of course unless they are pure and virginal deeming them the one to survive for moralistic value. I find that it’s quite rare to find a truly creepy slasher, which is why it was so nice to finally discover Tourist Trap.

In the middle of nowhere on a road that has been made redundant by a new highway is a little museum made up of mannequins and run by a seemingly nice man known as Mr. Slausen. When tourists turn up he...

Tourist Trap

Stars: Chuck Connors, Jocelyn Jones, Jon Van Ness, Robin Sherwood, Tanya Roberts, Dawn Jeffory | Written by David Schmoeller, J. Larry Carroll | Directed by David Schmoeller

The slasher film does not have that much of a history of being scary. Mostly it’s about some psychopathic killer who easily stalks down his/her victim while they run for their lives but never quite manage to escape. This is of course unless they are pure and virginal deeming them the one to survive for moralistic value. I find that it’s quite rare to find a truly creepy slasher, which is why it was so nice to finally discover Tourist Trap.

In the middle of nowhere on a road that has been made redundant by a new highway is a little museum made up of mannequins and run by a seemingly nice man known as Mr. Slausen. When tourists turn...