"Death Trap" didn't fare well when Will and Lisa reviewed it back in week 18, why not check it out for free (under alternate title "Eaten Alive") and see what you think?
Please use the comments bellow only to comment on this post - to write your own review, please comment on the main post for this movie.
Showing posts with label Death Trap. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Death Trap. Show all posts
Tuesday, 7 February 2012
Saturday, 24 September 2011
Death Trap - Lisa's Review
*Spoilers*
The movie had an uncomfortable undertone to it which would have worked had the storyline, acting and effects not been so shite.
Please use the comments bellow only to comment on this post - to write your own review, please comment on the main post for this movie.
Good gawd!!! I'm not going to mess about this week, for 2 reasons. I don't have time and I don't want to waste any more valuable time on this piece of crap. Ok, so it made me laugh in places but how the hell can Mr Hooper be responsible for this? I am aghast!!! I can see how he tried to recapture the mood of the fantastic 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' in places, but he failed miserably.
The basic premis here is a creepy guy (Judd) who runs a equally creepy motel/hotel (I never can tell the difference) in the middle of nowhere. He has a pet crocodile (very plasticy and fake looking it has to be said) that seems permanently pissed off and hungry. Coming to think of it, some of 'Judds' performance must have been ok as he made me shudder and cringe every time he was on the screen.
The movie had an uncomfortable undertone to it which would have worked had the storyline, acting and effects not been so shite.
The first victim is a ex prostitute who, not too keen to take it up the bum from a very young Mr Kruger (he's shown up in 2 of these movies now), is sacked by the brothel madam and seeks refuge in the hotel with the aforementioned Judd. On discovering who she is, he decides to attack her. This and the original fumbling attempted rape scene with Robert Englund seem to have no place in the movie and are neither titillating (thank gawd) nor disturbing so there hardly seemed a point. Unable to have his wicked way with her, he stabs her repeatedly with a pitchfork.
Several others follow, including a couple and their kid with their pet dog. Obviously the pet dog is eaten. It looks so bad and inoffensive, you can't get angry or sad about it and coming from me about a dog death, that's saying something! The dad decides to shoot the croc for eating his daughters dog, but he is attacked by Judd with a scythe and is then fed to the crocodile.
The original prostitutes parents (Harvey & Libby) arrive looking for her, they are sent to the brothel blah blah blah, investigations take place. The madam denies ever having seen her.
After much backing and forth, everyone it seems has been eaten by the croc apart from the original little girl, Angie (who has been tied up under the house by Judd), Faye, Angies mother and the mother of the prostitute, Libby, who has been sensible enough to stay away from the hotel for a while, her husband, Harvey, met a nasty end while investigating Angies cries - scythe and croc again just for the record.
We end, as expected with Judd being eaten by his own pet crocodile.
This movie is monumentally awful. Maybe I should watch it again and give it another chance as I was a bit distracted when I watched it, but from what I did see, I can't say i'm desperate to waste any more valuable time.
Would definately not recommend for any reason.
Please use the comments bellow only to comment on this post - to write your own review, please comment on the main post for this movie.
Death Trap - Will's Review
So, 2 "Before he was Freddy" Robert Englund staring movie in as many weeks! I didn't expect that!
In this one 'the man who would be Kruger' plays cowboy charmer Buck "...Ready to fuck" a guy so confident in his ability to pull the ladies, he pays for his hotel room in advance so he has somewhere to take 'em... Which begs the question "Why is he with a prostitute in the movie's opening scene?"
While we're on the subject - it's nice to remember that Englund used to be a promising character actor, but once he became Kruger he was, sadly, mostly hired in "Oooh look; it's a horror icon" joke cameos.
Anyway, the prostitute refuses to do bum sex (despite, or because of, Buck's attempted rape), gets sacked (he gets a 2 for 1 deal as compensation - odd lesson that...), and finds herself using the last of her (borrowed) money to get a room at the 'Starlight Hotel', a run down shithole with it's own cordoned off swamp (complete with Crocodile) - handy!
Insane hotelier, Judd, realises that our temporary heroin is from the whorehouse and kills her in a fit of rage Well, I say he kills her; technically, Judd doesn't kill anyone, although the injures he provides with archaic gardening equipment would certainly lead to death, he tosses them in his croc pit - See?, I said that would be handy!
It isn't long before a distraught father comes to the hotel with one of his two adult daughters - the other is a runaway who he has come looking for.... That's right, little miss 'no rear entry! Judd has the good sense not to mention that she's been used as reptile bait, but does mansion that he's seen her working at the local bordello.
Our cast is rounded off by a rowing* couple who decide that the worlds filthiest hotel would be a good place for stopover with a little girl - even after they see the crocodile consume their pet dog (a scene which is at once utterly unconvincing and oddly disturbing).
And so it continues with Judd finding more reasons to get into fights with people and feeding them to his crocodile, before meeting his own (inevitable) end.
Parts of this show the excellent discomforting atmosphere that Hooper played to the max in 'Texas Chainsaw', but sadly, more evident is the flat direction he would go on to show in films like "Spontaneous combustion" and "The Mangler".
All in all, not too bad, but not great either, this could have been much better if Judd had actually killed ghis victims directly, and then delivered the bodies to his 'pet' for disposal - as it stands, every fight just becomes about Judd getting the latest fodder over to the balcony fence.
*as in arguing, not manually powering a boat.
Body Count: 5
Animal Body Count: 1
Boob Count: 3 Pairs (including 1 pair seen through very sheer clothing)
Most Memorable Death: Scythe Sporting dance of the dying Swan.
Please use the comments bellow only to comment on this post - to write your own review, please comment on the main post for this movie.
In this one 'the man who would be Kruger' plays cowboy charmer Buck "...Ready to fuck" a guy so confident in his ability to pull the ladies, he pays for his hotel room in advance so he has somewhere to take 'em... Which begs the question "Why is he with a prostitute in the movie's opening scene?"
While we're on the subject - it's nice to remember that Englund used to be a promising character actor, but once he became Kruger he was, sadly, mostly hired in "Oooh look; it's a horror icon" joke cameos.
Anyway, the prostitute refuses to do bum sex (despite, or because of, Buck's attempted rape), gets sacked (he gets a 2 for 1 deal as compensation - odd lesson that...), and finds herself using the last of her (borrowed) money to get a room at the 'Starlight Hotel', a run down shithole with it's own cordoned off swamp (complete with Crocodile) - handy!
Insane hotelier, Judd, realises that our temporary heroin is from the whorehouse and kills her in a fit of rage Well, I say he kills her; technically, Judd doesn't kill anyone, although the injures he provides with archaic gardening equipment would certainly lead to death, he tosses them in his croc pit - See?, I said that would be handy!
It isn't long before a distraught father comes to the hotel with one of his two adult daughters - the other is a runaway who he has come looking for.... That's right, little miss 'no rear entry! Judd has the good sense not to mention that she's been used as reptile bait, but does mansion that he's seen her working at the local bordello.
Our cast is rounded off by a rowing* couple who decide that the worlds filthiest hotel would be a good place for stopover with a little girl - even after they see the crocodile consume their pet dog (a scene which is at once utterly unconvincing and oddly disturbing).
And so it continues with Judd finding more reasons to get into fights with people and feeding them to his crocodile, before meeting his own (inevitable) end.
Parts of this show the excellent discomforting atmosphere that Hooper played to the max in 'Texas Chainsaw', but sadly, more evident is the flat direction he would go on to show in films like "Spontaneous combustion" and "The Mangler".
All in all, not too bad, but not great either, this could have been much better if Judd had actually killed ghis victims directly, and then delivered the bodies to his 'pet' for disposal - as it stands, every fight just becomes about Judd getting the latest fodder over to the balcony fence.
*as in arguing, not manually powering a boat.
Body Count: 5
Animal Body Count: 1
Boob Count: 3 Pairs (including 1 pair seen through very sheer clothing)
Most Memorable Death: Scythe Sporting dance of the dying Swan.
Please use the comments bellow only to comment on this post - to write your own review, please comment on the main post for this movie.
Sunday, 18 September 2011
WEEK 18: Death Trap
Alternate Titles : Tobe Hooper's Death Trap, Eaten Alive, Brutes and Savages ,Legend of the Bayou, Murder on the Bayou, Starlight Slaughter Motel, Slaughter Motel, Horror Hotel, Horror Hotel Massacre, Amok
Year: 1977
Reviews / Author Comments due: 24/09/2011
DPP Status: Removed from list December 1985
BBFC Status: Passed uncut in 2000
IMDB: Death Trap
Wikipedia: Eaten Alive
Feel free to use the comments section of this post to add your own reviews and thoughts about this movie.
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