Tourist Trap
Sometimes, when an older actor with a little bit of status through either movies or TV start getting on in years, they decide to set aside some of their prior reservations about certain standards which they had held regarding the types of roles that they would agree to, partially out of a desire to keep their name out there and also (obviously) because they could always use a fresh payday for themselves. The list of respectable actors who have gone this route is a long one and for many the sort of projects which they would take on would be in the low budget horror realm, a world where many times the storylines would be sick and twisted to begin with even as they would roll up their sleeves and wallow in the muck all while risking degrading themselves for both that paycheck and also on the possibility that the movie could take off and bring that much more attention to their fading careers. One such actor who fell into this category was Chuck Connors, a legendary figure in TV Westerns who will forever be known as The Rifleman, the main character of the long running TV series of the same name. When the lantern jawed Connors (long past his prime as a TV star and leading man) got involved with this 1979 low budget horror churned out by the production company of the infamous Charles Band and directed by the guy who would go on to helm the first ever Puppet Master movie (David Schmoeller), he did so only after the main villain role had been turned down by both Jack Palance (who would have been fantastic) and Gig Young, finding himself cast as a horror movie villain because Connors himself had fully intended to āreinventā himself as a top horror movie star of the 1980s very much in the tradition of Boris Karloff before him. That did NOT happen, partly because of the way that his character was written and presented and also because of the fact that if you bought a special blender for movies and churned together 4 undisputed classics then you would come up with this bizarre concoction. Those 4 classics would be House Of Wax, Psycho, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Carrie. How does this work? Well, first you have the basic setting, a rural, undisclosed area of nowhere with a murderous killer running around with a special custom made mask made out of plaster instead of skin (Texas Chainsaw). Secondly, this same villain we learn had previously killed his brother and out of extreme guilt, has assumed his identity whenever he goes out and kills with his special mask (Psycho). Thirdly, this particular killer has a thing for taking his victims and making wax / plaster mannequins out of them which he keeps for display around his house (House Of Wax). And finally (in an element which was added to the film literally at the last minute), this very same killer possesses acute telekinetic ability which enables him to not only be able to throw and use weapons at his victims in order to kill them, but also to be able to actually bring his mannequins to life and have them be able to move and talk as if they were literally alive (Carrie)! It would seem that Connors had found himself one hell of a bad guy role to play here, but just the very sight of him in this makes the whole thing seem a touch more comical than it should be, like watching an actor who was best served as being a (TV) Western hero just completely out of his element even as the movie does pull off a few moments of atmospheric dread. The story involves a group of young people just out for an afternoon drive (again like Texas Chainsaw) who find their vehicle breaking down at a very particular spot (with the hint not only being that Connorsā telekinetic abilities caused the breakdown but also that this was his standard modus operandi for luring in and setting up potential victims). One of the two guys in the group takes off for the nearest gas station where once inside he is treated to a barrage of living mannequins laughing at him and (much more seriously) having a series of weapons come flying at him until being impaled by a pipe finally does the trick. As for the rest of the group, the three girls (one of whom is a young and very hot Tanya Roberts just prior to her career taking off by becoming one of Charlieās Angels, A Bond Girl, The Beastmasterās Girlfriend and Sheena) wander off and leave the one other remaining guy working on the vehicle, finally finding themselves a beautiful oasis spring and deciding to go skinny dipping (no nudity shown and for that matter very little profanity or much in the way of gore that originally earned the film a PG rating!) when they are first approached by Connors, acting all kind and congenial despite toting a shotgun while talking about how this area was once a popular tourist spot before the new highway went up and took away all his business (Psycho). Anyway, he invites them back to his place for something to drink and to help fix their vehicle where they learn that he actually keeps a museum filled with mannequins and western artifacts with a house nearby that he warns them to stay out of. He takes the remaining guy with him to help with the vehicle repairs (we think) and it isnāt long before Connors reappears as the psychopathic villain with the hideous mask, claiming to be his own already dead brother, talking with a strange, nasal monotone and sometimes appearing to have on various raggedy wigs including one with long blonde hair (much like Leatherface only the production crew here would dub him Plasterface) as it turns out that he already has one other still alive victim from a previous āexpeditionā in the basement and that he enjoys killing people by tying them down and covering their faces in plaster until they either suffocate or suffer cardiac arrest from being in such extreme fear, whichever comes first. Occasionally, Connors shows up again in his kindly farmer persona, continuing to offer any of the characters who havenāt grown wise to his dual personality whatever kind of help and assistance that he can (usually to set them up). But as a one on one adversary, heās pretty tough, able to be taken down physically but always capable of using his telekinetic powers to not only wield weapons but to also gain a psychological edge in bringing the mannequins to life to laugh, taunt and even walk around (a number of physical performers including professional mimes were brought in to perform these parts) as while the mannequins donāt seem to be capable of inflicting much in the way of actual physical damage, the unnerving quality that they give off to both the characters and the viewer is probably the best thing about this movie from a horror film perspective. Connors himself though, seems almost overwhelmed by playing an evil character with so many multifaceted qualities, including finding himself attracted to whom appears to be the token virginal girl of the group (she spends most of the movie walking around in a long, flowing white dress while Roberts and the other girls wear white trash style cut off jean shorts and tank tops), eventually deciding that heās going to keep her so that he can ātake care of her foreverā with the former TV Rifleman even making a half hearted rape attempt before ridiculously breaking down and crying. As for Connorsā hopes of making it as an 80s horror star, that would not happen since the movie tanked upon its original release and remained fairly unknown until Stephen King would write an article about it where he praised it profusely for its atmosphere. This singlehandedly transformed the film into a must see cult classic but (unfortunately for its star) King also made a point of saying that Connors and his performance were the worst things about it which went a long way towards killing the plans for his āreinventionā. Connors would settle for the remainder of his career being as a character actor while the filmās cult following would remain with it to this day. While not an original film in any way (as stated), the rather odd idea of having a serial killer who would turn his victims into mannequins for which he could then use his special powers to āreviveā them whenever he liked to help keep him company all while maintaining a split personality between himself and his dead brother (although itās possible that he purposely does this as a ruse in order to throw people off about him) during which time he wears a hideous mask to maintain the mystery about his murders that he commits in the middle of nowhere is worth seeing at least once for anybody that considers themselves an aficionado of the horror genreā¦
5/10