DVD Review: Tourist Trap (C)

Tourist Trap (1979)
Directed by David Schmoeller
Starring Chuck Connors, Jocelyn Jones, Robin Sherwood and Tanya Roberts
MPAA: PG
Grade: C

Review by Bobby Nashville

Its tough to find horror films that are truly original, and most borrow from the classics. Tourist Trap seems to borrow a little bit from Psycho (as so many horror films do) and the rest from the Vincent Price classic House of Wax. Those are pretty good influences to work from, so when David Schmoeller cast Chuck Connors as the creepy lead for his horror flick Tourist Trap, he must have thought he was off to a pretty good start.

Tourist Trap tells the tale of some vacationers (three beautiful women and one kinda dopey fella) that get stranded at an out of the way, long closed wax/mannequin museum. The crusty old proprietor, Mr. Slausen (played very well by Chuck Connors) is a friendly but very odd man. He always seems to have a rifle with him, he has a fondness for mannequins, and likes drinking cheap beer (who can blame him on that one). Mr. Slausen takes to the pretty blonde of the group, Molly, and for some weird reason she takes a shining to him as well. Very weird.

The freaky wax museum in the middle of nowhere, combined with unexplained telekinetic powers used throughout Tourist Trap make this an odd film indeed. It approaches camp at many levels, but at the same time, it exudes an underlying creepiness that allows this movie to work. Light on the gore, yet heavy on the psychological horror, Tourist Trap tries hard to freak you out, and at times, it succeeds.

However, the reason that Tourist Trap does not really take off is the lack of a strong protagonist (that means "good guy" to all of you non-film geeks out there). The three gals stranded in the tourist trap are all blandly defined, they are basic victims, with not a lot of definition beyond that. Their guy pal is even blander, he just stands around most of the time (when he's not tied up).

Overall, Tourist Trap is an interesting horror film that never seems to get into third gear. The work by Chuck Connors (a strange casting choice that worked) is excellent, and the mannequin factor gives the film some weird aspects. But ultimately, the vague characters fleshing out the rest of Tourist Trap keep the movie from succeeding.

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DVD Review: Pervirella (D)

Pervirella (1997)
Directed By Alex Chandon
Starring Pervirella
Grade: D

I have to admit that I didn't get very far into this movie before I had to simply give up. So I can't give it an F because A) at least they tried to make something weird here (I'll credit them for that) and B) I would feel bad giving something an F that I didn't even watch to the end unless it stars Sandra Bullock or Keanu Reeves.

But this film is really just a complete catastrophe. Imagine what you would get if a 10 year old directed a weird mix of Monty Python, Dune and a porno flick. Hey, come to think of it, that sounds pretty good, but trust me, it just didn't work here.

Whats wrong with Pervirella? Everything. The sound is bad, the lighting is amateurish and the story is stupid. You can tell they are going for camp laughs, but the immature humor is so over the top it loses all sense of subtlety. There are lots of weird claymation scenes that left me completely dumbfounded, and the sound quality was horrible. I love weird movies, and I love bad movies, and I especially love weird bad movies, but Pervirella just tries way too hard and the result is an amateurish, annoying mess.

If you are looking for a strange, sometime funny, erotic horror film, avoid this one and go for Playgirls and the Vampire instead.

Review by Scott Standish

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DVD Review: Startup.com (B+)

Startup.com (2001)
Directed by Chris Hegedus and Jahane Noujam
Starring Kaleil Isaza Tuzman and Tom Herman
MPAA: R
Grade: B+

Review by Scott Standish

This excellent documentary follows the rise and fall of a New York city dot com from start to finish.

Here's the story: Kaleil Isaza Tuzman and Tom Herman have an idea to create a web site where people can transact business with the government. Its an excellent idea (if you've ever wasted half your day trying to pay a parking ticket you know what I mean). This idea turns into a legitimate business as they grab some easy venture capital and start hiring staff. Its not long before they are riding the crest of the dot com revolution.

The pressures of running a dot com are bad enough and we all know what happened when the tech economy hit the wall. This makes for some very touching moments as the people here try to navigate the sometimes treacherous waters of friendship mixed with business (or is it the other way around?). Kaleil and Tom have been friends a long time, and its interesting to see how working together affects their relationship.

The documentary style here is effective: they don't use voice overs or narration, simply letting the story unfold over time. It's tastefully done and the story is always interesting. The subject matter is fascinating and the directors keep the focus on the characters here even as the technology and the business hype swirls around them.

Startup.com was produced by the legendary "cinema verite" documentary filmmaker DA Pennebaker (among others). Pennebaker directed Don't Look Back (the groundbreaking documentary about Bob Dylan's tour of England in 1965) and The War Room (an excellent documentary about the Clinton campaign machine). If you like Startup.com (and you probably will) then you might also want to try The War Room and Don't Look Back.

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DVD Review: Waking The Dead (B)

Waking The Dead (2000)
Directed By Keith Gordon
Starring Billy Crudup, Jennifer Connelly and Hal Holbrook
MPAA: R
Grade: B

Movie Review By Scott Standish

Sensational acting can save even the cheesiest of love stories. Consider Waking The Dead, a somewhat dorky love story that rises above its source material to effectively entertain and at times, tug on the heart strings.

Fielding Pierce (played by Billy Crudup) is an up and coming young politician, and he believes in his destiny. He feels that he can changes things for the better from the inside, and running for congress is his entry in. Along the way, he meets and falls in love with Sarah Williams (Jennifer Connelly), a bright young lady with a passion for helping the underpriviledged and the politically repressed. The chemistry between Connelly and Crudup is magnetic. You really believe these characters passion for their work, their lives, and their love for each other.

Destiny steps in and plays a card that neither expect: Sarah is killed in an explosion while helping the Chilean underground. Ten years later, as Fielding runs for Congress, he starts to see and hear visions of Sarah. Not sure if they are real or illusion, Fielding is sent into despair and frustration.

The "Is my dead lover alive" storyline has been milked over and over again in Hollywood, but if you are willing to get past that, you can latch onto this one. Waking The Dead is well directed by TV veteran Keith Gordon, and remarkably acted by the young leads.If you are looking for a solid mystery/romance, then Waking The Dead is a good choice.

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