Tourist Trap

Chuck Connors & creepy mannequins in the sticks of Southern Cal

Three girls & two guys break down in the hills north of Los Angeles and are helped by the genial owner of a defunct desert museum with a penchant for spooky masks & mannequins (Chuck Connors).

Tourist Trap (1979) combines elements of several previous horror flicks, like Psycho (1960), the desert museum opening of Gargoyles (1972), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), the telekinesis of Carrie (1976) and the creepy mannequins of several 70s movies/shows, including Kolchak: The Night Stalker (The Trevi Collection). It was made by the creator of Puppetmaster (1989) and heavily influenced House of Wax (2005); it even had an impact on the imminent Friday the 13th flicks...

A (PG)-rated slasher film that has been on my radar for decades, "Tourist Trap" is both creepy and ridiculous.

Mr. Slauson (Chuck Connors) is a kindly old gentleman living at his all-but-abandoned wax museum and tourist attraction, "Slauson's Lost Oasis." A new highway has rerouted all of his business away, save the occasional car that conveniently breaks down. After the opening murder of Woody (Keith McDermott) at an abandoned gas station on the new highway, Woody's friends Molly (Jocelyn Jones), Jerry (Jon Van Ness), Eileen (Robin Sherwood), and Becky (Tanya Roberts) conveniently break down in Jerry's hideous car at Slauson's oasis. Slauson loves the company, warning the group not to stray from the museum after dark, and definitely sta...