Venus Flytrap

Venus Flytrap (1987)

* (out of 4)

Extremely low-budget wannabe trash has three thugs forcing themselves into a party where rape and murder soon follows.

This film has gained a cult following over the year with many people calling it a rip-off of THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT but in truth it does borrow from that film but the majority of the plot is ripped off from the other Craven rip-off HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK. Either way, since the Craven film was released there have been countless rip- offs so it's somewhat interesting seeing a film that rips off the Craven film and another of the rip-offs. I said rip a lot in this paragraph.

With that said, this film's lead villain is based off Krug in the Craven movie and he's given a "naughty" girlfriend and a slow son. The rest of the plot pretty much comes from HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK as the three force themselves to a nerd party where they plan on causing havoc and if you've seen that Ruggero Deodato film then you already know how this one plays out.

Is VENUS FLYTRAP any good? Absolutely not. The performances are all rather weak. The plot is an embarrassment. The direction is weak and there's certainly nothing good on the technical level. Everything about this movie has a very cheap feel to it but at the same time the level of cheapness stands out and I must admit that at just 63-minutes the film held my attention.

The "badness" of the film is certainly what makes the picture worth sitting through. If you're a fan of these types of low-budget movies then you'll want to check this one out just to compare it to the countless other bad rip-offs out there.

VENUS FLYTRAP sure is one sorry excuse for a film.

The production values are awful, the lighing is harsh, or dim(variably), and the acting is on the porno-film level. In fact, VENUS FLYTRAP resembles an attempt by porno filmmakers to go legit, utilizing the same cheap equipment and sets that hardcore films use. However, these filmmakers should stay where they are; they have much to learn about real films: RULE #1 is not to start out in tedium, it detracts from all viewers interests. RULE #2 is you hire real actors. RULE #3 is that some old plot cliches are best left at the graveyard.

The plot is very reminiscent of the sleazy Italian flick THE HOUSE AT THE EDGE OF THE PARK. A couple of thugs crash a yuppie party, and the more predictable events occur. There are attempts at humor(poor), gore(poor), and dramatics(abysmal).

What else can SilentG tell you, other than that VENUS FLYTRAP is one painfully dull experience. If you like suspenseless thrillers, or just really bad acting, this film is for you. All others, beware, VENUS FLYTRAP IS RELENTLESSLY BAD.

I'll say one thing, I expected very little from this one, but the shocking truth is, I found Venus Flytrap to be positively delightful. As an obscure movie collector, sometimes, I find myself craving shot-on-video trash like Redneck Zombies, and often come up short with unwatchable garbage like Long Island Cannibal Massacre, or Insaniac. Most recently, I ordered a copy of Black Devil Doll From Hell (I'm not ready to talk about that one yet). To make a long story short, there was a mix-up, and it arrived a month late. Being a good sport, the seller added an extra treat for my trouble. Enter Venus Flytrap.

I've probably seen entirely too much unknown horror in my day, but I have never even heard of this movie, and also considering I'm only the second one to speak of it, Venus Flytrap intrigues me. Shot in parts unknown, for most likely, a budget with a triple digit, with a cast of a whopping ten. About some dull 80's yuppies, with their dull 80's party being taken over by a trio of obnoxious 80's riff-raff with stupid 80's hair. One of them is called Wimp, who has a stupid, repetitive laugh, which almost ruins the movie. Although, no one is laughing when Turk, the David Hasselhoff-ish leader gets ornery, and initiates a game of Russian Roulette (a man's game). A game that separates the children from the adults, or at least makes for a good ice breaker, or whatever the reason may be, it really gets this #@%$!% party jammin!!

At first glance, original wasn't exactly the first word to pop into my head, I was ultimately proved wrong, and for that alone, I would recommend Venus Flytrap to any non-video haters out there. Really, give it a chance. Yet, so far, everything I've read about Venus Flytrap compares it to Ruggero Deodato's The House On The Edge Of The Park, basically implying that this totally original, entertaining movie is some kind of a rip-off. Not a rip-off, an improvement. That's right. An s.o.v. improvement. Now, that's impressive. 4/10