Night Trap

With interesting ideas that were unfortunately not fully developed, and interesting character actors, Robert Davi, Michael Ironside, and Mike Starr, "Night Trap" could have been so much more than what it is. Not only is the script seriously muddled, there are several nonsensical conversations that go on way too long without moving the story forward. What you have is Ironside representing a resurrected Devil, with Davi and Starr in pursuit. What you don't have is the necessary background information to explain the "why". Things just sort of happen, leaving the audience in the dark regarding character motivation. I did think that the inter cut sex scenes with Ironside doing away with a prostitute, while Davi romances his girlfriend (fully clothed), gave new meaning to the phrase "giving tongue". - MERK

When running Action International Pictures, filmmaker David A. Prior made a bunch of ultra cheap and tacky B movies. When A.I.P. transformed into West Side Pictures, things improved - but not by much. For this West Side production, Prior was able to afford a decent cast with talented actors Michael Ironside and Robert Davi. And the movie looks somewhat slicker than Prior's past productions. But apart from those things, not much else in this movie succeeds. Ironside and Davi give decent performances, but you don't see them acting to their full potential. Maybe it was because of the low budget, which constantly films in run-down and anonymous locations. It might also be because of the script, which is sorely lacking a decent explanation for Ironside's villain character. But the biggest problem is that the movie unfolds very slowly and with little excitement. Oh, there are a few unintentional laughs along the way (a car manages to overturn and explode while going five miles an hour, and Davi keeps on all his clothes during a sex scene), but there are not enough to even recommend this movie as camp. One final word of warning: the DVD release just copied an ex-rental VHS tape, which makes the movie look even more tacky.

NIGHT TRAP takes place in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. A serial killer is on the loose, and the police, headed by Officer Mike Turner (Robert Davi), are on his trail. The cops have no idea that the killer, named Bishop (Michael Ironside), has made a deal with the devil, rendering him immortal and unstoppable!

When Turner and his partner corner Bishop, he displays impossible abilities that render Turner baffled, and his partner dead! Bishop also gives Turner a bizarre, time-sensitive ultimatum.

With the clock ticking, Turner enters into a game of cat and mouse, in which the mouse is chasing the cat.

Director David A. Prior outdoes himself with this supernatural action film. Davi is great as the determined cop, and Ironside plays his wicked role with gusto! The only fly in the ointment is the very anticlimactic climax. After all of the terrific buildup, the ending runs out of gas!

So, this is about 97% of a good movie...

Pretty bad. The obviously low budget results in fairly poor production values. Also, there was a lot of bad acting. Louisiana accents appeared and disappeared. The opaque plot may have benefitted from some more exposition about Ironside's character. The only redeeming feature I found in this movie was the lovely Lydie Denier.

It's just slow. There was so little to the plot that the director had to stretch out each scene until even the action seemed slow motion. The camera work as noticeably stiff and fixed in many scenes. The acting by the main protagonists was uninspired, but consistent.

The concept of whether Michael Ironside's character is the devil, or merely one of his overconfident myrmidons, is vague at best; as are his motives. But then one seems not to actually require motives in a horror film. It isn't something I fret about.

Still, Night Trap has some qualities to recommend it. Robert Davi, stone-faced, and purposeful, is interesting to watch as a cop who is just not quite the classic loner/rebel. John Amos is there too, but his performance is much too understated. I kept watching for him to fall asleep. Michael Ironside is more or less wasted in his part. He just struts around most of the time, and occasionally makes some threat or pejorative pronouncement in a stentorian and rather flat basso voice. The supporting cast did a good job though; and their characters were engaging. Everyone comes together to work out the meagre plot in a way that makes the film at least good escapism; and weak but reasonable horror. I'll often watch it if I see it come on cable. It's one of those "guy" films for when you just want to lean back in the recliner and escape for a while; and perhaps take a nap or two. If only it moved a little faster.