Acorralados

"Trapped" is a fairly obscure rural revenge thriller in the almost same vein as William Fruet's earlier classic "Death Weekend".It was penned by the late John Beaird,whose only other screen writing credits were slasher films "My Bloody Valentine" and "Happy Birthday to Me".A group of college students accidentally witness a group of local rednecks killing another hillbilly.A deadly game of cat-and-mouse ensues,with the students trying to escape the area while the killer played by Henry Silva sets out to eliminate the witnesses who can tie him to the murder.Sleazy Canadian canuxploitation flick with enough nudity and violence to satisfy any self-respecting exploitation enthusiast.Recommended for fans of "Southern Comfort","Deliverance" or "Hunter's Blood".

Aw, why did they opt for "Trapped" to be the official title, whereas "Baker County, USA" is such a unique and wondrously ominous title for a movie handling about psychopathic Tennessee rednecks! There are about fifty movies called "Trapped"! There's one with security-trained Dobermans keeping a guy inside a shopping complex and another one with Kevin Bacon hijacking a woman and her asthmatic daughter, so do you honestly want to mix up those lame plot outlines with a movie about lunatic yokels hunting down a bunch of college students? Baker County, USA … all the way! Enough nagging about titles, especially since we call the films whatever we want, anyway. This stuff is terrific! It's an early 80's and Canadian produced Indie-film with character drawings and themes that were especially popular during the decade of the 70's, namely crazed clodhoppers living in private mountain-communities and brutal blood-vengeance. Henry Silva, who played in numerous Italian cop thrillers and action flicks, was never cast better as a tyrant leader of a small mountain colony that swears by its own ancient system of law and order. Silva's naturally menacing charisma and particularly perpetrating stares make him one the most nightmarishly memorable backwoods villains ever! The first half hour revolves on Henry and his docile men playing the roles judge, jury and executioner on an outsider who was caught having sex with Henry's beautiful but bored wife. Four college students camping in the remote hills witness the assassination of the man covered in tar and feathers, but when they try and notify the police they quickly discover everybody the entire area is petrified of mad-raving Henry. "Baker County, USA" is splendidly fast-paced and grimly atmospheric 80's trash effort. It's more than obviously inspired by classics such as "Deliverance" (there even is the banjo soundtrack!), but there are more than enough original elements to distinguish itself as well. The exterior filming locations are sublime (the opening sequence is astounding), there's an admirable portion of suspense and the action/death sequences are quite spectacular and bloody. The climax in particular is a gripping mixture of tension and extreme violence, resulting in quite the fireworks ending! Noteworthy also is that the youthful campers are actually likable characters, for once. They try to do the right thing, don't make overly stupid decisions and don't try to play heroes. Their behavior is plausible and most likely how everyone would react when facing a toothless mob with pitchforks and barrels full of hot tar. William Fruet directed this hidden gem and always treasured a deep admiration for his work, since he accomplishes quite a lot with a minimum of budget. Admittedly, "Spasms" was one of the worst pieces of crap I ever saw, but "Funeral Home" and "House by the Lake" are definitely low-budget highlights.

Trapped (1982)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

TRAPPED takes a look at a group of mountain men and their "laws." Henry Chatwill (Henry Silva) catches a welfare worker sleeping with his wife so he decides justice is to tar and feather the man. It doesn't stop here because he then kills the man not realizing that there are four college students in the woods who witnessed it. Now Henry must talk his people into tracking down the witnesses and killing them.

After the huge success of DELIVERANCE we got all sorts of "hicksploitation" pictures where we went into the woods and learned about these back country people. TRAPPED, also known as BAKER COUNTY, U.S.A. is another in the long line of films that attempt to show us what mountain people do for their justice. There are a lot of good moments throughout the film but at the same time there are quite a few flaws. With that being said, the amount of nudity makes it an exploitation dream.

I must say that director William Fruet managed to fit a lot of stuff into this 95-minute movie. I say that because there was a point where I thought the film was nearing the end and was somewhat shocked to see that there was still another half hour to go. The first fifty-minutes of the movie features the type of sleaze and redneck violence that you'd expect and it does keep you entertained. I thought the film had a very good set-up and the locations were another major plus. The problem with the film is the rating bad timing and the fact that the rather weak story gets dragged out quite a bit.

With that being said, there are still a lot of good things about the picture including the performances. I thought the entire cast were quite good in their roles but of course it's Silva who stands out as the redneck leader who is a tad bit on the crazy side. As I previously said, the locations used are another major bonus as it does make for a nice atmosphere. If you like nudity then there's plenty of full frontal ladies on display and the style of violence here is quite interesting to say the least. Including the tar and fearthering!

TRAPPED has a lot of flaws to it but if you're a fan of "hicksploitation" genre then it's worth checking out.

Four college students looking for a cave, stray into a Tennessee hollow inhabited by sadistic Henry Silva, and his backwoods clan. After witnessing a murder, the four are relentlessly hunted in the woods. The fact that the local sheriff is kinfolk, makes the situation even more desperate. Silva provides a strong presence as the villain controlling a nice assortment of barefoot babes, and hairy knuckle types. The film features sharp editing, creative photography, and appropriate twangy music. With the outcome always in doubt, interest is maintained throughout. Along with "Hunter's Blood", "Trapped" is a "Deliverance" clone that comes highly recommended. - MERK

This is a brutal movie about backwoods hillpeople who live according to their own laws. Their leader, Henry Silva at his unpleasant and sadistic best, takes the law in his own hands and lead a mob to hunt down his wife´s lover. Violent complications follow. The story is unoriginal but captivating and Fruet´s no holds barred directing keep a good pace throughout the entire movie. The dialogue is good and amusing. There is nudity, banjo music, humiliation, plenty of man hunt scenes and bloody violence. Highly recommended viewing for fans of Deliverance and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.