Terror Trap

TERROR TRAP is bottom-of-the-barrel stuff, an undisguised rip-off of VACANCY, a film which was hardly original to begin with. This bargain-basement B-movie sees an unlikeable middle-aged couple break down in the middle of nowhere and unwisely check in to a remote motel which turns out to be inhabited by voyeuristic psychopaths with murder in mind. What follows will surprise nobody, and indeed the biggest thing about this movie is the effort required to stay awake throughout it.

It's amateur night all around when it comes to production values, with a poor script and worse direction failing to elicit any kind of tension from the obvious premise. At one point the director is so desperate for thrills that he's reduced to shooting a scene straight from a softcore porn movie to try to flog new life into the narrative, but it's a failed attempt. It doesn't help that Heather Marsden's female lead is one of the most irritating I've seen in a movie in a while, grouching and bitching her way through the script and making every viewer hope she'll shut up and die soon.

The two familiar-faces-fallen-on-hard-times here are Michael Madsen and Jeff Fahey, neither of them a stranger to B-movie fare. Madsen makes no effort whatsoever, just sort of plodding his way through the production and disappearing for long intervals, while Fahey shouts a lot and makes you feel sorry for him considering Robert Rodriguez's PLANET TERROR wasn't so long ago. TERROR TRAP is dismal indeed.

While driving at night on a lonely road, the car of estranged couple Don and Nancy is hit twice by another car in the middle of nowhere. Nancy asks for help and unpleasant sheriff Cleveland offers to take them to the nearby Motel Royal Vista and wait until the morning, when their car would be towed.

Another reviewer called this a lame ripoff of "Vacancy". Well, it might be a little bit lame. And yeah, it has some hints of "Vacancy" in it. But an outright ripoff? No way.

What this film has that "Vacancy" lacked is the cult actor appeal: Jeff Fahey as the sheriff, Michael Madsen as his typecast bad guy self. Sure, "Vacancy" is the better movie and has the better cast, the better plot and all that... but does Luke Wilson have the horror fan base that Fahey and Madsen have? No way.

Where do I start with Terror Trap AKA Error Crap. My goodness, this movie is a utter failure in movie making. I don't mind the everything they stole from Vacancy. No sir, that's fine. What I mind, however, was the illogical plot line, the amateur hour actors and the lack of any sort of gore. The plot line might be similar to Vacancy but the execution was much worse.

For those who want to see Michael Madsen, don't. His presence in this movie is completely useless. In fact, the movie will make more sense if he's not in it. It seems they just inserted him in so that they can have Michael Madsen in the credit.

For those looking for gore, forget about it. This movie has none. It's basically as tame as Die Hard. Guys either get killed by guns or knives. And they don't show the killing scene.

A complete and utter failure of movie making, I can't stress that enough.

While driving at night in a lonely road, the car of the estranged couple Don (David James Elliott) and Nancy (Heather Marsden) is hit twice by another car in the middle of nowhere. Nancy asks for help and the unpleasant sheriff Cleveland (Jeff Fahey) offers to take them to the nearby Motel Royal Vista and wait until the morning, when their car would be towed. .

When the couple arrives in the low-budget and foxy motel, they are attended by a weird receptionist. They are disturbed by noises and screams inside the next door room and Don asks them to keep quieter since his wife and he are tired and need to rest. But sooner they realize that they are part of a sick and deadly game, and their lives are threatened by sickos led by Cleveland and his partner Carter (Michael Madsen).

"Terror Trap" is a lame rip-off of "Vacancy", with terrible story, characters and acting. The plot has several holes and the conclusion is absurd and apparently with no consequences to the creepy and sadistic participants and the victims of the sick game. Nancy is one of the most detestable and annoying characters I have ever seen, especially considering that she is leading lady of the story. I was cheering for her to be killed and vanish. Michael Madsen is a one-dimensional actor, repeating his performance in "Reservoir Dogs" is many low-budget movies. My advice: better off watching "Vacancy" again than spending time with "Terror Trap". My vote is two.

Title (Brazil): "Não Há Vagas" ("No Vacancy")

"Well, it'll be an interesting evening." After a hit and run accident Don (Elliot) and Nancy are left stranded in the middle of nowhere. After the local sheriff gives them a ride to a motel run by Carter (Madsen) they soon realize that this is not the safest place for them to be. This movie started off really good, you feel tense when the cop talks to the passengers and really pull for the strangers. Then after the 20 min mark the movie starts to fall apart and drag on, and on, and on. Think "Vacency" without the horror and excitement. There are a lot of aspects they introduce that seem to go nowhere, and the ones that do aren't exciting enough to follow. I do like Michael Madsen (who doesn't like "Reservoir Dogs") but his last few movies have been bad, like Val Kilmer bad, and I hope that he will once again start making real movies. Overall, this movie was much better when it was called "Vacency". I give it a C-.

Would I watch again? - Nope.

*Also Try - Vacency 1 & 2