Solidrariol
Am I Missing Something?
Married Baby
Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?
Brooklynn
There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.
GL84
After getting a special scoop, a news reporter trying to make her big break finds a potential sensation tracking down a possible snuff film delivered to the studio and heads to the factory where it was filmed only to find the area home to a deranged lunatic killing them off one-by-one.This was quite an enjoyable if somewhat flawed slasher. One of the more enjoyable aspects of this one is the rather stark and brutal kills that are frequently employed throughout here. It starts at the very beginning with the torture and mutilation of the one victim that's shown in graphic detail and then carries into the rest of the various kills here. These are mainly graphic and brutal in execution as well as concept, where the victims are subjected to some pretty gruesome concepts throughout here. Full of some stellar makeup that gives the scenes a punch when they occur, there's plenty to like about this section as well with the kills generating plenty of fine shocking moments when they strike. As well, this also leads into the stellar series of traps and confrontations with the killer who has made the area into a slew of sharp impalements ready to spring out and pierce people which has a fine amount of shock jumps here as well as setting up the great tension within here. This runs the gamut from the shocking shorter traps to the longer, more agonized setups here such as the first effort that traps everyone in the building or the surprise ambush at the car that count as shorter shock scenes. Longer setups from the approach of the friend tied to a chair with the arrow set to fire at her or being speared by multiple poles being shoved through the floor while in the shower offer some solid lengthier sequences which add a much more energetic tone and presence to the film. Even the never-ending final battles with the killer offers some fine points, giving this one a great rousing conclusion that adds to the relentless assault by the killer with the badly burned and deformed being launching everything from human assaults to the demonic creature plaguing him and forcing the rampage in the first place, all of which enhances the stellar makeup effects as well. These here are what manage to hold this one up over it's few minor flaws overall that hold it back. Among the few flaws to be had here is the film's rather bland and overlong pacing. This one really bungles the atmospheric approach it's going for and instead stretches things out to the point of needless padding as this one is way too long for this kind of simplistic story. The scenes of the crew going around investigating the empty and abandoned location at the beginning are stretched out to bland portions as the lifeless manner in which they walk around through the dirty, decrepit rooms or looking for the various places for camera setups just makes for a rather dull time here. That as well leads to the film's other big issue in that it's just way too long for its own good as there's no reason for a film like this with this kind of simplistic, straightforward story to have a length like this. Partly due to the extensive amount of time it takes to get going but also for the exceptionally long scenes of them sitting around waiting for the killer to strike as the various people come into play that may or may not be the killer. These here are what really keep this one down.Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence, Nudity, Language and a Rape Scene.
acidburn-10
If I had seen this sooner then, I would have definitely added this to my top 50 best slasher movies of all time, so I think an update is long overdue. After viewing this masterpiece my mind was just totally blown away. I mean rarely have I ever seen a horror movie that just gets everything this right, it just works on every level and should be better known.The plot is very intriguing where a reporter Nami who hosts a TV show called 'The Late, Late Show' which is basically a mix of 'You've Been Framed' and 'America's Funniest Home Videos', gets sent a video tape which shows a young girl whose chained up getting brutally murdered, and at the end shows a picture of Nami, so instead of alerting the police, she decides to go with her crew to investigate, which leads them to a very creepy abandoned warehouse, and once there they split and start to get picked off one by one by a mysterious hooded killer.'Evil Dead Trap' perfectly combines a mixture of other genre styled horrors such as 'Italian Horror', 'American Slasher Movies' & 'Japanese Horror' and makes something quite unique and even puts some of those to shame. It has stylish direction with a lot of eerie tension and a genuine creepy tone. Even when the characters wander around the building, the atmosphere is full of dread and the setting with its long and dark dingy corridors looks excellent and the director makes perfect use of this location. Even the score is very riveting and despite being used throughout the film no matter what situation it is, it totally works and very catchy.Even the first murder which was nasty and very brutal, it also comes as a total surprise as you never expect it to be that fast, and even the other deaths remain well and truly mean spirited with some brilliant effects that are well staged with a savage tone. Plus we have a great heroine in Miyuki Ono who plays Nami brings a childlike innocence to the role and even without saying anything she can express her feelings with just her facial expressions which was very subtle and well done, and it's nice not having every character explain what their feeling all the time, it made her feel very human.While each of these scenes are awesome, they all happen within the first 45 minutes, and the 2nd half of the movie does struggle a bit without the same momentum, but then at the final scene we do get a well and truly shocking twist that does totally take you off guard, and while it may seem a bit too bizarre for some, I personally found it brilliant and it did kinda make sense in a way, as there were unexplained things going on throughout the movie such as the killer just standing there while arrows and flairs are being fired, a tin can falling down the stairs seemingly on its own, and so on, and while the killer's identity wasn't a surprise at all, it's what comes after that which is the real shocker and almost takes on feels like a different genre altogether, kinda supernatural in a way, which was totally bizarre and my gripe with it is that it's never explained, but I guess that is what makes it so unsettling.Another minor gripe with this is that there's a whole other subplot involving the killer's assistant which just went nowhere and was only there to add to the bodycount, but honestly that didn't spoil my enjoyment of this, although I would have liked to have known more about it. This is still a great movie that's very unique and gives you that feel that anything can happen at any time and the viewer is constantly on edge and although I did say that the 2nd half leaves little to do, it never gets boring and doesn't drag either, but it could have been slightly better structured.So all in all 'Evil Dead Trap' is a definite must see for any fans of slasher movies, sure it's a little different to them but that's the beauty of it, it's definitely not generic in any way whatsoever and with stylish direction, gruesome bloody and inventive kills and decent performances, this is definitely a lost masterpiece that deserves more recognition.
marymorrissey
I guess it possible to do a 'spoiler' when it be like nothing makes much sense anyway... but that's what's good about it makes 0 sense starting off with these dippy TV people ... could hardly have a more emphatic warning how "it might be such a good idea" to go into the factory of like eybeall knife torture and knifeball eye torture and ... then they split up in to vulnerable little groups and then all these various kills are done basically in these rube goldberg ways that seem to all go wrong but then eventually each victim ends up somehow accidentally going the way of all evil flesh uh and the "showdown" is like back and forth like it's never gonna end it's like please one or both of you just stay down so the movie can finish! but I did like the "very" ending and... uh. well it would have been more fun to share it with someone or an audience, all the silliness... and the men could have been a lot more attractive I'll give it a 3 for ... for the scenes in which they lost the tripod an thus did omse weird kind of . . . stop action stuff .... it makes no sense but then that's why this is a good review. evidently um Oliver Stone says "a daring and grim thriller - reveals Japan's twisted sexual soul one terrifying scene after another." this has got to be an example of an American director doing like one of those Japanese commercials that the stars do on telly for soft drinks and the like?
EVOL666
EVIL DEAD TRAP is a pretty solid J-horror film with several cool elements. It starts to taper off and get kind of dull at the end, but overall a pretty strong film...EVIL DEAD TRAP starts off with Nami, a late-night TV show host, receiving a strange package in the mail. She opens it up, and it turns out to be a VCR tape. She pops it in and watches what appears to be a pretty rough snuff film of a chick getting cut up and poked in the eye with a knife (in true graphic "Fulci" fashion...). The "killer" filmed the drive to the location where the "snuff-film" was made, so Nami, smelling a hot story, packs up her film crew and heads out to check it out. Of course there are some strange goings-on at the abandoned facility where the snuff-film was shot, and the crew members start getting picked off one-by-one in pretty gruesome fashion. This leads up to the finale of Nami "unmasking" the killer and the completely off-the-wall ending...All-in-all, EVIL DEAD TRAP is a good film. The story is interesting, there are some novel gore scenes, and the photography, acting, and locations are all very good. The only real problem I had is with the pacing, which started off pretty hot and heavy, and slowed down noticeably in the second half. I actually fell asleep twice trying to watch this film - but that could have been the bourbon...The ending was also completely strange and unexpected - but anyone who watches a lot of this type of J-horror won't be too surprised by that fact. It seems that these films can never have a straight story-line, that they all have to feature some sort of super-natural or just super-strange element to make them work, and although the eyeball scene was rough and there were a few other notable kill scenes, I personally was hoping for a little more of the red-stuff...Definitely recommended for anyone who likes more underground J-horror. 8/10
