A movie with a PG rating that I’ve wanted to see for many years, "Tourist Trap" manages to be both unsettling and absurd. Mr. Slauson (played by Chuck Connors) is an elderly man who lives at his nearly deserted wax museum and tourist attraction, “Slauson's Lost Oasis.” A new highway has diverted all of his customers, except for the occasional vehicle that conveniently breaks down. Following the initial murder of Woody (Keith McDermott) at a desolate gas station on this new highway, Woody’s friends Molly (Jocelyn Jones), Jerry (Jon Van Ness), Eileen (Robin Sherwood), and Becky (Tanya Roberts) find themselves with a breakdown in Jerry's unattractive car at Slauson's oasis. Slauson welcomes their company, cautioning the group against wandering away from the museum after dark, and especially advising them to stay clear of the large house on the hill. As is typical for these kinds of stories, they begin disappearing one by one—stalked by a masked killer and experiencing what seems like supernatural occurrences around the museum and house. This film was once a common sight at video stores across the country. Its PG rating surprised the filmmakers, and probably explains why I didn’t watch it as a teenager. Connors, past his peak from "The Rifleman," delivers a genuine and sympathetic performance as Slauson; he portrayed a stoic and tough character in his most famous role, but his later work was inconsistent and disappointing. The small cast follows the familiar patterns of a movie released a year after "Halloween" and a year before "Friday the 13th"; while there are some slasher film conventions present, there are also several predictable plot points that often come across as silly. Roberts is memorable in an early role that emphasizes her appeal, and anecdotes about the production from director/co-writer Schmoeller and others frequently prove more engaging than the movie itself. However... The opening murder of Woody, along with scenes featuring the wax mannequins, are genuinely frightening. There’s something unsettling about seeing the blank expressions on these figures suddenly come to life, interspersed with real people—a feeling that comes from future director Ted Nicolaou's editing choices. The killer often wears a plaster mask and a wig, resembling Leatherface from "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," and is quite imposing on screen. Pino Donaggio’s unusual musical score contributes to the strange events; the opening titles theme sounds like it was intended for a comedy before his screeching strings assault the viewer's ears during the film. I’ve had the scary movie poster of this film stuck in my memory since elementary school. I’m glad I finally crossed "Tourist Trap" off my list of movies I should eventually watch—a forgettable but significant horror film that made me wish I could have seen Connors and Roberts working together again. (PG)- Strong physical violence, mild gun violence, mild sexual violence, some gore, mild profanity, mild sexual references, some adult situations, mild alcohol use

Source on TMDB