Hell’s Trap (1989, Trampa infernal)
I found this mexican horror gem very ocasionally on Bleeding Skull's instagram and felt like checking it out instantly, similar to what happened with Vacaciones de Terror. The latter because of the green slimy goo (that as well as a plot, ended up not being quite as present as I expected) and the first thanks to its marvelous title that is already good enough on its own, but is even better if you're portuguese like me 'cause it gets lost in translation into "Infernal Shit". Also, it's always a nice trip to explore mexican horror. This and Vacaciones de Terror 2 are actually directed by the same man, Pedro Galindo III, and it looks a little better than the first so I'll more than certainly get to that one soon.
If it would have been more ambitious it could work more or less as a really low budget Wrong Turn as its the same concept, only 10 years earlier and without the Hills Have Eyes twist, although taking the booby trap horror subgenre to a more satisfactory level than Evil Dead Trap (but i'm yet to find out one that will top Massacre on Central High, less obvious in the booby trap subgenre but has a well earned spot in the podium). Even though Hell's Trap is pretty goofy and not that interesting I thought the pace was cool and straight to business. It's got to have one of the scariest killers I've ever seen in an 80's slasher, at least in such a cheap one, thanks to both its uncanny looks and the real anger that his character drips, mostly visible in his badass introduction that presents him slow-motion diving out of his bush-branch covered cave hole, carrying with him a weight moved by war trauma with every step. You immediately know this dude doesn't mean well and even if he doesn't ever utter a single word he speaks volumes on madness, creeping in the woods in the poorly lit corner of the frame. Certainly in a lane of its own as far as this movie goes, it could have you wondering if Jessie could actually be some kind of Mike Danton incarnation from Deadly Prey. Had this been a real studio production and I could already picture him side to side with the big old bad boys in a corny stamped t-shirt with text reading "usual suspects". And since I mention them, Jessie could or not be a little big rip off ( Freddy + Jason = Jessie (?) ), although his Freddy Krueger bladed-glove doesn't bother me at all to be honest.
I've been progressively getting sicker of slashers located in the woods, mostly because of their usual consistently uninteresting plot and characters (I guess it's just an easy setting to make movies with little to no budget) and even though it doesn't flee from the norm it presents a not that much varied but really pleasing pallete of the sun yellow covered mexican woods that bring a good old cosy charm to my movie watching in the dark alone at 2a.m., again pretty reminiscent of my dearly beloved Massacre on Central High. It brings some inventive kills to the table although i needed more and better, and even though you have some funny characters there isn't much to keep you really into it, the plot is dull and women have little to no role, as most of the movies in this pretty phallocentric world. But it sure delivers. Taking into account that you're in my blog or follow it, I think it won't be a total time waste to watch this.
Please, recommend more vintage booby trap horror, or just something you feel is worth a watch based on this text. I'm in the mood fo' that.
