I’m sitting here at my usual table at the International House of Horror listening to the sound of J-Bones scrubbing the griddle in the kitchen. Funny, by the looks of this dump I’m surprised anything get cleaned. Maybe that old skeleton can put some backbone into it so he can finally cook my pancakes. I’d tell him to put some muscle into it too, but, well, he doesn’t have any. Plus, Delores is nowhere in sight to refresh my beverage. Typical.
While I wait an eternity for Delores to return, I can’t help but notice that a new Evil Dead film is coming out: Evil Dead Rise. So what better time to write up a Short Stack review of Evil Dead… Trap? Wait, that can’t be right. Did I watch the wrong movie? Shoot, I guess I just grabbed the first movie I saw on my shelf with the title Evil Dead and popped it in. Well, it’s too late to turn back now, considering I already watched the movie, so I guess I’m talking about the 1988 Japanese horror film, Evil Dead Trap.
Despite the name, Toshiharu Ikeda’s Evil Dead Trap doesn’t have too much in common with Sam Raimi’s horror classic. From what I’ve gathered, the title in Japan translates to Trap of the Dead Spirits. I’m guessing someone thought it would go over better here by changing the name to a familiar US title. Ah, the Troll 2 approach; never fails! Strangely enough, there is an unrelated film, Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell, that is referred to as the “Japanese Evil Dead” for its similarities to and clear inspiration from Raimi’s film. Are there anymore J-Horror movies that are inspired or use the Evil Dead name?
As for the plot, Nami hosts a late-night TV show that I guess shows videos sent in by viewers, but these videos haven’t been very interesting lately and her ratings are dropping, so she tells her audience to send in some videos that are more up to “snuff.” One viewer takes this literally and sends in an actual snuff film. Intrigued, she does what every horror character would do and takes a camera crew out to the location where the video was filmed, a derelict factory.
An abandoned, rundown factory surrounded by a barbwire fence with a sign that prohibiting entry? What could possibly go wrong?
Once there, they Scooby Doo it and split up to investigate, but are picked off one-by-one in glorious, gory fashion by a hooded killer, who also seems to have supernatural powers, until only Nami remains. A mysterious stranger lurking the grounds of the factory looking for her brother assists her in evading and surviving the killer, but is he really on the up and up? And what about his brother that he is looking for? Could he be the murderer? And will Nami be able to figure out the hooded, knife wielding maniac’s identity and live to tell the tale?
Is this The Prowler's (1981) long lost Japanese cousin?
Evil Dead Trap is a ridiculously good time. The gruesome special effects are awesome, and the cinematography is fantastic with plenty of creative shots and angles used. While I said the plot has little similarities to Evil Dead, one thing it borrows is the POV “demon force” cam, although it adds a unique twist by filming these shots in black and white and speeding up the footage considerably. Add in a creepy and foreboding score and you have a recipe for a fantastic, supernatural/slasher hybrid horror flick that is sure to keep you entertained.
However, there are a few things that hold back Evil Dead Trap from being considered a masterpiece like Raimi’s The Evil Dead. First, there are two characters, Rei and Rie, who have similar names in the subtitles, which makes it confusing to follow who is talking or being talked about throughout the movie. (Yes, this one is subbed and not dubbed, so you will have to read. And while I enjoy horrible dubbing as much as the next foreign horror fan, don’t let a little reading scare you away from watching this bloody delight.) Complicating the matter further, if you look up the cast it lists Rie as Rya. Did the subtitle guy take that day off like the guy who was in charge of censoring Linnea Quigly in her “titular” Horror Workout during the zombie-cise scene for the Fuse version? (Heh, titular. Every once in a while I’m clever. But you’ll have to wait for me to talk about Linnea’s exercise nip-slips another time. But don’t worry, there is plenty of boobs to go around in this one too.) Of course, if you understand Japanese, then it may be easier for you to discern between the two characters.
Luckily, that problem solves itself pretty quickly leading to the second issue: everyone except Nami and the mystery man are killed off relatively early in nonstop fashion in the first half, resulting in the film slowing down in the second half. However, it quickly picks back up again heading into the batshit crazy climax culminating in an awesome twist that will make you forget the slow pace of the previous 30 minutes or so. Throw in a great swerve ending, and you have a fantastic experience.
And while even masterpieces have some minor flaws, these hold me back from adding syrup on top of the five-pancake rating, but this film is still very impressive and a visual treat and deserves to be held in high regard. Speaking of pancakes, I think I finally hear some sizzling coming from the kitchen, so J-Bones must finally be cooking my breakfast. And it looks like Scary Perry is coming back from watching them rebuild the gas station across the street. He sure does miss that gas station bathroom. Wait, it looks like he's going around back to do his business behind the diner again. J-Bones told him if he caught him doing it again, he’d grind him up into sausage links. I guess I should go stop him… or, I could just sit here and wait for my pancakes instead. I am hungry, after all.
Overall Rating: 5 Pancakes
