You may remember a few years back the decent slasher-fest Vacancy, in which a couple are terrorised in a motel by some local psychopaths. It was pretty entertaining, with some good performances and scares thrown in. If you were to take Vacancy and place it in front of a murky mirror, Terror Trap would be the reflection. As well as the most basic aspects of Vacancy, the decrepit motel setting, the less-than-friendly locals, Terror Trap has gone so far as to also copy some minor plot points – including and not limited to the couple going through problems, and the involvement of a psychotic lawman. It doesn’t even do a very good job of copying the film – everything that worked in Vacancy just falls by the wayside here.
The woman, Nancy, may well go down as one of the most unlikeable heroines in film. Within 10 minutes of coming on screen her persona just starts to irritate, slowly building until you almost find yourself rooting for her to be killed. The male lead, as opposed to being annoying, is instead just dull. Between the two of them there is a distinct lack of any on-screen chemistry – something that was ripe in Vacancy. Jeff Fahey was on top form as the creepy, corrupt lawman though. His outbursts of rage did make for some quite entertaining viewing, though this could have only been the case because everything else in the film was so lacklustre.
The film would have been much more successful (and I use the term loosely), and certainly more passable, if it was sold as Vacancy 3. It was certainly more entertaining than Vacancy 2, not that that’s anything to brag about mind. If you’re looking for gore, forget about it. The only noteworthy signs of blood happen when the violence is off screen. Tension? There isn’t really much of that either. This is far too forgettable to make any sort of impact, but at least its short.
OVERALL SUMMARY
An incredibly mediocre affair. It will keep you occupied for 90 minutes.but you wont enjoy it. Thoughtless plot-direction, bad acting, and quite frankly un-creative filmmaking. Watch paint dry instead, you’ll probably be more entertained.
