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 ith the ever-increasing list of Asian films being
remade by Hollywood, it's easy to forget how the West has influenced
Eastern cinema. For every Americanized "Ring"
or "Dark Water",
there are films like "So
Close", "Bloody
Beach", and the countless Hong Kong variations on the "Sixth
Sense". "Evil Dead Trap" is a perfect example: an
Eastern film that wears its Western influences proudly on its
blood-stained sleeve, and whose very title seems to have been chosen for
its obvious similarity to a certain American horror series.
Very popular in Japan, "Evil Dead Trap" has
inspired two sequels so far and has achieved a certain cult status
worldwide, which is quite impressive considering that it displays both the
best and worst points of what it pays homage to. The plot of "Evil
Dead Trap" is suspiciously familiar: a group of people is lured to an
isolated location where a masked killer gradually picks them off. The
people in question are a group of nosy TV reporters, and the bait is a
mysterious tape that appears to be a snuff movie.
Although there are some kudos due for the
pre-"Ring" use of a videotape as an omen of doom, this is hardly
inspiring stuff, and for those who have sought the film out after reading
all the hype, it's not a very promising start. To be fair, there is a
little more to it than this, and though I wouldn't want to ruin the
surprise, I will say that it's not so much a plot twist as an unexpected
smack to the head.
Right from the start it's obvious that director
Toshiharu Ikeda was heavily influenced by the films of Argento, Fulci,
Raimi and the early "body horror" of Cronenberg. Anyone who has
seen their films will know what to expect: sadistic imagery, wild
camerawork, and a killer that spouts meaningless existentialisms. To be
fair, although he never really equals the impact of any of above
directors, Ikeda does a pretty good job of cutting and pasting together
some of their greatest hits, coming across as a sort of Eastern Jess
Franco more than anything. And apparently like Franco, Ikeda also used to
be a porno director, which I can believe after seeing "Evil Dead
Trap", which is basically a poorly paced series of "money
shot"-type kill scenes interspersed with lame dialogue and lots of
wandering around.
The film does drag quite a bit in places, which isn't
helped by the script. Fans of Japanese cinema will be interested to know
that "Evil Dead Trap" was written by Takashi Ishii, who would
later go on to direct "Freeze
Me" and the "Black
Angel" films. Just as in his later works, Ishii seems capable of
writing only two types of female character: avenging and abused.
"Evil Dead Trap" certainly contains a lot of violence towards
women. Ishii's work here is nothing original or worth getting excited
about, with characters that are sketchily written and motivated at best;
the kind of people who decide to sneak off and have sex when wandering
around a dark and dangerous place.
In these respects, the audience could be forgiven for
thinking they were watching some forgotten American slasher flick from the
1980s. None of this is helped by the amateurish acting, especially by the
actresses, who apparently used to work for Ikeda during his porno days.
Despite these lapses, "Evil Dead Trap" is
generally enjoyable and keeps the viewer from falling asleep with its
inventive and incredibly gory killings, which are well staged and
shocking. Like most Italian gut-munchers of the period, we get a couple of
close-up eyeball punctures that are sure to please gorehounds. The film is
quite atmospheric, and Ikeda makes full use of the old industrial setting,
both in terms of hiding the murderous traps of the title and in giving the
proceedings a nice decayed, creepy look. Also worth noting is the
excellent soundtrack by Tomohiko Kira, which is very much in the style of
the "Goblin" music for Argento's "Deep
Red" and "Suspiria".
Overall, "Evil Dead Trap" is worth watching
for fans of Eastern cinema, or for horror fans in general. Though not
particularly different from its American or European counterparts and not
quite as good as others have claimed, the film at least serves up an
atmospheric, if somewhat slow, package of slice and dice. Viewers should
be warned, however, that although for most of its running time the film
lurches around quite happily in its own semi-coherent universe, the final
act will either astound the audience with its sheer weirdness, or have
them throwing empty bottles at the screen.
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