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TRAMPA INFERNAL (1989)
aka HELL'S TRAP
(part of HORROR FROM SOUTH OF THE
BORDER VOLUME 1)
Directed by Pedro Galindo III
BCI/Deimos DVD
Reviewed 01.31.08
Review by Joseph A. Ziemba
THE FILM
R u ready for Freddy?
"Whoever kills the bear will
be the winner. It's about showing
the town who's the best!" Say
-- that's not a bad idea. Infusing
our late 80s cultural acumen with
a psychopathic doll-midget (Muerte
Infernal) and sympathetic
clown-midgets (Al
Filo Del Terror) wasn't
enough. Mexico still had something
to prove. So what better way to
communicate "WE ARE THE BEST!"
than producing Trampa Infernal,
an absurd 75 minute wooded slasher
which utilizes a Freddy Krueger-gloved
killer? That's right. There is no
better way.
Nacho (brillo mullet, white stonewash)
always wins the paintball games.
Mauricio (wings, black stonewash)
always loses. Therefore, Mauricio
accosts Nacho with the ultimate
challenge: hunting a bear in the
woods. And that, my friends, is
how you do it in Mexico. Rising
to the occasion, the bros assemble
a crack team (fat guy, punch-happy
girlfriend, a few other dopes) and
head out to show each other who's
boss. Lo-fives. Paddle-ball. Fat
jokes. Tent problems. Suddenly,
a war vet/survivalist-killer named
Jesse emerges from a cave. And,
as legend has it, he's "still
at war...with everybody!" As
such, Jess sports a plastic mannequin
mask and wig, the knife-fingers,
grenades, tear gas, and a machine
gun.
Yes. A machine gun.
What if Berserker
was really good? What if bear-hunting
was a social stepping stone? What
if fat guys liked to eat? Ponder
no more. Trampa Infernal
is neither high nor psychotic. It
is, however, as direct and uncluttered
as Mexican horror can get in the
year 1989. In fact, with the frequent
woods-wandering, lame characterizations,
and somewhat conservative gore content,
Trampa might even be clumped
in with straight-up fools like Demon
Warrior; all Zzz's, no
skeeze. But we know better.
When our dear familiar, the slasher,
gets the once-over in faraway lands,
the results are often blissfully
deranged. The Brazilians did it
with Satanic
Attraction. France blessed
us with Ogroff.
And now, Mexico chimes in with Trampa.
But in this case, derangement is
on holiday. No sweat. Trampa
Infernal is a cozy, asymmetric
slasher with ridiculous plot pursuits,
shameless pilfering, and the keen
power to make you smile when Jesse's
hand gets blown off (but not his
misshapen Freddy glove). Incidentally,
no bears appear in this motion picture.
Mexico rests its case.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
I've only known of this film's existence
via the world of non-subtitled bootlegs,
so the DVD is already on my good
side. Thankfully, it stays there.
The clean, full frame print lies
above VHS, but it isn't quite pristine.
Blacks were thick. Colors were attractive.
No compression was evident. The
mono sound was up to snuff. Overall,
it's just right. And yes, we get
the original Spanish language soundtrack
with optional English subtitles.
EXTRAS
Besting, coast-to-coast. The four-disc,
eight-film release of BCI/Deimos'
"Horror From South Of The Border"
may be one of the greatest trash
DVD releases ever conceived. In
addition to Trampa and
a port of the previous Cemetery
Of Terror/Grave Robbers
disc, this set includes Vacation
Of Terror, Vacation Of
Terror 2, The Demon Rat,
and Don't Panic (English
and Spanish versions).
I haven't even heard of the latter
four yet, let alone watched them.
Like that last bottle of Anchor
Steam Holiday Ale in my fridge,
their eventual consumption will
be both delectable and bittersweet.
FINAL THOUGHTS
THEY ARE THE BEST. Trampa Infernal
is a daft, forthright slasher that
should be coveted by everyone, everywhere.
Buy "Horror From South Of The
Border" today. Lo-five me later. |
Hello my name is Nacho
Bring it to bear
Hellzatrappin'
Smell the glove
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