Originally published in Bleeding Skull! A 1980s Trash-Horror Odyssey.
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. Mexico infused our late 80s cultural acumen with a psychopathic doll-midget (Muerte Infernal) and sympathetic clown-midgets (Al Filo Del Terror). But still, it wasn’t enough. There was something more to prove. So what better way to communicate “WE ARE THE BEST” than producing Trampa Infernal, a 75 minute slasher that utilizes a Freddy Krueger-gloved killer? That’s right. There is no better way.
Nacho (Brillo mullet, white stonewash jeans) always wins the paintball games. Mauricio (feathered wings, black stonewash jeans) always loses. Therefore, Mauricio accosts Nacho with the ultimate challenge: hunting a bear in the woods. And that 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. 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, Jesse 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? Wonder 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 snoozers like Demon Warrior; all zzz’s, no skeeze. But we know better. Trampa is an asymmetric slasher with ridiculous plot pursuits, shameless pilfering, and the 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.
