Customer Reviews

Evil Dead Trap (Widescreen)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This movie is better than VERSUS or BATTLE ROYALE. It is a bit bizzare but it has a certain quality. And the BEST eye gouge seen since ZOMBIE. I liked this movie but you may not, Again, THIS IS ONE MANS OPINION> YOU BE THE JUDGE.

It will only make sense if you're a gorehound... (like me). Stealing "to much" from Argento stylistic surrealism, Japanesse director Toshiharu Ikeda fails to deliver an asian Suspiria in every level.The films starts out very promising and begins to fade out into a senseless vortex of un-control subplots that leads to nowhere...the ending really makes no sense!...but this does not make the movie less entertaining...is just that it doen't make any sense. Now, what you do get is some very gruesome gore scenes of disturbing carnage, a very Argento atmosphere and fotography like, and even a very, very, very Goblin like score...sometimes it sounds more Goblin than Goblin!...Even though itsn't a great film, is not bad at all ...I was deeply entertain...but the ending is just completely unfaithfull with the rest of the film.

Toshiharu Ikeda's "Evil Dead Trap," a.k.a. "Shiryo no Wana," quickly became one of Japan's highest grossing horror films. The film was so successful, if essentially unoriginal, that it spawned at least two sequels. I have seen a few Asian horror films in my time, perhaps not as many as other fans of the genre, but enough to enter into the whole thing with a few immutable conceptions about the genre. "Evil Dead Trap" nicely fulfills all of them. First, you just know the gore will achieve nausea inducing levels, and this movie definitely accomplishes that quite nicely. Second, you know that there is usually some "message" buried under the heaps of blood and guts, and there definitely is such a lesson in this movie. Third, something weird and unsuspected will almost certainly occur in the course of the film, and the conclusion of "Evil Dead Trap" definitely falls within the parameters of weirdness. So I expressed little surprise over the contents of Ikeda's film as the final credits rolled. The only thing that took me back was the 1980's type clothing worn by the main characters, especially the women. It's sort of funny in a way, but it makes the film look dated.

Made in the 1980s on an obviously shoestring budget, "Evil Dead Trap" tells the story of Nami, a television personality whose show airs videotapes sent in by its viewers. The voyeuristically inclined show, like all media, looks for tapes with that certain something that will boost ratings by thrilling the audience. When a strange tape showing a particularly brutal murder taking place in an abandoned military installation arrives at the station, Nami's curiosity gets the better of her. Assembling an investigative team, the "journalist" and her compatriots retrace the route shown on the videotape in the hope of getting to the bottom of the mystery. They do indeed find the location shown on the tape, a creepy, desolate series of buildings that could hide any number of gruesome horrors. Predictably, and in the fine American tradition of horror films, the crewmembers split up to investigate their surroundings. Within a matter of minutes, we learn some guy roams the grounds of the base gussied up in leather boots and a rain slicker. You just know our fearless team of journalists is in for a ripping good time, a fact proven by the increasingly gory killings that take place in the first half of the film. Through a series of ingenious traps and slash and stalk murders, the crew falls prey to punctured eyeballs, machetes slicing through heads, and a nifty pin cushion effect that would probably work really nicely as a new ride at a theme park.

Nami, predictably, survives while those around her fall to pieces. The poor girl is in a world gone horribly wrong as she wanders through the byzantine network of tunnels and hallways of the military base. Matters take a turn for the worse--or perhaps the better--when Nami meets a seemingly normal stranger from time to time also roaming through the sprawling complex. The guy appears to fear for Nami's safety, constantly telling her to get out of the area because his brother is a dangerous person who poses a threat to her safety. Nami learns exactly what her predicament is when she meets the "brother" of this man in a conclusion sure to confuse. Amidst mysterious explosions of sparks and light (where did those come from, anyway?) and lots of gluey gore, Nami uncovers the mystery she and her companions so desperately sought. We also learn why the brothers chose to send the videotape to Nami and why they wanted her to come see them. What started out as an effective slasher flick turned into, by the conclusion, an enigmatic supernatural film that made little sense. Oh well, I have seen better films take much worse turns than this one did.

I think the value of "Evil Dead Trap" comes not from its by the numbers slasher elements or the strange conclusion, but from director Ikeda's camera techniques and the use of very convincing gore. The killings all look realistic and nasty in their implications. It seems, although I have little proof, that Ikeda borrowed elements from such masters of the grotesque like Lucio Fulci and Dario Argento to construct his own brand of onscreen violence. And why not? If you want to make a gore film, you should consult those farmers who have plowed the field before you. Even more interesting than the gore is the director's intriguing camera work. I had to recheck the date of "Evil Dead Trap" because many of the techniques seen here are standard fare today: the use of quick cutting, hyperzooming, and negative photography all look as though Ikeda lifted his style from the late 1990s or early 2000s. This may be the earliest use of such cinematography I have seen. If it is not the first, it is one of the earliest. This aspect of "Evil Dead Trap" makes for a captivating viewing experience even as the plot disappoints.

Synapse Films brought us the DVD version of "Evil Dead Trap," which is not surprising considering the offbeat movies this company releases. This release has a commentary from the director, some trailers, and a widescreen presentation. The picture quality is a bit of a mixed bag, as I thought some of the scenes looked slightly soft and a tad grainy. On the other hand, scenes shot in semi-darkness looked good. You can clearly see all of the gore scenes, which is the most important thing for this type of film. If you enjoy ghastly Asian cinema, add this one to your list.

I'm getting tired of the constant negative reviews of this movie. The whole point is to serve as a tribute to Argento,Fulci, and Rami, not rip them off as so many reviews have stated on here. What we get with EDT is a tribute to all the italian/american horror films that the director fancied, only with the amped japanese take on gore, and interesting cinematography. Anyone offended by the film's mysoginistc angle obviously haven't seen Argento's "tenebre"! When you come down to it, the movie delivers what you're promised: Gore, a sadistic killer, and atmosphere o plenty. EDT 2 also is worth checking out, definate nods to "Suspiria" in that one!

I cannot claim to be an expert on Horror films, and although I know the name, I have never seen "Suspira" or many of the other oft-referenced flicks featured in other reviews. That being so, this review may be helpful from the viewpoint of a casual viewer, and is hopefully taken as such.

I watched "Evil Dead Trap" on a whim, hoping to see a Japanese horror flick around Halloween time. I must confess, I wasn't prepared for the sheer brutality of some of the scenes, including the aforementioned injury to the eye motif. Not quite a slasher film and not quite a psychological horror film, there are elements of both. Something along the lines of "Silence of the Lambs" combined with the gore and violence of a "Friday the 13th" movie.

The opening half is definitely superior for to the second, with the brutal videotapes captivating my attention, as well as that of Nami. However, the more the movie tries to explore the connection between the killer and Nami, the more obscure the plot gets, and the more difficult it is to stay interested.

All in all, it is not a bad film, but not a very good one either. The high level of explicit gore might be a barrier to casual horror film watchers, and the dense plot might be a barrier to those hoping for a good slashing. I don't think I will watch it again, but it was interesting to watch once.

I'd seen this because I've been getting into the new Asian horror film movement of late and I heard this was one of the best. More fool me. It WAS well directed, comparable to Dario Argento in particular in style and storyline. Nothing wrong with homages, but Argento, for all his own misogyny, is more even handed with the violence in his movies, showing men having graphic and terrible deaths. EDT seems to focus more on violence against its women, with only one on-screen male death that is extremely quick. I got caught up on EDT's surreal horror, but afterwords, when thinking about it, realized it didn't answer an essential question posed in the film: why does the killer kill, and why does the killer enjoy it? Because of this, the film becomes an empty misogynistic exercise. But it sure do look pretty.

Just pay attention long enough to see the incredible eye-gouging scene... If anybody out there truly believes this is the hallmark of Japanese horror films, then you haven't watched enough of them to know the difference. There is not one single moment of horror OR suspense. This was undoubtedly one of the dumbest & most dissapointing movies I've ever seen. Every scene is stolen from other horror movies. And it's all so predictable. Do they actually think people are scared when a light falls down from the ceiling, or when one of the characters jumps out of the closet in attempt to scare another character? Give me a break. And how BAD is that 80's synth pop tune which literally plays every single time something "creepy" happens?! It is apparent this director knows nothing about creating tension or atmosphere. There was stronger tension in the rolling credits of the French movie "Irreversible". Not to mention that there are spoof-horror movies from mid-90's Hong Kong which are immensibly more clever and gory than this. The worst part about this film is that it takes itself so seriously that it can't possibly be amusing. Compare it to Evil Dead II. EDII is a film so drastically better in every single way, yet it still had the wit to parody itself a little bit and make us laugh till our stomachs hurt. EDTrap has no rights to even suggest an association to such a great series as The Evil Dead.

What can you say about the cultural awareness of the horror genre in Japan when you consider the most successful horror film made in that country to date is "Shiryo No Wana," otherwise known as "Evil Dead Trap," a low-budget attempt at scares that rips off the most respected works of modern horror on an international scale? I would say it's about time to expose oriental audiences to the very films this amateurish tripe is derived from and see how long that title holds.

"Evil Dead Trap" is probably the most derivative work of cinema ever produced in ANY country. Even the theme music is so closely derived from the works of Goblin that I can't believe they haven't tried to sue. It mimics the music from Dario Argento's "Deep Red" and "Suspiria" so close as to make the comparison laughably obvious. It even has maggots dripping onto a girl's hair (as in Argento's "Suspiria") and a scene where several long blades bust through a wall and skewer one victim, an idea that could have easily been culled from any of Argento's scripts.

Given the title of this nonsense, I sense some are wondering if it rips off Sam Raimi as well. Yes it does! Raimi's shakycam style and off-kilter camera angles are prevalent throughout, as is his "sitting ducks" idea (confining the victims to a limited area.) Ripping off the title of Raimi's most notorious work may have been a good marketing decision, but it can't obscure the fact that one viewing will convince anyone that any further comparisons would yield ludicrous results.

And as for the plot, you have to wonder why a camera team and a news reporter would venture to a location where people are mysteriously murdered on tape and do so little to escape once they find the trouble they were looking for. Eddie Murphy once criticized white people for not having the sense to leave a haunted house. Apparently, some Japanese have the same problem.

I could name a slew of other horror works this celluloid bowel movement rips off (such as "The Johnsons" and the "Guinea Pig" series,) but the point is that "Evil Dead Trap" has lousy acting, gratuitous sex, is cheap and poorly scripted, and has too many false scares. The violence is obligatory enough to bore any gore hound to the point where they're ready to settle for reruns of the Brady Bunch.

And just in case you've been eyeing the recently released DVD with curiosity, you can't say you haven't been warned.

Simply put, next to the Exorcist and Suspiria, I have never seen any film more terrifying, uncompromising, and rufusing to very in tone. It contains some of the most graphic, kinetic and realistically brutal death scenes I have ever seen in a film. The opening scene of this movie echoes recent terrorist events(snuff footage) sent back to reporters on video tape. Although, this film was made in 1988, the horror of this scene and its use of simulated snuff footage made a statement to me, due to excellent creative filmmaking. The director used 16 millimeter film stock, so the image is grainy on purpose, to make the look of the film more realistic. When the news crew goes to the location of the murder to investigate and bring the killer to justice, they become the snuff film, the trap, if you will. The film stock the director chose, resembels old news footage in a way with the gel color creating a beauty of art house cinema, mainly giving reference to Suspiria. With our world in the state it is and people being lead into traps without knowledge to be tortured and murdered this film scared me to the bone. Absolutely amazing, mind-blowing horror that is for serious horror collectors only. Not for the uninitiated.

Late Night talk show hostess Nami receives a mysterious videotape that shows the brutal killing of a young woman. It also describes the way to a remote industrial area, where this snuff videotape obviously was filmed. Attracted from what she saw, Nami and her television crew drive to the area to investigate the background of the video. Now the horror starts, as one after another is killed in unbelievably sadistic fashion. Who (or better: WHAT) is the killer?

This film can be called the "flagship" of Japanese splatter horror movies. Filled with style and sadism only possible in Japanese genre films, it brought new life to the genre. The gory special effects are ultra-realistic and remind of the notorious "Giniipiggu 2: Chiniku no hana". Actress Miyuki Ono, talented and beautiful, delivers a superb performance as Nami.
This DVD version isn't really better in terms of picture quality than the older Dutch release, but has better subtitles and features extras. And there's a strange difference between the two during the opening credits: Here they are white on black ground, in the dutch version they are green.