baccaruda1 Review of Terror Trips

Terror Trips (2021)

Not Much of a Horror Fan, but I Got Into This One

[7/10 · 4 April 2023]

First off, I read some of the reviews of this film, and I found a lot of the vitriol unwarranted. This is a low budget film and should be viewed through that lens. Perhaps aficionados of these types of films are snarky and difficult to please, which I understand, because making genre films like this is very difficult. Most every subject has been explored to the nth degree, and original ideas are few and far between in the genre. The last horror film I admired was "It Follows" which has a terrific concept for the script and very good execution. But these days, most horror is in the zombie sub-genre, and that is getting WAY long in the tooth. In "Terror Trips", there is the familiar storyline of Americans being in a far off land, and running into strangers that are FAR less than solid citizens, as they pick off the young Americans one by one. While watching, I could see that there is an aesthetic at work that transcends most indie films, with solid locations that fit the story well, generally solid acting, and crisp visuals. Having never seen "Hostel" and its various sequels and imitators, I don't have the ability to compare, but once this one got going, I was into the story and the plight of titscharacters. That said, I awaited the conclusion of the film to be a neat wrap-up, but instead I got something a somewhat more vague than what I would have liked, as one of the main characters' escape from the evil foreigners went unaddressed. Not certain why the film makers decided to forego that aspect of the story, which could have added a satisfying bookend to the movie, instead opting to show two of the other protagonist's nihilistic end. Perhaps others may appreciate the conclusion though. Overall, a solid effort, and something that horror fans and indie film connoiseurs may enjoy.