Evil Dead Trap (1988)

A TV station employee takes a camera crew out to an abandoned factory to investigate a purported snuff film that was made there, only to end up running for her life when a small, fetus-like creature murders her crew.

Director:

Toshiharu Ikeda

Writer:

Takashi Ishii

Stars:

Miyuki Ono, Aya Katsuragi, Hitomi Kobayashi

Cast

Cast overview:
Miyuki Ono	...	Nami Tsuchiya
Aya Katsuragi	...	Masako Abe
Hitomi Kobayashi	...	Rei Sugiura
Eriko Nakagawa	...	Rie Kawamura
Masahiko Abe	...	Akio Kondô
Hiroshi Shimizu
Kyôko Hashimoto
Yûko Maehara
Yûko Suwano
Mari Shimizu	...	Hideki (voice)
Noboru Mitani	...	Detective
Terumi Niki	...	Haha no Koe (voice)
Shinsuke Shimada	...	TV Producer
Yûji Honma	...	Daisuke Muraki

Storyline

Nami hosts a late night home video program. She receives a tape which appears to be a real snuff film. She and her crew investigate the location where she meets a man looking for his brother who warns her to stay away. As she gets closer to the truth, she and her friends are subjected to a brutal nightmare.

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Plot Keywords:

killing an animal | topless female nudity | head injury | hand injury | leg injury | 

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Genres:

Horror

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

14 May 1988 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Evil Dead Trap

Company Credits

Production Co:

Directors Company, Japan Home Video (JHV)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Japanese Porn Stars were used in the filming of this movie

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Goofs

When the lady is impaled in the chair, the amount of blood all over her clothes changes by the end of the scene. Blood all over her right arm vanishes.

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Alternate Versions

UK version is cut by 8 seconds to remove closeup shots of a crucified woman's breasts being cut with a knife.

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Connections

References Suspiria (1977)

User Reviews

An Early Film of Contempory Japanese Horror Cinema

If Dario Argento, David Cronenberg, and Lucio Fulci had gotten together to create a horror movie then this is what the result might me. Shiryo no Wana/Evil Dead Trap(1988) would be responsible for ushering a new era in Japanese horror that would become big during the 1990's and early 21th Century. This is one of the films that help make Japan the top foreign market of horror features. Its about a reporter who goes to investigate an empty warehouse after receiving a snuff film. It has nothing to do the Evil Dead movies except for a few camera effects. The first half of the movie is in the tradition of Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci. The second half dives into Cronenberg territory.

Toshiharu Ikeda emerages from the feature film as one of the best directors of the Japanese gene film. Shiryo no wana(1988) is a mixture of European style and Japanese Philosophy. There are four scenes that stand out. First, the murder and torture scene at the beginning of the feature. Second, the murder of the young woman by impalement. Third, the revelation of the murderer and the secret that the person contains. Fourth, the shocking ending.

The death scenes have the elaboration of an Argento murder sequence with the gory and violent outcome from a Lucio Fulci movie. This is the best film that David Cronenberg never made. I wonder how long it will take before Hollywood will remake this into a waterdown American version. The film is a Japanese take on Argento's Profondo Rosso/Deep Red(1975) and Opera(1987). The eye violence seen at the beginning of the movie recalls the infamous eye penetration sequence of Lucio Fulci's Zombie(1979). Some parts of this motion picture echoes David Cronenberg's Shivers(1975), The Brood(1979), and Videodrome(1981). Shiryo no wana(1988) is an example of why horror films from aboard are superior to most horror films made in America.

What I enjoyed about Evil Dead Trap are the awesome camera movements, cool visuals, and heavy atmosphere. It was written by Takashi Ishii who would later direct the "Beat" Takeshi Yakuza vehical Gonin(1995). This is probably the film that opened the floodgates for such features as The Wizard of Darkness(1992), The Ring(1998), and The Ring 2(1999). I have a feeling that Kevin Williamson must have seen this movie when writing I Know What You Did Last Summer(1997). The outlook of the killer looks as if it would play a major influence on the appearence of the fisherman from IKWYDLS. Its a Japanese giallo with supernatural overtunes. The film also deals with the relationship between Parents and their children in Japanese culture.