Trapped Ashes (2006)

Seven strangers on a Hollywood movie studio tour are trapped inside an infamous House of Horror and forced to tell their most terrifying stories to get out alive.

Directors:

Sean S. Cunningham, Joe Dante

Writer:

Dennis Bartok

Stars:

Jayce Bartok, Henry Gibson, Lara Harris

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jayce Bartok	...	Andy (story segments "Wraparound")
Henry Gibson	...	Tour Guide (story segments "Wraparound")
Lara Harris	...	Julia (story segments "Wraparound")
Scott Lowell	...	Henry (story segments "Wraparound")
Dick Miller	...	Max (story segments "Wraparound")
Michèle-Barbara Pelletier	...	Nathalie (story segments "Wraparound") / Martine (segment "My Twin, The Worm") (as Michele-Barbara Pelletier)
John Saxon	...	Leo (story segments "Stanley's Girlfriend")
Rachel Veltri	...	Phoebe (segment "The Girl with Golden Breasts")
Richard Ian Cox	...	Doug (segment "The Girl with Golden Breasts")
Glynis Davies	...	Nurse (segment "The Girl with Golden Breasts")
Scott Heindl	...	Zack (segment "The Girl with Golden Breasts")
Rob deLeeuw	...	Ben (segment "The Girl with Golden Breasts") (as Rob De Leeuw)
Mina E. Mina	...	Dr. Judith (segment "The Girl with Golden Breasts")
Winston Rekert	...	Dr. Larry (segment "The Girl with Golden Breasts")
Ken Russell	...	Dr. Lucy (segment "The Girl with Golden Breasts")

Storyline

The actress Phoebe Kane and her boyfriend Andy, the architect Henry and his wife Julia, the former director Leo and Nathalie receive an invitation for a VIP Tour in the Ultra Studios. When they see the spooky house where the missing director Desmond Hacker filmed "Hysteria", they ask their tour guide to stop the car to visit the infamous house. In a moment, they find that they are trapped in a room without any exit and the guide suggests them to tell the scariest experience of each one like in "Hysteria". Each one tells a spooky tale until they finally discover the end of their stories.

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Plot Keywords:

nipples | female nudity | breast implant | anthology | female masturbation | 

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Taglines:

Stories Can Make You Laugh or Cry ... And Some Make You Die.

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Genres:

Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual content, nudity, violence, disturbing images and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dennis Bartok got the idea for the segment 'Jibaku" from a real-life incident in which he discovered the body of a man who hanged himself in a cemetery while visiting Kyoto, Japan.

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Goofs

(at around 15 mins) In the first sequence, where the girl is about to have surgery, they hold the gas mask several inches from her face and never place it against her face.

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Connections

References Black Sunday (1960)

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Soundtracks

Bullcorn
Performed by Don Byas
Written by Robert Ellen (as R. Ellen)
Published by Molique (BMI)
©2006

User Reviews

A fantastically good time!

I saw this one at the Midnight Madness screening in Toronto and I have to say I was thoroughly entertained. Before the film the producer mentioned he wanted to bring back an Amicus-style anthology film, which it definitely captures the feeling of, however with a very distinctively Japanese feel (most notably in Sean Cunningham's episode) as well as a twinge of Cronenberg-style body horror.

It's great to see Ken Russell back shooting films for the big screen where he belongs and his episode is complete and total obsessive madness where you can tell that he had as much fun making it as I had watching it. Cannibalistic breasts may not be the subtlest of images, but if you go with it you'll have a blast.

The next episode is what might possible be the best and most experimental Sean Cunningham film ever made. Combining animation with some rather shocking scenes of necrophilia and traditional Japanese horror imagery, the episode is both surprising and creepy. It's quite bold and radical, entirely different from anything Cunningham has done before.

The Monte Hellman episode, that was lauded at Cannes, is a cool change of pace for the film, displaying a deep love of cinema history as well as adding a haunting twist to the mythology of the moving image.

And finally, the last episode from newcomer John Gaeta is an extremely well made body horror story that's based on a semi-true story (as we learned from the Midnight Madness Q+A) about a woman's fraternal link with her mother's tapeworm. This is one of the most original and interesting stories of the movie that features great concepts and imagery.

The Joe Dante directed wrap around segments are suitably amusing (even get a Dick Miller cameo) and it's fantastic as always to see John Saxon do his thing.

Writer and producer Dennis Bartok has been able to round up some of cinema's heroes and give them an opportunity to do something different. His screenplay is very consistent however in retaining a singular and entertaining voice between the different personalities of the directors.

This is the kind of film you should just sit back, relax and enjoy as a sometimes subversive, but always quirky trip into the genre. It seethes with pure adoration for the movies, without falling into forced reference-laden in-jokes.

I, for one, had a blast watching it.

Details

Country:

USA Japan

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 August 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Armadilha do Terror

Filming Locations:

The Suisyoin Temple, Izu City, Shizuoka, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Independent Film Fund, Cinema Investment, Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1