EVIL DEAD TRAP (1988) – Episode 208 – Decades Of Horror 1980s

“You mustn’t play with dead bodies. You’ve had your fun. Isn’t it enough? Isn’t killing five enough for one day?” Is five enough? You be the judge. Join your faithful Grue-Crew – Chad Hunt, Bill Mulligan, Crystal Cleveland, and Jeff Mohr  – as they check out this wild ride from Japan, Evil Dead Trap (1988).

Decades of Horror 1980s
Episode 208 – Evil Dead Trap (1988)

Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel!
Subscribe today! And click the alert to get notified of new content!
https://youtube.com/gruesomemagazine

A late-night TV presenter receives a snuff tape, in which a woman is brutally killed. She decides to take a crew out to a location indicated in the tape, but only death and despair await them

• Director: Toshiharu Ikeda
• Writer: Takashi Ishii
• Music by: Tomohiko Kira
• Cinematography by: Masaki Tamura
• Film Editing by: Akimasa Kawashima
• Production Design by: Yûji Hayashida
• Makeup Department: Shin’ichi Wakasa (special makeup effects artist)
• Visual Effects by: Takashi Itô (visual effects)
• Selected Cast:
  • Miyuki Ono as Nami Tsuchiya
  • Yuji Honma as Daisuke Muraki
  • Hitomi Kobayashi as Rei Sugiura
  • Shinsuke Shimada as the TV producer
  • Aya Katsuragi as Masako Abe
  • Masahiko Abe as Akio Kondou
  • Eriko Nakagawa as Rya Kawamura
  • Mari Shimizu as the voice of Hideki
  • Terumi Niki as the voice of Haha no Koe

Evil Dead Trap is Chad’s pick and he is pleasantly surprised. What could have been a run-of-the-mill slasher turned out to be a big-time giallo with a generous dose of creepiness at the end. Crystal really, really liked Evil Dead Trap … a lot. She is impressed with the story, the acting, the effects, the clever and creative kills, and even some techniques that were before their time. Evil Dead Trap is a great giallo, one of the best giallo films Bill’s seen in a long time, and from a different culture as told through its own filter. Even though the film lost him at the end, he still calls Evil Dead Trap one of his top ten giallo films. Jeff also loves Evil Dead Trap, making the Grue-Crew’s support unanimous. He specifically points to the music, colors, and the crazy giallo all’italiana story.  

If you haven’t seen Evil Dead Trap, you really need to correct that oversight. Maybe you saw gray-market versions in years past and if that’s the case, it’s time you experienced it again. At the time of this writing, Evil Dead Trap is available to stream from Amazon Prime and other subscription and PPV services. If physical media is your thing, there is an Unearthed Classic Blu-ray of the film available. Be ready for a wild ride!

Every two weeks, Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror 1980s podcast will cover another horror film from the 1980s. The next episode’s film, chosen by Jeff, will be Lucio Fulci’s The House by the Cemetery (1981). Oh boy!

Please let them know how they’re doing! They want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans:  leave them a message or leave a comment on the gruesome Magazine Youtube channel, on the website or email the Decades of Horror 1980s podcast hosts at [email protected]