Evil Dead Trap
1988 Japanese film
Evil Dead Trap
Theatrical release poster
Directed byToshiharu Ikeda
Written byTakashi Ishii
Produced bySatoshi Jinno
Michio Ôtsuka
Starring
CinematographyMasaki Tamura
Music byTomohiko Kira
Production
companies
Distributed byJoy Pack Film
Release date
  • May 14, 1988 (1988-05-14)
Running time
105 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Evil Dead Trap (Japanese: 死霊の罠, romanized: Shiryō no wana, lit. 'Trap of the Dead Spirits') is a 1988 Japanese supernatural slasher film directed by Toshiharu Ikeda and produced by Japan Home Video. The film stars Miyuki Ono, Yuji Honma, Aya Katsuragi, Eriko Nakagawa, Hitomi Kobayashi and Masahiko Abe, follow a television team enters an abandoned building to track down the source of a mysterious videotape before they are pursued by something unseen.

Plot

Late-night TV show host Nami asks her viewers to send in home movies; she receives a snuff film shot at a disused military base, featuring a woman who resembles her. The footage ends with a photograph of her own face, which disturbs her. The station does not believe the footage real yet forbids her to show the footage on-air, but allows her to take her production crew -- Rie, Mako, Rei, and Kondo -- and travel to the scene to investigate. Though some of the employees are reluctant to explore the abandoned base, their television slot is losing money, and the venture may be their last chance to revive interest in the crew.

When the crew arrives, the base appears empty, and they split up to explore and attempt to locate the culprit -- who, unbeknownst to them, is already nearby and stalking their movements. While investigating on her own, Nami encounters a mysterious man, Daisuke, who advises her to leave and reveals that he is also on the base to look for someone, but does not elaborate further before leaving. Meanwhile, Rei and Kondo, who have been having an affair, have sex in an abandoned workshop. After Rei cleans her dirtied clothes, she is unable to find Kondo again, and instead discovers the corpse of the woman from the snuff film. As she panics, the killer impales her with several metal poles, and she dies.

An oblivious Kondo meets Nami and Rie back at the work van, where Nami admits a frightened Rie that she's motivated by personal reasons, curious about the kind of man the culprit is. Mako, having discovered the building where the snuff film was created, alerts the rest of the crew. They enter and are greeted by Rei's corpse, which the killer has rigged to frighten them. Rie panics and flees as the ceiling above the entrance caves in, trapping the rest of the crew. Though she manages to escape to the van, she is ambushed by the snuff film victim's boyfriend, who the killer has kept has a prisoner; he tells her that the killer promised his freedom if he killed any trespassers, but decides to rape Rie first. During the act, he reveals that the killers are "two in one," not human, and hunt and kill for pleasure. Rie attempts to escape afterwards, but both she and the prisoner are murdered by the killer.

While trying to flee the building, the survivors are split up: Nami and Kondo fall through a hole in the floor, while Mako is attacked by the killer and faints. Nami regains consciousness on the rooftop, where she discovers Kondo's headless corpse. Daisuke arrives and takes her to safety, explaining that he used to live at the base with his brother, the man he's attempting to find. Sensing the killer's approach, Daisuke leaves to confront him, getting hit by a spear in the process. When he does not return, Nami tries to find him, instead stumbling upon a television set displaying footage of Mako pleading for help. Nami runs to rescue her, but the killer has booby-trapped the room where she is being held captive; Nami accidentally triggers one of the traps, which kills Mako.

The killer then attacks Nami with fireworks and arrows, but is held back by Daisuke, who appears and fires at the killer with a revolver. He leads Nami through an underground passage to safety and gives her the gun, claiming that the culprit is "a kid" and that he will go back to finish him off. Nami returns to the van, but upon seeing the killer drag away the bodies of Rie and the prisoner, decides to stay to apprehend him. Returning to the killer's hideout, she discovers his bedroom: photographs of him as a young boy with his mother (her photograph riddled with nails), stacks of televisions showing footage of her show, and voice recordings of the killer's mother. Realizing that the killer associates her with his own mother, Nami hears his approach, and sees him dragging the two bodies into nearby cots and talking with a disembodied voice.

Confronted in the bedroom, Nami learns that the killers are both Daisuke and his twin brother Hideki, a mutant newborn baby that lives within Daisuke's chest, has psychic abilities, and can teleport and breathe fire. Daisuke, having grown weary with the killings, allows Nami to shoot him, but Hideki bursts from his chest and also attacks Nami, setting the building on fire. Daisuke manages to trap Hideki back into his chest and set himself on fire with the baby inside. His charred corpse briefly strangles Nami, but she cuts him with glass and causes him to fall out a window to his final death.

Recovering in the hospital, Nami is met by a detective, who explains that the police were unable to locate anything matching Hideki at the scene, and removes his description from the report, thinking that Nami had hallucinated his existence. Later, Nami airs a tribute to her colleagues at the station to great acclaim. Upon leaving, an assistant hands her a parcel, claiming that a man was returning it to Nami. Discovering that it is the same lighter that Daisuke had used, Nami panics, and the strangulation marks on her neck begin to cause her pain. Collapsing to the floor, she realizes that Hideki somehow entered her own body, and as he bursts through her stomach, he calls her "Mommy."

Cast

Production

Special effects were by Shinichi Wakasa who would go on to a career as a monster-suit maker for several Godzilla films.[citation needed]

Hitomi Kobayashi who plays the supporting role of Rei Sugiura was a top star for Japan Home Video (JHV) under their adult video (AV) label Alice Japan. JHV financed the film as a vehicle for Kobayashi. However, director Toshiharu Ikeda, unsure of Kobayashi's acting ability, instead put Miyuki Ono in the starring role.[1]

Release

Evil Dead Trap was released theatrically in Japan as 死霊の罠 (Shiryō no wana) on May 14, 1988.[2] It was later released in Japan on VHS on September 25, 1988[3] and as a DVD on June 23, 2000.[4] On November 7, 2000, the film was released on DVD in the United States by Synapse Films. The release included the original theatrical trailer, and audio commentary by director Ikeda and special effects manager Shinichi Wakasa.[5]

Reception

Evil Dead Trap received positive reviews from critics, with praise highlighting the film's mixing of giallo and slasher film genres, cinematography, and special effects, while most criticism was directed at the film's ending.

Jon Condit from Dread Central rated the film a score of three out of five, highlighting the soundtrack, story, and cinematography as being reminiscent of Dario Argento's giallo films. While calling the film "fun and well crafted", Condit criticized the film's weak ending.[6] Niina Doherty of HorrorNews.net also criticized the film's ending while commending the cinematography, special effects, and mixture of elements from slasher and giallo films.[7] Empire's Mark Dinning gave the film four out of five stars, praising the film's cinematography, gore effects, and style, calling it, "an effective and bloody slasher let down only by its last act".[8] In their book Japanese Cinema: Essential Handbook, authors Thomas and Yuko Weisser awarded the film four out of four stars, calling it the best of contemporary J-Horror cinema, while also noting Argento's films as obvious inspiration.[9]

Legacy

Evil Dead Trap was followed by one sequel. Evil Dead Trap 2 (also known as Hideki: Evil Dead Trap 2), was directed by Izo Hashimoto and released in 1992. The film is a loose continuation of the first and follows a theater projectionist, Aki, who sees visions of a ghostly boy named Hideki while Aki thinks she might be a serial killer that targets women.

The 1993 film Chigireta ai no satsujin, directed by Evil Dead Trap director Toshiharu Ikeda, was released internationally under the title of Evil Dead Trap 3: Broken Love Killer. In the film, a policewoman investigates the apparent suicide of a college student. The film has no connection to the first two in the series.

References

  1. ^ Galloway, Patrick (2006). "Evil Dead Trap: Shiryo no wana". Asia Shock: Horror and Dark Cinema from Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, and Thailand. Berkeley, Calif.: Stone Bridge Press. p. 165. ISBN 1-933330-12-0.
  2. ^ 死霊の罠(1988) (in Japanese). All Cinema. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
  3. ^ "死霊の罠 [VHS]" (in Japanese). Amazon.co.jp. 25 September 1988. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
  4. ^ "死霊の罠 [DVD]" (in Japanese). Amazon.co.jp. 23 June 2000. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
  5. ^ "Evil Dead Trap - Synapse Films". Synapse Films. n.d. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  6. ^ Condit, Jon (July 6, 2005). "Evil Dead Trap (1988)". Dread Central. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  7. ^ Doherty, Niina (March 15, 2020). "Film Review: Evil Dead Trap (Shiryô no wana) (1988)". HorrorNews.net. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  8. ^ Dinning, Mark (January 1, 2000). "Evil Dead Trap Review". Empire. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  9. ^ Weisser 2003, p. 91-92.

Bibliography

  • Thompson, Nathaniel (2006) [2002]. "EVIL DEAD TRAP". DVD Delirium: The International Guide to Weird and Wonderful Films on DVD; Volume 1 Redux. Godalming, England: FAB Press. p. 254. ISBN 1-903254-39-6.
  • Weisser, Thomas. (1998). "Asian Cult Cinema Report: Film, News and Gossip", in Asian Cult Cinema, #22, 1st Quarter, 1999, p. 4-6. (American premier of Evil Dead Trap)
  • Thomas Weisser; Yuko Mihara Weisser (2003). Japanese Cinema: The Essential Handbook : Featuring Japanese Cult Cinema Since 1955. Vital Books.
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