Coroner’s Report: Trailer Park of Terror

Posted by Robert Fure (robert@filmschoolrejects.com) on October 24, 2008

The closer we get to Halloween, the more my lust for blood and terror becomes uncontrollable. This week, after slaughtering a small famil… slaughtering a small family…sized bucket of … chicken, or something, I popped in the trashy fun Trailer Park of Terror looking for a disgustingly violent good time. Did I get it? Stick around.

Trailer Park of Terror follows a group of Church Camp sinners who are on their way back from a retreat. Among them are the stalwarts of the genre – the attractive douche, the hot slut, the troubled girl, the drug addict, the chronic masturbator, and the questionably gay. They find themselves broken down and make their way to a run down Trailer Park, where the retro-sexy Norma makes her home. Years before, as explained in the awesome first 15 minutes, Norma made a deal with the devil to get revenge against the Trailer Park and its citizens that ruined her life, over and over. Now, she and the undead denizens have turned their hungry, violent eyes on the church campers.

Kills

I was expecting a blood bath and we get to see about 12 on-screen kills and another five or so occur off-screen. The film is front heavy on kills, with the opening sequence putting down five-on screen murders and the five implied kills. It was yumtastic.

Ills

The film played it a little safe here, I thought. I was drooling in anticipation of some great, innovative kills, and they just weren’t there. But that’s not to say we don’t get some good ones. We get a lot of gunshots, a headshot, a gunshot through the mouth, an impalement, a head ripped off (nice!), someone’s back gets torn up and it’s implied his dick is ripped off, too. There is a cut-off arm, a good amount of blood, a woman is disemboweled and eaten while another is partially skinned and then fried in oil while still alive.

Lust

We get a pretty girl in panties, some hooker cleavage, and a few sex scenes. We are mercilessly taunted with almost-shots of boobs and I’m a little rattled that I didn’t get to see any. I mean, come on. It’s about Trailer Trash – throw me a bone here!

Learning

Just another standard lesson in keeping your eyes on the road, avoiding small town short cuts, and never trusting isolated, run down areas, no matter how cute, nice, or promiscuous the resident (they’re always alone).

Review

Trailer Park of Terror is a mixed bag in a way. I did enjoy it quite a bit – it was a classic throwback to the sensibilities of 80s “broke-down bus” horror with a healthy dose of comedy, rock, and practical zombie make-up. The acting of the movie is, as strange as it may sound to some, really quite good. The star, Nichole Hiltz (Norma) does a fantastic job both as a victim in the early parts of the show and as the undead Trailer Park Queen at the end. All of the supporting Zombie characters play their pig-headed thuggish redneck selves to perfection with equal parts menace and humor. There is even a genuinely scary scene or two, which is a testament to the strong visuals and camera movement from director Steven Goldmann. Yes, that’s right, I’m praising the technical and acting merit of a film called Trailer Park of Terror.

The film sends up the whole redneck trailer park image, with your expected characters and their vices, but adds in murder, a demolition derby, and a Rock and Roll Zombie. The musical choices are fun and the zombies are pretty wicked. For a good dose of gore and plenty of Zombie trash comedy, Trailer Park of Terror hits the spot and satisfies, though I believe there is a ton of potential to expand this series, which is based on a comic property. I’d love to see a second installment of this that just goes completely off the wall in terms of violence and comic gore, but as it stands, this was an enjoyable and novel flick.

Read more articles by Robert Fure