Trapped Alive (1988)
Three convicts hold up a couple of young women on their way to a Christmas party and end up stuck down an old mine shaft with no apparent way of escape.
So far so good, twenty minutes gone and we are in creepy slasher territory...then another half hour goes by and we are still in creepy slasher territory minus any actual slashings and stuck down a mine shaft with no apparent way of escape.
Then a policeman turns up and a troll like character with shades of
Madman(1981) appears and the murders begin, often utilising elaborate pulleys and lifting devices, with about twenty minutes to go.
What's weird is the mine shaft is rather nicely lit, in fact it's never dark and despite the fact nobody can escape said mine, characters randomly turn up, including a woman in a sexy party dress who desperately needs acting lessons appears with five minutes to go for a twist ending you won't have seen coming nor will you actually care about.
Trapped Alive has a low budget ambiance all of it's own, mainly stoked by shit acting, crap dialogue and whiffs of boredom that creep in every quarter of an hour or so. There's little in the way of gore and even less of 'star' Cameron Mitchell who features in a couple of house party scenes. Still. If you've got a name actor you may as well get your money's worth.
Arrow's Blu-ray looks fantastic. Far better than the film probably deserves. I bet Frankie Teardrop friggin' loves this film.
½ / 5
Two days and two films down and not the most auspicious of starts to my December horror marathon.