Tourist Trap (1979)

This is a very obscure cult classic, but unlike many obscure classics that are good and have seemingly no reason to be (no famous or noteworthy names attached to the project) Tourist Trap has people that add to its unique eccentric style. Most notably Robert A. Burns, the art director from the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, was involved with Tourist Trap designing the creepiest mannequins I have ever seen, and being responsible for the also very effective special effects that made them come alive. Composer Pino Donaggio, most remembered for his scores for several Brian De Palma films, Carrie (1976) Dressed to Kill 

(1980), Blowout (1981), as well as Jo Dante's Piranha (1978) and Howling (1981) and Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now (1973), did a very bizarre carnival-esque score for the film. The plot of the film centers around these college aged kids going on a road trip who decide to stop at a tourist trap along the way; Slausen's Wax Museum. Unfortunately for the kids this is a real tourist trap, and the museum's owner and his crazy "brother" are turning the tourists into mannequins. It is also worth mentioning that the lead character/killer is played by the former star of the 50s TV series The Rifleman: Chuck Conners. As mentioned  before the film has several unique quirks about it (the score, the lifelike mannequins, main actor cast against type) and my favorite is the fact that the killer also has telekinetic powers, forget the 
predictable plot twist, now that's truly

unexpected. Like many great horror flicks from the 70s and 80s this was not a success on its initial release, but it found an audience when it was aired on cable TV in the 80s, garnering none other than Stephen King as one of its many fans. King praises it in his Danse Macabre book as an obscure classic saying that the film "“wields an eerie spooky power, as wax figures begin to move and come to life in a ruined, out-of-the-way tourist resort.” The film was recently released on Blu-ray so it is now more accessible than its ever been. It is truly a unique take on the slasher film, considering it has no blood (there is a little actually, but basically none) or nudity in it and is rated PG, but just like Texas Chainsaw, it feels a whole lot more graphic than it is. The film is featured on Rue Morgue Magazine's 200 Alternative Horror Films You Need to see  list/book. I give it a 4.5/5, you can view the trailer below: