Norma was just a sweet girl forced to live in the horrible environment that is Tophet Meadows Trailer Park. The inhabitants of Tophet Meadows Trailer Park epitomize the vilest trailer park stereotypes, and many of them seem to take a particular pleasure in tormenting poor Norma. All Norma wanted was to find someone who will accept her and take her away from the torments she faced on a daily basis. When she finally met a guy who just might have done that, he was (accidentally?) killed by three of the park’s meaner residents. A short time later, Norma stumbled across a mysterious stranger (seemingly Satan or, at the very least, some demon). The stranger offered a gun to Norma and convinced her to accept an unstated deal in exchange for the gun. Norma took the gun back to Tophet Meadows, killed everyone and blew the park (and herself) sky high.
It’s been almost thirty years since that night. there have been a great number of disappearances in the area of the trailer park ever since the murders. Locals know to stay well clear of the area, especially at night. Passing tourists aren’t so lucky.
The teens in the movie fall into the passing tourist category. are all on their way back from a forced camping trip with Vertical Trinity (an organization that tries to turn kids lives around by forcing them to go out in the woods and shoving God down their throats); they are pretty standard slasher movie fodder. Within seconds of meeting them you’ll have no trouble identifying the cliché horror characters. There’s the asshole, the stoner, the slutty one, nerdy guy, the final girl, etc.
The fodder in Trailer Park of Terror is even more obviously fodder than usual. There’s very little in the way of flight and even less in the way of fight from the teens. Hell, a lot of them don’t even think to hide from the zombies. Bridget is the only one of the entire cast that puts much effort into fighting back against the zombies. It doesn’t really matter though because the movie isn’t about the teens, it’s about the zombies.
Norma, the queen of the trailer park, gets the most development (not to mention a healthy helping of back-story). When you see what Norma’s life in the trailer park was like, the only surprise is that it took so long for Norma’s spirit to be crushed. It’s a tragic tale, but it’s fortunately it’s so over the top that the viewer will not take it too seriously.
While the zombies don’t get nearly as much in the way of character development, they do get a lot of screen time, and you can tell everyone is just having a lot of fun with the characters.
There is one problem about having the zombies be far more interesting than their victims. Because the movie (and the audience) is far more interested in the zombies, there’s very little in the way of suspense in the film. There are only a couple times in the entire movie when you will be wondering about the fate of one of the teens. In just about every other situation, it’s a case of wondering when, not if. It gives the movie a rather anti-climatic feel.
While it’s not a negative, I should also point out, the “zombies” aren’t really zombies in the traditional sense. I have been using the term, “zombie” because that’s what the movie calls them, but they are more like ghosts than zombies. They certainly don’t have the standard zombie weaknesses and limitations.
Trailer Park of Terror is not a cinematic masterpiece. It’s got very little in the way of suspense, and the victims are even less developed than is standard for a slasher-film. It’s not trying to be a masterpiece though; it’s trying to be a fun movie. And on that front, it succeeds beautifully.
The video is presented in 1.78:1 and the audio is in 5.1 Dolby Digital. Both the audio and video are good quality.
A Day in the Life of Trailer Park of Terror – In-character interviews with the inhabitants of the trailer park. Much like in the movie itself, the actors seem to be having a blast playing with these characters.
R-Rated Version – In case the unrated version is a bit much for you, here’s a 35 second shorter, R rated version. Though chances are, if you are buying a movie called Trailer Park of Terror, you can handle a little extra gore. I think it’d be more entertaining if they included a drastically edited G-rated version.
If you are a fan of horror movies, and you don’t take your horror too seriously, you should have a lot of fun with this one. While the release could definitely use some more extras, the movie is a hell of a lot of fun.
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Summit Entertainment presents Trailer Park of Terror. Directed by: Steven Goldman. Starring: Nichole Hiltz, Jeanette Brox. Running time: 96 minutes. Rating: NR. Released on DVD: October 21, 2008. Available at Amazon.com
