The movie of the day is Tourist Trap, from 1979, directed by David Schmoeller and starring Chuck Jones, Jocelyn Jones, and Jon Van Ness.

Tourist Trap is about a bunch of kids driving in two separate cars in the middle of California when one of the cars starts experiencing car troubles. One of them decided to seek help and came across a gas station. However, he is met with bizarre supernatural forces when he enters the gas station.

This is one of my favorite summer movies. I tend to revisit it every now and again, thanks to the fantastic soundtrack by Pino Donaggio. The soundtrack does not take over the movie but mixes well with the eerie vibes that these groups are experiencing. Throughout the film, you explore why there are so many wax figures and literally no human beings in sight.

Some fun facts about the film:

The writers of the script wanted John Carpenter to direct the movie.

David Schmoeller changed some of the concepts of the script from the original script because he had some inspiration from watching the movies of Alejandro Jodorowsky and Luis Bunuel.

He also was inspired by watching the mannequins at JCPENNYs.

The entire movie took about 24 days to film, and a huge part of it was filmed in an abandoned house that was scheduled to be demolished.

The production designer of the movie was Robert A. Burns, who also worked on films such as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) and The Hill Have Eyes (1977)

Director and writer David Schmoeller convinced composer Pino Donaggio to work on the movie’s soundtrack because he happened to be in town working on another soundtrack, Piranha, directed by Joe Dante.

Linnea Quigley had an uncredited role as a mannequin in the movie.

Jon Van Ness did all of his own stunts in the movie.

Gig Young and Jack Palance were offered the role of Mr. Slausen.

This movie is available to watch on Tubi, Shudder, and Youtube.

Sources: YouTube, Wikipedia, and Internet Movie Database.