Scott LeBrun The lively rural thriller "Trapped" is good fun, with fine action sequences and some memorable characters. It does come with some subtext: one of the characters believes that murder is rarely if ever justified. One can guess that he'll come out of his experience here singing a different tune. There's also something to be said for what can happen when people in isolated communities insist on making their own "laws". Effectively directed by William Fruet ("Death Weekend", "Search and Destroy") and entertainingly performed, it gets off to a good start and is paced well until the kick ass finale.A quartet of college students travel to the boondocks to do some hiking and cave exploring, only to witness a killing. Local community leader Henry Chatwill (Henry Silva) has caught his hot babe young wife sleeping with another man, and with the help of his friends has tortured this man (including having him tarred and feathered) and ultimately murdered him. The kids try to appeal to the local sheriff (John Rutter), who unfortunately turns out to be Henry's kid brother and who believes that blood runs thicker than water. So there'll be no help on that front. The kids have to put up with being captured and re-captured by Henry and pals until the odds finally swing in their favour.This is a lot of fun for any viewer who digs the entire "hicksploitation" genre. Much of the enjoyment can be chalked up to the scenery chewing performance by Silva, who's a hoot from beginning to end. Nicholas Campbell is okay if not that likable as Roger, the aforementioned young man with strong opinions on the taking of human life. Gina Dick ("My Bloody Valentine" '81), Joy Thompson ("Prom Night" '80), and Danone Camden ('Dallas') are all quite pleasing to look at. Viewers may be pleased to note the doses of female nudity. Standing out in the cast is Barbara Gordon ("Dead Ringers") as Henry's sister Miriam, one person who is willing to stand up to him from the get go. The screenplay is by John Beaird, who wrote the '81 "My Bloody Valentine", and the on location shooting in both Ontario, Canada and Georgia, USA, is top notch.Incidentally, the alternate title "Baker County, U.S.A." is a little more punchy; "Trapped" just sounds too generic.Recommended to fans of films like "Deliverance" and "Rituals".Eight out of 10.

Cujo108 In the mountains of Tennessee, a small backwoods village is lorded over by the maniacal Henry Chatwill. He has his own demented form of justice, and after he catches a stranger in bed with his bored sexpot of a wife, some college kids (one of whom is a pacifist) have the misfortune to stumble upon him enforcing it. Now he has to shut them up before they can notify the authorities.Canadian filmmaker William Fruet directed this film, somewhat in the vein of "Deliverance". Usually known as "Trapped", one of the film's alternate titles is "Chatwill's Verdict", a far superior title to say the least. Why they didn't just stick with that one is beyond me, especially when you realize just how many films there are that share the "Trapped" title. While not original, it has a lot going for it, the most notable being Henry Silva's unhinged performance as Chatwill. It's also unpredictable in regards to which characters live and die. Of course, the college students could've avoided the whole mess if they weren't so stupid as to go looking for the body rather than leaving.This is a quality film. Coming from me, that's saying something since I'm not the biggest fan of the backwoods/hillbilly sub-genre.

HumanoidOfFlesh "Trapped" is a fairly obscure rural revenge thriller in the almost same vein as William Fruet's earlier classic "Death Weekend".It was penned by the late John Beaird,whose only other screen writing credits were slasher films "My Bloody Valentine" and "Happy Birthday to Me".A group of college students accidentally witness a group of local rednecks killing another hillbilly.A deadly game of cat-and-mouse ensues,with the students trying to escape the area while the killer played by Henry Silva sets out to eliminate the witnesses who can tie him to the murder.Sleazy Canadian canuxploitation flick with enough nudity and violence to satisfy any self-respecting exploitation enthusiast.Recommended for fans of "Southern Comfort","Deliverance" or "Hunter's Blood".

nikkiann In 1982 in South Africa we purchased the distribution rights for the above mentioned movie...on...video. A racy, fast moving thriller advanced for its time and great entertainment.This movie in South Africa on video was a smash hits and still continues to be requested by movie viewers here. A hill billy plot with an ending that leaves the viewers breathless is and was great entertainment. The picture did go down very well with the South African movie public,notwithstanding that we had extremely harsh censorship laws governing us. A lot of thanks to Henry Silver and Nicholas Campble. I would certainly like to be able to market this movie once again in South Africa.