I gave it a 7.5 out of 10

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Trapped (1982) ** 1/2 (out of 4)TRAPPED takes a look at a group of mountain men and their "laws." Henry Chatwill (Henry Silva) catches a welfare worker sleeping with his wife so he decides justice is to tar and feather the man. It doesn't stop here because he then kills the man not realizing that there are four college students in the woods who witnessed it. Now Henry must talk his people into tracking down the witnesses and killing them.After the huge success of DELIVERANCE we got all sorts of "hicksploitation" pictures where we went into the woods and learned about these back country people. TRAPPED, also known as BAKER COUNTY, U.S.A. is another in the long line of films that attempt to show us what mountain people do for their justice. There are a lot of good moments throughout the film but at the same time there are quite a few flaws. With that being said, the amount of nudity makes it an exploitation dream.I must say that director William Fruet managed to fit a lot of stuff into this 95-minute movie. I say that because there was a point where I thought the film was nearing the end and was somewhat shocked to see that there was still another half hour to go. The first fifty-minutes of the movie features the type of sleaze and redneck violence that you'd expect and it does keep you entertained. I thought the film had a very good set-up and the locations were another major plus. The problem with the film is the rating bad timing and the fact that the rather weak story gets dragged out quite a bit.With that being said, there are still a lot of good things about the picture including the performances. I thought the entire cast were quite good in their roles but of course it's Silva who stands out as the redneck leader who is a tad bit on the crazy side. As I previously said, the locations used are another major bonus as it does make for a nice atmosphere. If you like nudity then there's plenty of full frontal ladies on display and the style of violence here is quite interesting to say the least. Including the tar and fearthering! TRAPPED has a lot of flaws to it but if you're a fan of "hicksploitation" genre then it's worth checking out.

I remember this movie vividly as it was somehow playing in a large multiplex bowling/arcade/fitness/cinema (only in the '80s) complex in Peoria Illinois, where I grew up, circa 1982 or 1983.It stayed in my head because it was so unlike anything I had seen playing at the time. It was the first time I really experienced an "independent" film (this was not a town that played Art Movies) and I literally wandered out of the theater with a "did that just happen to me?" disposition.The best way to sum up "Baker County" (or "Baker Country" as the group of Vietnamese refugees we were then tutoring, kept enthusiastically chanting after the screening) is that it's a precursor to the torture-porn freak movie --- a miscarriage that occurred in the space between visceral roughhouse '70s gems like "Last House on the Left" and "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and the more polished current-day renditions like the "Saw" and "Hostel" movies.There is absolutely no character development, the acting is amateurish (with the possible exception of Henry Silva's deranged evil-incarnate hillbilly) and the story is beyond simplistic: passive college kids witness Silva murdering a man and are then hunted and tortured for his pleasure before they get their standard, expected eye-for-an-eye revenge.Even at 18 I was aware I was being blatantly manipulated and in such an obvious way that it was annoying and condescending. Yes, I expect to be manipulated by a horror film but this does it with such little style and creativity that it's merely insulting.I was shocked to find that today this movie is considered a "cult classic" --- HA! --- and even more shocked to find it was made for $2 MILLION??? Well, it was obviously more expensive to rent film equipment in those days as that cost is nowhere to be seen on film.The only thing I will say to recommend it is that it really is a true "Grindhouse"-type film. Even in the theater I remember the print being incredibly effed-up. It's exploitation taken to the extreme and if that's what you're after, as an artifact anyway, it fills the bill.

Aw, why did they opt for "Trapped" to be the official title, whereas "Baker County, USA" is such a unique and wondrously ominous title for a movie handling about psychopathic Tennessee rednecks! There are about fifty movies called "Trapped"! There's one with security-trained Dobermans keeping a guy inside a shopping complex and another one with Kevin Bacon hijacking a woman and her asthmatic daughter, so do you honestly want to mix up those lame plot outlines with a movie about lunatic yokels hunting down a bunch of college students? Baker County, USA … all the way! Enough nagging about titles, especially since we call the films whatever we want, anyway. This stuff is terrific! It's an early 80's and Canadian produced Indie-film with character drawings and themes that were especially popular during the decade of the 70's, namely crazed clodhoppers living in private mountain-communities and brutal blood-vengeance. Henry Silva, who played in numerous Italian cop thrillers and action flicks, was never cast better as a tyrant leader of a small mountain colony that swears by its own ancient system of law and order. Silva's naturally menacing charisma and particularly perpetrating stares make him one the most nightmarishly memorable backwoods villains ever! The first half hour revolves on Henry and his docile men playing the roles judge, jury and executioner on an outsider who was caught having sex with Henry's beautiful but bored wife. Four college students camping in the remote hills witness the assassination of the man covered in tar and feathers, but when they try and notify the police they quickly discover everybody the entire area is petrified of mad-raving Henry. "Baker County, USA" is splendidly fast-paced and grimly atmospheric 80's trash effort. It's more than obviously inspired by classics such as "Deliverance" (there even is the banjo soundtrack!), but there are more than enough original elements to distinguish itself as well. The exterior filming locations are sublime (the opening sequence is astounding), there's an admirable portion of suspense and the action/death sequences are quite spectacular and bloody. The climax in particular is a gripping mixture of tension and extreme violence, resulting in quite the fireworks ending! Noteworthy also is that the youthful campers are actually likable characters, for once. They try to do the right thing, don't make overly stupid decisions and don't try to play heroes. Their behavior is plausible and most likely how everyone would react when facing a toothless mob with pitchforks and barrels full of hot tar. William Fruet directed this hidden gem and always treasured a deep admiration for his work, since he accomplishes quite a lot with a minimum of budget. Admittedly, "Spasms" was one of the worst pieces of crap I ever saw, but "Funeral Home" and "House by the Lake" are definitely low-budget highlights.

Trapped was actually released in the late eighties, although it's every bit the seventies exploitation classic! While not as great as some of the more popular films of the genre - stuff like The Last House on the Left and House on the Edge of the Park, Trapped is still an enjoyable slice of violent entertainment from the director of the surprisingly good 'House by the Lake' and the Psycho-inspired Funeral Home. The film focuses on the idea of people in the deep south of America taking the law very much into their own hands. The main culprit is Henry Chatwill; a man who is spotted murdering someone by a bunch of college students. He quickly decides to put his cronies to use in tracking down the college students; one of which, a kid called Roger Michaels, just happens to completely against violence in all forms. The first half hour or so is fairly torrid, as it can be difficult to tell exactly what's going on since it's not pieced together very well. However, things really pick up in the final two thirds; and it all builds to a fantastically entertaining ending, which features a couple of rather original death scenes! Naturally, Trapped isn't particularly well acted or directed - although William Fruet's work behind the camera isn't too bad considering the obvious budget limitations. Once you get past the first half hour, there's a lot of fun to be had with Trapped, and it comes recommended to trash fans everywhere!