"Tales from the Crypt" Retro Recap: "The Trap"

Written by Scotty

Not having enough money to survive in today’s economy is very difficult.  Trying to find additional jobs to keep your income up high enough to pay all of your bills is just too much for many people.  Not wanting to change your way of life, there are other things that people try to do to make sure they do not have to suffer.  Some people chose to go the illegal route, making money selling things that are not legal, while others try to benefit by pulling scams.  I would never recommend doing this, as in the end you will always get caught, but to each their own.

Lou Paloma is out of work again, this time being fired from a pizza delivery job.  Not wanting to give up, Lou has plenty of other dream jobs lined up, but his wife Irene is worried about all of their bills that are piling up.  Wanting to get a job, Lou tells her no, no wife of his will have to work a day while being married to him.  Thinking about ways to get more money and borrowing more of it being out of the question, the couple gets a call from Lou’s life insurance agency and that gives Lou the idea of a lifetime.

Faking his own death would be easy and put them both on easy street.  With his brother Billy working in the coroner’s office, Lou knows that he will be able to pull it off without being caught.  Billy is hesitant with the idea at first, but will do anything to help Irene out since he has loved her since the first day he had laid eyes on her.  Thinking about the best way to fake his brother’s death, Billy devises a plan that will keep everyone away from the scent and will be able to pursue his true venture.

Spreading blood all over his brother’s body, Billy gets the police to come to the house and pronounce Lou dead.  After the funeral, Lou is ready to move down to Brazil, but Billy and Irene are hesitant to go through with the plan.  Wanting to wait for things to calm down, they convince Lou to head off on his own and Irene will join him in a few months.  But Irene and Billy have found a passion for each other that cannot be breached by Lou and they are ready to run off into the sunset together.  But Lou is not going to go down without a fight, but after getting plastic surgery, nobody knows who he really is.  Coming back home, Lou finds his wife and brother happy and with not a care in the world, but he is ready to fight for everything that is really his, the money.  Getting arrested, Lou is put on trial for killing himself and not being able to prove who he really is, he is in for the battle of his life.

I talk about it all the time, how much I would have loved to have a brother or sister, but after watching this, I am pretty happy I am the only child.  Not having to look over my shoulder for someone who wants to take over my life is a relief.  But with that being said, Lou was no angel and his brother Billy wanted what he had more than he did.  Rewards go to the prepared I guess, but without knowing how Billy felt about her, Irene was stuck in the middle of a love triangle that was out of her hands.  Staring Teri Garr as Irene, Bruno Kirby as Billy, Bruce McGill as Lou and a special appearance of James Tolkan as Sgt. McClaine, this is a fantast telling of what could go wrong with a fool proof plan that was never truly fool proof to start out with.  Until next time kiddies, Stay Scared.

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