Tales from the Crypt (TV Series) The Trap (1991) User Reviews

"I'm Lou Palmona....Blow me"!

[TalesfromTheCryptfan · 8/10 · 19 November 2017]

Fired from his job, a 41 year old man named Lou Paloma (Bruce Mcgill) is so upset that his wife Irene (Teri Garr) suggests she gets a job and he gets a better job since they are behind their bills. So Lou comes up with a scheme to earn money if he has his brother Billy (Bruno Kirby) who is a coroner as he wants to fake his death and collect half of his million dollar insurance as all he has to do is to fly to Brazil, get plastic surgery and wait for his wife to meet him.

A very well written and nicely paced episode that isn't scary or a horror but really more of a dark thriller comedy. Michael J Fox (Who makes a cameo in the trial scene) does a nice directorial job with this episode and co-stars Principle Strikland himself James Tolkan and Carrol Baker. I really like the script and how funny this episode is with dark comedy, it is based on a Shock Suspensestories story. I also like the twist ending this episode has even with the brilliant line spoke by Lou.

Enjoyable tongue-in-cheek episode

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 21 March 2011]

Coarse, belligerent, and unemployable no-count slob Luigi 'Lou' Paloma (superbly played to loutish perfection by Bruce McGill) decides to fake his death in order to collect his own insurance. Paloma enlists the aid of his mousy wife Irene (well played by Terri Garr) and his timid coroner brother Billy (a sound and likable performance by Bruno Kirby). Complications ensue when Irene and Billy fall for each other. Michael J. Fox, working from a witty script by Scott Alexander, shows a sure hand as a director: the entertaining story unfolds at a snappy pace, Fox ably mines an inspired and amusing line in broad'n'brash humor (Luigi's frequent foul-mouthed remarks are often downright hilarious), and a charming lighthearted tone is maintained throughout. The lively acting from the capable cast rates as a major plus: The three leads all do sterling work, with fine support from James Tolkan as the hard-nosed Sgt. McClaine and Carroll Baker as the batty, grief-stricken Mother Paloma. Fox has a funny cameo as a shrewd prosecutor. Robert Draper's bright cinematography makes nifty occasional use of a Steadicam and boasts some cool titled camera angles. Peter Allen's spirited score also does the flavorsome trick. A real hoot.

Solid

[shellytwade · 7/10 · 6 April 2022]

This is a pretty decent episode that has all the hallmarks of a prototypical episode of Tales From The Crypt; people screwing around on each other, scamming, blood, comedy etc. I wouldn't put this one as one of the best but it's definitely a good time if you are going through the series.

The perfect crime! ...TWICE!

[Coventry · 10 April 2006]

Pocket the big fat bonus of your life insurance without necessarily having to die first! Haven't we all secretly thought about committing this fraudulent crime? Well, it also is a popular storyline in second-class comedies and TV-thrillers and, naturally, there's a "Tales from the Crypt"-episode revolving on this topic as well. The aggressive and foulmouthed Lou Paloma has just been fired from his millionth job and, instead of looking for a new one, he wants to escape his debt collectors by reaping the money from his life insurance and flee to Brazil. He requires the help from his wife and mortician brother, but the two of them plot an even more ingenious crime that'll only result in more problems for Lou. This first episode of the third season doesn't contain any gore or nudity but, instead, it has a well-written screenplay and quite a lot of effective black humor. First time director Michael J. Fox, who also briefly appears as the prosecutor in court, disposed of some great actors & actresses to work with, like Bruno Kirby, Bruce McGill and even classic film-star Caroll Baker as Lou's senile old mother. In case you ever plan to fake your own dead (for whatever reason, no questions asked…) this tale is required viewing, as it will supply you tips and advice on how to make it look realistic.

"I'm Lou Paloma!!!"

[Foreverisacastironmess123 · 7/10 · 22 December 2014]

A boorish bullheaded asshole who is worth way more dead than alive, decides upon the bright idea of faking his own death for the half a million life insurance policy, but this being the gleefully grim and underhanded world of Tales From the Crypt the scheme doesn't go quite according to plan, and he winds up getting executed for his own murder... This tale always struck as one where the plot synopsis makes it sound a lot better than it actually is. It's a fine enough story I guess, but it's a far-cry from the best the show had to offer as there's no horror in it and the comedy isn't even all that dark, it's just to me a weak exercise in the absurd that's more cute than anything else. It's tone is so light and fluffy, and I find some of the situations and characters to be stupidly zany, like when the old lady dives on the coffin, Michael Fox's weird cameo as a lawyer, and especially the fruitcake who's "beautiful sunset" talk soon got so old that I felt a bit like reacting like the Bruce McGill character hilariously does at one point! I did like McGill a lot, his comic timing was great and he's the best thing about this story. And even though he acts like a self-centred bullying creep the whole time he was still somehow charming about it, and even though you may feel somewhat sorry for Lou at the end it's a lot more easier just to laugh at him! The series was hitting such a powerful stride at this time during its run that you can forgive even the weakest of episodes of practically anything, and I know that they were designed to reflect the style of the original comic books regarding the nature of the story arc and twists, and if I dead-loved this one it'd never be a problem, but the dumb logic of this one sticks out like a sore thumb. I mean hello, DNA and fingerprinting? Wouldn't the medical technicians have checked a body for a pulse? Wouldn't the officers have found it peculiar how someone that the Palomas claimed not to recognise would know all about the late Lou Paloma? And why the heck didn't Lou's brother finish him off for good with the crowbar, or let him burn up in the furnace, that would've been the end of their troubles right then and there - it's so chock-full of plot-holes that are big enough to drive a truck through! That said, I actually don't find it to be a terrible episode, it is a fun and entertaining enough, just in my opinion not one that's all that good nor particularly memorable, mostly kind of obnoxiously peppy and improbably bizarre. Not one of my favourites. It does feature Christmas a tiny bit.. Happy holidays folks! #De Jeneiro!#

The Trap

[a_baron · 7/10 · 23 August 2015]

Lou and Billy may be brothers but they are chalk and cheese. Billy is successful while Lou can't hold down a job, although in spite of his total lack of charm he is also their mother's favourite. Faced with mounting bills he comes up with a ludicrous scheme to fake his own death and claim the insurance money, the idea being that after plastic surgery he will fly to South America on a false passport where his long- suffering wife will join him, something that would not be quite so easy in the post-9/11 world.

Actually, this scheme would not be quite so ludicrous if his body were simply to disappear, but Billy is a coroner, and after faking Lou's murder the three conspirators call the police, who don't realise he is dead, while Billy performs the autopsy. Obviously to credit this endeavour requires a little poetic licence, but they manage to pull it off, although things don't go quite to plan, because shortly, Irene realises she has married the wrong brother.

After persuading Lou to decamp to South America leaving the insurance money at home, no more is heard from Billy and Irene, so Lou returns. What happens next is, well, let's just say that although he was a nasty piece of work, Lou didn't deserve this.

Very funny episode unusual for the show's standards

[bellino-angelo2014 · 8/10 · 18 June 2021]

Lou Paloma is a coarse, aggressive and short-tempered slob of a man that can't keep a job for more than a week. When he loses his last job as a pizza delivery guy, he suggests a genial idea to his wife: faking his death so that in future he could have his own inheritance. He enlists the help of his wife Irene and coroner brother Billy (Bruno Kirby) and the plan initially succedds. However, when Lou is away for a trip in Rio de Janeiro and he returns home, his wife and brother don't recognize him at all and Lou gets more infuriated when he finds out that they fell in love during his faked death and absence. They go on trial and the lawyer (Michael J. Fox, who also directed the episode) calls to the stand even Lou's mother (Carroll Baker) and for not recognizing his son she claims to be Eleanor Roosevelt. Lou will claim his real identity up until his death.

This episode was very funny in some moments and I even laughed at them (a thing that rarely happens when you watch TALES FROM THE CRYPT). The best funny moment? Probably every time when Lou shouted ''I am Lou Paloma!'' two-three times straight. And it has quite a stellar cast. Another great entry.

Btw, it looks like a coincidence, but in the same episode Michael J. Fox plays the attorney and James Tolkan plays the police officer. Up until the year previous this episode, they played Marty McFly and Strickland in the BACK TO THE FUTURE trilogy. Quite odd if you think about it!

A very poor way to hit off into the third season

[SleepTight666 · 3/10 · 22 July 2009]

A very poor way to hit off into the third season. Terrible dialog, acting and 'twist'.

The story is about some douchebag who treats his wife and brother horribly. They are in desperate need of money, and his brother and wife help him fake his own death. The whole thing was improbable and convenient.

Once they got all the insurance money, everybody pretended not to know him anymore and was accused of murdering himself. So he got the death penalty.

The episode was just way off, nothing worked for me and none of the characters were remotely likable or interesting.

Definitely one of the worst episodes so far.

OK tale from the crypt.

[poolandrews · 5/10 · 18 March 2007]

Tales from the Crypt: The Trap starts as Lou Paloma (Bruce McGill) loses yet another job, his worried wife Irene (Teri Garr) reminds him of how much debt they are in & that they have big money problems. Lou becomes desperate & comes up with a plan to defraud his insurance company & cash in on his life policy, blackmailing his mortician brother Billy (Bruno Kirby) into helping him they come up with a story that a burglar killed Lou, local mortician Billy would step in & officially pronounce him dead, Irene would receive the insurance money & they would fly off to Rio & live a life of luxury. Could it really be that simple?

This Tales from the Crypt story was episode 1 from season 3, directed by Michael J. Fox who also has a small role in The Trap I thought this was a disappointing opener to season 3. The script by Scott Alexander was based on a story from the 'Shock SuspenStories' comic book & is more of a crime thriller than horror which isn't the type story I want to see while watching Tale from the Crypt, generally speaking The Trap is a pretty straight forward crime thriller with the usual Tales from the Crypt twist at the end which really isn't that surprising & if you think about it has plenty of plot holes & just doesn't work.

Directed by Michael J. Fox himself I'm sure he didn't appreciate the story he was given as there's no horror, no suspense or gore in this episode, I mean what the hell was the point? The acting is OK & there's a few decent over-the-top performances here especially McGill.

The Trap is average Tales from the Crypt & one for the fans only really as there are far better stories out there, hopefully this isn't representative of the rest of season 3.

The Trap

[BandSAboutMovies · 5/10 · 6 April 2024]

Directed by Michael J. Fox and written by Scott Alexander (Big Eyes, Ed Wood), "The Trap" has Lou (Bruce McGill) and Irene Paloma (Teri Garr) faking his death for insurance money. The problem is that he goes away to Brazil and while there, his brother Billy (Bruno Kirby) steals his girl. Sound like a giallo? Well, there mom is played by Carroll Baker.

"Greetings, bores and ghouls. I'll be with you as soon as I finish with this customer. We were just going over some of the terms of his coverage. I'll bet this is one clause he won't be getting out of. Tonight's nasty nugget concerns a man with a problem. He wants to collect on his life insurance without dying in the process. I call this little annuity: "The Trap.""

Fox had already worked with producer Robert Zemeckis on Back to the Future. Lou works for Zemeckis Pizza and Fox shows up as the prosecutor at the end, as Lou has changed his identity and looks, getting arrested and executed for his own murder. Another McFly-related actor is in this. Sergeant McClaine is played by James Tolkan, who played Mr. Strickland.

Lou's horrible, so you don't dislike his brother and wife for having an affair or making out on top of his coffin with him inside. In fact, you kind of want them to be able to get away from the evil Lou and just enjoy their life and love. This is a fun episode and Fox only directed one other time, as he did an episode of the TV show Brooklyn Bridge.

This episode is based on "The Trap" from Shock SuspenStories #18. In that story, the wife is in charge and the husband is forced to be in the crime, along with an undertaker who has an affair with the domineering spouse. It was written by Carl Wessler and drawn by Jack Kamen.