Jan '19
So Hell Fest is out on dvd already. It had a limited theatrical run, which is surprising for a genre title like this one, but when big names are involved... anything is possible. When I say "big names", I refer to their selling point that was important enough to put on the poster: From an executive producer of The Walking Dead
First off, I just want to laugh at that for a moment. I'm sure there are some TWD fans around here, but that show is old and tired, and everyone knows that executive producers don't do shit. They collect a paycheck, and I guess that's important enough.
So the movie starts without much intricacy. A group of young adults decide to go to "Hell Fest", a horror-themed carnival/haunted-house type deal, and somewhere down the line, an actual serial killer sneaks into the mix, and no one knows any better, because it's all part of the show, right?
For what it is, the movie isn't bad. It's very colorful, competently made, and it even has Tony fucking Todd as the main horror host. He kinda reminds me of his Hatchet character in that sense. He's not in it much though, as the film mostly focuses on the group of victims, and the killer set out after them.
The movie is pretty predictable. You can tell pretty much exactly what's coming, but that's not exactly a problem. It's a pretty fun romp either way. This horror-show setting lends itself perfectly to the genre, giving us plenty of outs for stupid decisions and whatnot, playing on the disbelief of the participants due to the nature of the "show".
What other movies can you think of that revolve around horror shows, carnivals, or circus type themes?
Freaks (1932) - Old-timey classic featuring actual "freaks". Short, to the point, creepily engaging, and with an ending that probably fucked with people's heads back in the day.
The Wizard of Gore (1970/2007) - Typical HG Lewis fare, which means that it's awesome. Ego-maniac's horror show takes things farther and farther, but are his evil-doings real, or are we all just going insane?!
The remake was a completely different tone, acting as more of a psychological crime thriller than horror. Not the worst, but not quite what we were looking for...
Bloodsucking Freaks (1976) - Quite literally a horror show where the guy is killing people on stage, and NOBODY believes it! Being an ego-maniac, Sardu decides to step up his game, so people can't possibly not believe it. I love it.
The Funhouse (1981) - The most obvious example of funhouse horror revolves around a small group who get trapped in a carnival after hours, and you know what happens next. Fun.
House of 1000 Corpses (2003) - Captain Spaulding's horror show tells you about various serial killers, and you're likely to get killed if you hang around too long. Kinda satanic, somewhat supernatural, and extremely different from its follow-up The Devil's Rejects. This movie was pretty flashy, heavily inspired by a music-video style of directing, since Rob Zombie was doing a lot of that as his solo career started taking off.
Those are a few examples off the top of my head. Thoughts on these? Hell Fest? Carnie and/or Horror-Show horrors?
First off, I just want to laugh at that for a moment. I'm sure there are some TWD fans around here, but that show is old and tired, and everyone knows that executive producers don't do shit. They collect a paycheck, and I guess that's important enough.
So the movie starts without much intricacy. A group of young adults decide to go to "Hell Fest", a horror-themed carnival/haunted-house type deal, and somewhere down the line, an actual serial killer sneaks into the mix, and no one knows any better, because it's all part of the show, right?
For what it is, the movie isn't bad. It's very colorful, competently made, and it even has Tony fucking Todd as the main horror host. He kinda reminds me of his Hatchet character in that sense. He's not in it much though, as the film mostly focuses on the group of victims, and the killer set out after them.
The movie is pretty predictable. You can tell pretty much exactly what's coming, but that's not exactly a problem. It's a pretty fun romp either way. This horror-show setting lends itself perfectly to the genre, giving us plenty of outs for stupid decisions and whatnot, playing on the disbelief of the participants due to the nature of the "show".
What other movies can you think of that revolve around horror shows, carnivals, or circus type themes?
Freaks (1932) - Old-timey classic featuring actual "freaks". Short, to the point, creepily engaging, and with an ending that probably fucked with people's heads back in the day.
The Wizard of Gore (1970/2007) - Typical HG Lewis fare, which means that it's awesome. Ego-maniac's horror show takes things farther and farther, but are his evil-doings real, or are we all just going insane?!
The remake was a completely different tone, acting as more of a psychological crime thriller than horror. Not the worst, but not quite what we were looking for...
Bloodsucking Freaks (1976) - Quite literally a horror show where the guy is killing people on stage, and NOBODY believes it! Being an ego-maniac, Sardu decides to step up his game, so people can't possibly not believe it. I love it.
The Funhouse (1981) - The most obvious example of funhouse horror revolves around a small group who get trapped in a carnival after hours, and you know what happens next. Fun.
House of 1000 Corpses (2003) - Captain Spaulding's horror show tells you about various serial killers, and you're likely to get killed if you hang around too long. Kinda satanic, somewhat supernatural, and extremely different from its follow-up The Devil's Rejects. This movie was pretty flashy, heavily inspired by a music-video style of directing, since Rob Zombie was doing a lot of that as his solo career started taking off.
Those are a few examples off the top of my head. Thoughts on these? Hell Fest? Carnie and/or Horror-Show horrors?
The scene you described from Bloodsucking Freaks reminded me of Interview with the Vampire. That scene in Paris where the vampires kill the Laure Marsac character, remember that?? That wasn't a carnival, but I guess maybe it could qualify as Grand Guignol?? Not sure about that, but... had to mention it.
I'll keep thinking. Hmm...