Review: The Devil's Carnival

Any time a theater experience starts with a live performance by a couple of hot, scantily clad contortionists and a sideshow barker leading the crowd in chants of “Take me to hell!” you know you’re in for a good time. That’s exactly how the festivities kicked off Wednesday at the Plaza. Director Darren Lynn Bousman and writer Terrance Zdunich, the creative minds behind the cult hit Repo! The Genetic Opera have reunited with many of their stock players, as well as some new faces, to being us a new dark musical in The Devil’s Carnival, and they’ve taken the flick on tour. For now, this is the only way to see it, and it comes complete with bonus features in the form of live performances, a 15 minute collection of behind the scenes footage from Repo, and Q & A sessions with the filmmakers and (in select cities) stars. The main event is, of course, the movie itself; and let me tell you folks, it’s a hell of a flick, pun completely intended.

The Devil’s Carnival tells the stories of three lost souls; John, a heartbroken father who kills himself out of grief over his lost son, Merrywood, a kleptomaniac with an obsession for all things sparkly, and Tamara, whose only sins seem to be her gullibility and horrible taste in men. They wake up to find themselves in The Devil’s Carnival. Here, the games, sideshows, and attractions are all presided over by Lucifer and his assorted cast of minions. As Lucifer tells us Aesop’s Tales, their connections to the lives, deaths, and transgressions of the three sinners are revealed. Step right up folks, it’s time to have some fun at the expense of the damned, and there’s a loser every time.

First off, it’s inevitable that this movie is going to draw comparisons to Repo. It’s a musical by the same writer and director and it stars many of the same people. That is about where the similarity ends, however. This flick is completely different. It’s far more dark fantasy musical than horror rock opera. True, it maintains some of the unmistakable songwriting and visual styles of the Bousman/Zdunich creative team, but another Repo it isn’t. In the place of Repo’s dysopian technogoth-cityscape is a surreal carnival nightmare-realm. In place of the industrial rock are tunes that would sound at home in an old time vaudeville show. In place of the violent, sometimes graphic horror of Repo, there are morality tales and dark fantasy. This is a very good thing. As much as I enjoyed Repo, had they gone the safe route and recreated that feel to appeal to Repo’s cult following, I would have been highly disappointed. Instead, in The Devil’s Carnival they have created a whole new world with its own rules, mythology, atmosphere, and magic.

Aesthetically, the flick is mind blowing. During the post shot Q&A, Bousman said that it was filmed in graveyard for carnival equipment. They could not have found a more perfect place. This rag-tag midway was lit with Argento-esque vivid reds, blues, and greens, and accented with lots and lots of darkness. The carnival seems to exist within a void. The result is lush, garish, and desolate at the same time. It looks like something EC comics would have come up with in their heyday. Bousman’s eye for detail and creating compelling visuals is fully on display. The costumes are perfectly appropriate for the setting, and the makeup looks great. Lucifer’s makeup in particular is killer. Like the look of the film itself, he walks a line between cartoonish and menacing. He reminded me a little bit of a better-looking mixture of the devil from Judgement Day and the Graffix bong jester. Wow, let’s see who gets those references. The Painted Doll’s makeup was more subtle, but extremely effective. I hate so single them out, because everyone looked great, but I can’t make the entire review about the makeup and wardrobe.

The acting, however, I could probably go on and on forever about. Everyone was spot on. Honestly, the only thing I could say that I didn’t like about the acting is that only a few characters got significant screen time. A whole carnival’s worth of characters were introduced, but we only really got to know certain ones. As the film is the first of a proposed series, and we learn that certain performers are chosen for certain performances, hopefully we’ll get more time with some of them, particularly Bill Moseley’s Magician, in subsequent films. Writer Terrance Zdunich plays Lucifer, and he eats the screen alive. As good as he was as Graverobber in Repo, I think Old Scratch just might be the role he was born to play. He even gets to deliver the best line of the film “I'm not in the market of killing innocent children. That’s God’s jurisdiction. I just deal with the guilty.” I mean, come on, how great is that line? Dayton Callie pretty much owns every scene he’s in as Ticket-Keeper, Shawn Crahan gets over on sheer presence alone, and Emilie Autumn, who I had never heard of before this film (I know, I know, my friends have already taken me to task over that) is absolutely enchanting as The Painted Doll. There are so many great performances by the likes of Ogre, Sean Patrick Flanery, Briana Evigan, Jessica Lowndes, and so many others that there really isn’t a weak link at all. When you take into account that all of these roles required not only great acting performances, but strong vocal performances as well, the cast becomes even more impressive.

When it comes to the music, I’m not going to lie; I thought it started out a little slow. The first couple of numbers are good, real good, but not great. Then, as the movie picks up steam, so does the soundtrack. The back end is loaded with great tunes. Songs like “Trust Me,” “Beautiful Stranger,” and “Grace for Sale” are all sure-fire crowd-pleasures, showing off both Zdunich’s songwriting skill and his flare for the dramatic. There are a couple of songs, however, that stand head and shoulders above the rest. The first truly great musical moment comes courtesy of Five Finger Death Punch vocalist Ivan Moody as The Hobo Clown. Now I’m not a FFDP fan by any means, but the way he performs “A Penny for a Tale,” a damn good song in its own right, is downright awe-inspiring. His rich baritone soars, wringing and coaxing every last bit of dramatic potential from the song. Who knew there was real talent there? “Prick Goes the Scorpions Tale,” performed by Emilie Autumn, is my personal favorite song in the flick. It’s the “Zydrate Anatomy” of The Devil’s Carnival, meaning that it is the catchiest and the most likely to get firmly stuck in your head. In a perfect world, both of these songs would probably be nominated for the Best Original Song Oscar. Neither would win it though. Why? Because “In All My Dreams I Drown” would take the award, that’s why. Holy shit this duet between Jessica Lowndes and Terrance Zdunich is incredible. I can’t call it my favorite (for personal reasons I find the song kinda depressing), but the power and beauty of this song are undeniable. If this song doesn’t grab you somewhere down deep, you’re either dead or you have no soul. It has a little bit of a Leonard Cohen vibe to it. It’s an absolute masterpiece, and I don’t use that word lightly. I’ll put it this way, out of both Repo and Carnival, it’s the best song, and I could easily see it being covered over and over again once mainstream vocal artists discover it. All of the other songs prove that Zdunich is a skilled composer, but “In All My Dreams I Drown” proves that he’s a master of the craft.

My only complaint about the film is its length. I don’t know the exact running time, but it’s right around an hour. I realize that the short running time was probably due to the budget. I can’t fault it for that, but I would have liked to see more. The back-stories of the three sinners could have used some fleshing out, particularly Tamara, and their judgments felt a little rushed at moments. The ending of the film, however, lets us know that this is just the prologue for a truly intriguing story. I can’t wait to see what comes next. I guess the filmmakers embrace the old carnie philosophy of “always leave them wanting more.”

At this point Cellmates, I’m going to rant a little bit. While I wouldn’t really call this movie “horror,” it does appeal to the same audience, so for the purposes of this little call to action I’m going to consider it under the banner of Independent Horror. There is a lot of lip service paid to the cause of supporting indie horror. I hear people complain all the time that Hollywood and the mainstream film industry is out of ideas and keep feeding us crap. I agree whole-heartedly. The problem is, most horror fans seem unwilling to put their money where their mouth is. They seem unwilling to drive an hour or more to see a limited run indie flick. They’d rather download a torrent than cast a vote for better movies by buying a ticket. They won’t take the time to search these films out. Every time I go to a small theater to see an indie horror movie and I (well, Leah’s usually with me) am the only one there, I fear for the state of the horror business. That’s why it did my heart good to see The Devil’s Carnival Roadshow play to a packed house. It showed me that sometimes, if you capture people’s imaginations, they will show up. As both Bousman and Zdunich emphasized during the Q & A, the support of the fans got this film made, and the continuation of the project all depends on the support of the fans. I implore you Cellmates; if you live in one of the cities listed below, please go see this flick. Not only is it outstanding, but you will be striking a blow for filmmaking outside the Hollywood system. Buy a soundtrack or T-shirt if you can. The indie film industry survives on the support of people just like you and me, so I’ll send out the battle cry you hear so often on this site, SUPPORT INDEPENDENT HORROR! Ok, I’m done ranting now. You can go HERE to get tickets to a show near you. Here are the remaining dates on the tour…

4/20 – Tampa, FL @ The Tampa Pitcher Show
4/21 – Charlotte, NC @ The Neighborhood Theater
4/22 – Richmond, VA @ The Byrd
4/24 – Pittsburgh, PA @ The Hollywood Theater
4/25 – Baltimore, MD @ The Charles Theatre
4/26 – New York, NY @ Times Scare NYC
4/27 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Painted Bride
4/28 – South Hadley, MA @ The Tower Theater
4/29 – Boston, MA @ The Foxboro Theater
5/1 – Toronto, ON, Canada @ Toronto Underground Theater
5/2 – Toledo, OH @ Collingwood Arts Center
5/3 – Chicago, IL @ The Music Box Theater
5/4 – Des Moines, IA @ The Fluer Cinema Cafe
5/5 – Kansas City, KS @ Leawood Cinema Theater
5/6 – Denver, CO @ The Oriental Theater
5/7 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Tower Theater
5/9 – Seattle, WA @ The Admiral Theater
5/10 – Portland, OR @ The Clinton St. Theater
5/11 – Sacramento, CA @ The Colonial Theater

If you live in any of those cities, I can’t recommend enough that you go. This is the kind of movie that is meant to be seen in an atmosphere like this, and as there are no details currently available about a DVD release, this may be your only chance to see it for a while. While they may not be the first to use the “afterlife as carnival” motif (before you even say it Juggalos, it's way older than COC too), I promise you that you’ve never witnessed anything like this movie before. It’s a completely engrossing and enjoyable cinematic experience, and the added fun of the Roadshow just makes it that much better. It’s well worth going out of your way to attend. Two severed thumbs up. Nathan says check it out.

30 Day Horror Challenge Day 12 - Your favorite horror film involving the occult

Night of the Demon represents the clashing of two schools horror, the “less is more” philosophy, and the “more is more” ideology. The resulting “compromise” is one of the best horror films of the 50's, and one of my favorite occult flicks ever. It works beautifully as an understated thriller of demonic forces stalking a non-believer, but when the demon shows up, he’s more effective than 90 percent of the “giant monsters” of the era. Plus, it features one of my favorite villains of all time.

Professor Harrington is planning to publish an expose on the satanic cult led by Dr. Karswell. Before this can happen, Harrington meets his end at the hands of a demon brought about by a cursed parchment given to him by Karswell. Dr. John Holden, played by Dana Andrews (who, by the way, said that prunes gave him the runes) shows up to debunk all of this demon nonsense. He openly doubts and mocks Karswell’s black magic. Karswell slips him a parchment too, telling him that he will die in three days. As strange supernatural occurrences befall our hero and Harrington’s daughter, his obligatory love interest (and one of the most annoying sidekicks in the history of sidekicks), he slowly begins to accept his hexed reality. His only chance is to give the parchment back to Karswell. Can he do it before the infernal beastie rips him apart?

The story is well known about the dispute between director Jacques Tourneur and producer Hal E. Chester. Tourneur was a proponent of the subtle, “less is more” school of filmmaking. His films tended to be more about suspense than visceral thrills., He was one to amp up the atmosphere and dread, and keep the horror just out f sight. He had collaborated with producer Val Lewton, the undisputed master of this type of horror, in the 40’s, picking up much of Lewtons style along the way. The combination of Lewton and Tourneur produced three of the best psychological horror flicks of the era; Cat People, The Leopard Man, and the incredible I Walked with a Zombie. He thought this was the direction to take for Night of the Demon. He was right. He made a movie that expertly uses suspense without showing much of anything. The quiet menace of the interplay between Karswell and Holden, the barely glimpsed shadows, the wind, a cloud of smoke; these are the source of the scares. It was a Lewton-esque success. The climactic scene on a train with our hero trying everything he can to outsmart the evil sorcerer and hand him the parchment while our villain thwarts every attempt is so tense and well written it could be out of a Hitchcock movie. That could be because Charles Bennett, who adapted the screenplay, is best known for writing for Hitch.

When Chester, the producer, saw what Tourneur had made, he was not happy. He wanted the more garish horror style that was emerging. At the same time Demon was being made, Hammer was revolutionizing the genre with groundbreaking full color gore in Curse of Frankenstein and Horror of Dracula. Giant monster movies were all the rage at the drive in. He argued that the climate of the horror market was changing, and his movie was going to have a giant monster dammit! He took it upon himself to force the inclusion of an on screen demon. He was also right. While the understated creepiness of the film was extremely effective, the big payoff with the big as a house, still smoking from the fires of hell demon gave the film the last ingredient it needed to be great. The monster itself, a huge, horned, furry, cross eyed...ok I give. What the hell is it? Whatever that thing is, it’s one of the best giant monsters I’ve seen and a hell of a lot better than the rubber suited majority. Although I will say, the one shot where he throws down a body (I won’t say whose) is rather Godzillaish in a floppy arm kinda way. He’s not likely to scare anyone today, but he has a 50’s charm that cannot be denied.

While Dana Andrews (who also said that passing them used lots of skills) as Holden may be top billed, and the monster may have gotten all the press, the movie belongs to Niall MacGinnis as Dr. Julian Karswell. He is anything but the stereotypical Hollywood Satanist. He is affable, jovial, proper, and polite. The pointy beard is really the only give away. He has used his occult knowledge to amass quite a fortune. He lives with his mother, and we even see him performing as a clown at a Halloween party he’s thrown at his estate for the town’s children. Doesn’t seem like a bad guy, huh? Well, he has got this nasty habit of summoning the fury of hell upon those who cross him. MacGinnis plays him as a smooth talking gentleman who discusses matters of business in the same tone as matters of necromancy. My favorite scene in the movie is when he and Holden are walking, and Karswell, still in clown makeup, calmly and matter of factly discusses conjuring demons from hell as if he’s just making small talk. His is a quiet evil, which is incredibly chilling.

A lot of horror movies seem to be called “classics” just because they’re old. Night of the Demon is not one of them. It’s a prime slice of 50’s style horror that still packs a punch today. Avoid the American cut, called Curse of the Demon, as it cuts out some vital pieces of atmospheric exposition. Alas don’t confuse it with Night of the Demons or a 1988 Bigfoot movie also called Night of the Demon. Oh, and one more thing. The cursed object that must be passed back to the one who gave it to you, the three day limit before hell has its way with you, the climactic train station scene; does any of this sound familiar from a more recent film? Drag Me to Hell stole this films plot so completely that I consider it a remake. Anyway, when people say “they just don’t make ‘em like that any more,” Night of the Demon is precisely the kind of film they’re talking about. Two severed thumbs up. Nathan says check it out.