Devil's Carnival - 2012 - PFF

Devil’s Carnival - 2012 - PPF

Ok, time to have some fun. Let’s go to the Carnival…… This carnival is a bit different than most. First of all, you have to be dead. As well as, you have to be a damned soul. (Saints need not apply). Ok now that I have made you curious, I can tell you all about one of my favorite movies that is kinda out there, but really awesome.

Of course, as you already have figured out, the title of this film is “The Devil’s Carnival”. It is brought to you from the wonderfully twisted minds that brought you “Repo! The Genetic Opera”, another great movie gem. This is a musical “horror” movie along the lines of Rocky Horror. And yes, I am aware that to 90% of the population these kinds of movies are not scary, but there is that 10%. And what is life if you can’t have a little devilish fun?

Ok, so I have already said that to go to this carnival you have to be dead and be damned. This movie is amazing on SO many different levels, between the sets, costumes, cast, and music, and interesting story, there are few things that you can find to complain about. Unless this really is not your style, then you can find plenty.

So, the story is pretty straight forward, you have 3 people who are recently deceased and have ended up in Hell, which is portrayed in this film as a very dark carnival. Each one of these characters is part of his/her own story that is being told by Lucifer (the amazing Terrance Zdunich, who co-wrote Repo! The Genetic Opera and the sole writer of this little piece of mayhem) out of a book of Aesop’s fables. I can’t go into a whole lot of detail because there would be spoilers galore.

We will talk about the things that we can talk about without spoiling anything. First, let’s talk about the sets, shall we? This film is pretty minimalistic when it comes to sets. With very few exceptions everything happens on the Carnival grounds or Lucifer’s “trailer”. The lighting and colors used (mostly reds and oranges) give the entire area a dark and “hell-like” vibe.

Let’s talk about this stellar cast. From God to Lucifer to our three “little lost souls” and every character in between, this cast works magic with a “small” budget and a one-week shooting schedule. They play off each other well and each person cast for their role is a fantastic fit. From the legendary Paul Sorvino playing “God” to Sean Patrick Flannery playing a grieving father. Writer Terrance Zdunich playing Lucifer, in freaking amazing makeup. Let’s not forget the fantastic women of this film, the beautiful and talented Emilie Autumn as the Painted Doll and Jessica Lowndes as the hopelessly gullible Tamara. We also have the pleasure of getting to hear the amazingly awesome voices of Ivan Moody (Five Finger Death Punch) and Nivek Ogre (Sick Puppies). So all in all there is nothing you can really complain about as far as casting goes. They hit the nail right on the head.

Now I did mention that this was a musical, so let’s talk music. The background music plays right into the sets as if they are the same. And the songs, written by Zdunich, plays to each actor’s strengths as well as is right in line with the personality of the character they are playing. It is so much fun to hear Dayton Callie singing about the “Six hundred Sixty-Six” rules for the carnival or Ivan Moody’s deep rich gruff voice singing about “A penny for a Tale”. A standout performance for me that interested me in a singer I had never heard of before was Emilie Autumn and her song “Prick! Goes the Scorpion’s Tale”, she has the most beautifully haunting voice that has amazing range and style, it is almost as if in one second she is purring like a kitten and in the next, she is roaring like a tiger. I could go on and on raving about the soundtrack of this film. I mean, who knew Sean Patrick Flannery could sing?

One of my favorite things about this film is that it is beautiful in its simplicity. It doesn’t need a lot of different locations, or even a lot of dialogue. The story flows well from dialogue to song, back to dialogue, and then song again. In my own humble, personal opinion, this film as well as “Repo! The Genetic Opera” are the next-generation versions of that timeless classic “Rocky Horror”. I can’t recommend this movie enough when you just want to have a good time and listen to some amazing music.

Now I will tell you, when this film is over, wait after the credits roll for a bonus scene and song. I don’t consider this a spoiler in that, this is my FAVORITE song of the entire film, and since it is a hidden gem, I want to make sure people get to see it.