COME ONE, COME ALL! // A FILM REVIEW OF "THE AMUSEMENT PARK"
In 1973, The Lutheran Society commissioned George A. Romero to direct an educational film about ageism and elder abuse. What exactly they were thinking they would receive back is only known to them (and puzzling to the rest of us), but what they received was THE AMUSEMENT PARK, a trippy, horror fantasia that disturbed them so much that they immediately shelved the film. It wasn't until a lost print was discovered in 2017 that the film's existence was even known and now it'll be able to be streamed in its entirety on Shudder. It's fascinating alone to see what Romero, who would in five years later create the blueprint for modern zombie and horror films, was cooking up. But it's also equally fascinating knowing that this was meant to be an educational film and not something meant to be a midnight movie shocker.
Romero's film was clearly not the film that the Lutheran Society wanted, but it's the film that we didn't know we needed. It's a disorienting, strange, mad little slice of a film (it runs about 52 minutes) that would have been lost in the vaults of time had Romero not been the visionary behind it. It's a lost piece of history, rediscovered over 40 years later and can now be appreciated through a very different lens. The film itself is surreal, starting off strange and only getting stranger. It's experimental in nature, worrying less about the plot or any dialogue and more about how off-putting it makes you feel (only the lead is a trained actor). The film starts and ends with a sort of "Prologue/Epilogue," delivered straight to the audience and breaking the fourth wall. It sets up what we're about to see and asks us to feel for the victims within. The end wraps us up in hopes that we will step away trying to better ourselves. It's an odd thing to have on a regular film, but this being an educational project, it makes perfect sense.
Lincoln Maazel plays an older man in a bright white suit, exploring an amusement park and losing his sanity in the process (Romero fans will know him immediately from the 1978 classic Martin). He is ready for enjoyment and to lose himself in the fun of the park, yet he is almost immediately taken back by the strangeness of it all. Certain rides are restricted if you are old or if your wealth is under a certain number. One "fun house" ends up being a bizarre old folks home where everyone inside is truly miserable. He's treated poorly nearly every step of the way, knocked down, knocked about, shocked and dazzled by the oddities around him. Much of the film is without dialogue, with only a few lines here and there, and often dubbed in a way that makes the image feel even stranger. As he becomes lost, so do we and the overtaking sensation of fear strikes deep within the audience as well. It's an absorbing experience, one that's meant to creep deep within your psyche, and boy it does just that.
GRADE: B+
WRITTEN BY Wally Cook DIRECTED BY George A. Romero STARRING Lincoln Maazel STREAMING EXCLUSIVELY ON SHUDDER STARTING JUNE 8th. FOR MORE INFO: THE AMUSEMENT PARK