The Devil’s Carnival is a fantastically dark wonderment for the tormented soul. The storyline deals directly with the seedy side of the human conscience, focusing on three characters that deal with very real, and very dangerous problems.
Given one final chance to prove they can learn from the mistake they made in their human life, each character is given a test…for their soul. The three main characters in this first installment are John, Mrs.Merrywood, and Tamara.
John is a grieving father who has lost his son. He spends the entirety of the movie searching for him in the carnival, facing different obstacles along the way. Mrs.Merrywood is a kleptomaniac who has to learn to face her personal demon, and Tamara is a young girl that continually let’s herself be victimized by men.
This demented piece of cinema is executed perfectly. Every main character is believable and relate-able, the music is ominous yet catchy, you’ll find yourself singing it for days.
The carnies are both mysteriously beautiful and dementedly cruel in their own right. Executing all of the judgement tasks set out by Lucifer without question, and often times even enjoying them. Many of the carnies are returning actors from Darren and Terrance’s first movie; Repo! The Genetic Opera, and so they have excellent chemistry together.
And then there’s the power houses. You’ll never find a better head-to-head of God vs Satan then Terrance Zdunich and Paul Sorvino. Each actor embodies exactly what this film is all about. I’ve never seen someone command the role of God so powerfully, and that’s rather something, considering he’s barely in this installment. Overall, if you’re looking for a spectacularly sinister musical extravaganza…The Devil’s Carnival is exactly what you’re looking for.
Bonus Points: The Devil’s Carnival was made into an actually traveling roadshow. Darren and parts of the cast went around all of America and parts of Canada, hosting TDC showings. There was live entertainment at each place, which included strippers, sideshow freaks, and magicians, and then a showing of the movie.
Overall I rate this movie: 5/5, for a perfect harmony of costuming, setting, acting, and development.
HorrorLaii 