I said it before in my review of Pitch Perfect (click here to read) I’m not a fan of musicals unless
they offer something different and not just people randomly breaking out into
song. Repo! The Genetic Opera was one
of the few that I’ve come to embrace due to its goth/industrial vibe, dark
Shakespearean storyline and crazy cast of characters. It’s not a good movie by
any means, but it’s plenty entertaining and features some great songs (I’m all
about “Zydrate Anatomy” and “Genetic Emancipation”). I saw it three times in
the theater (the only way you could see it was when the Repo Traveling Roadshow
would come to town for a weekend because Lionsgate refused to give it a wide
release) and even participated in a shadowcast for a couple of performances (where
I met my current girlfriend).
When I heard that filmmaker Darren Lynn Bousman and writer Terrance
Zdunich would be teaming up to make another dark musical you can believe that I
was more than a little interested. Then I heard reports that it was more of a
short film than a feature and that it would intentionally be brought from town
to town in another traveling roadshow put together by Bousman.
It did come to Chicago, but I chose to skip it and wait for
video. I’m glad I did because if I had spent $20+ on seeing this 55 minute film
in the theater I would have been plenty pissed. This is the exact opposite of Repo because it is pure shit.
Basically this film is the set-up for a larger story
involving a war between heaven and hell. The Devil’s Carnival is actually the
underworld ruled by Lucifer (Terrance Zdunich), where he and a group of demons
in the guise of carnie folk (Emilie Autumn, Alexa Vega, Bill Moseley, Nivek
Ogre and more) torture the souls of sinners that fall into their domain. The three
newest arrivals are the grieving father John (Sean Patrick Flanery),
kleptomaniac Ms. Merrywood (Briana Evigan) and the naïve teenager Tamara
(Jessica Lowndes), and they will be forced to relive their crimes over and over
for all eternity.
There is no traditional narrative here; it feels like a
bunch of interconnected pretentious short films about each of the three
sinners. The problem is that each of these characters are boring and unlikable
and the more time the film spent with them the more I became disinterested in the
entire production. There are so many different characters to keep track of,
some aren’t even given a name (if I didn’t know that Paul Sorvino was playing
God in advance I would never have guessed that’s who he was supposed to be),
that the whole movie feels like a hastily thrown together mish mash of ideas
with zero direction behind them.
The acting is pretty atrocious all around as are the song
and dance numbers. I figured that if there was one thing to watch this flick
for it would have been the musical aspect since 90% of the songs written for Repo were highly listenable and catchy.
I like one out of the myriad used here, “Grace for Sale”, and that’s it. The
rub is that it’s played over the end credits. Boo! I’m a fan of Emilie Autumn,
but even her song “Prick! Goes the Scorpion’s Tale” is lackluster at best.
Worst of all is that some people who cannot carry a tune at all are allowed to
sing, namely Sean Patrick Flanery. He is so off key during his one number that
his voice cracks more than once. My ears bled a little.
Nonsensical, vague and just plain dull, The Devil’s Carnival is a huge letdown to this Repo! The Genetic Opera fan. I expected more from Bousman and Co.
after their triumphant first collaboration, and seeing how Bousman’s skills as
a filmmaker have grown over the years (compare Saw II to his amazing remake of Mother’s
Day) I’d have to say that this is definitely a gigantic step backwards. I’d
even go as far as to say this was a vanity project on his part. Well, I’m not
buying it. Not at all.
By the pricking of my thumbs something wicked this way
comes, and thy name is The Devil’s
Carnival. Next stop, the hell of direct to video releases.
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