So Hell is a carnival? Wouldn't surprise me. My review of 'The Devil's Carnival'

'The Devil's Carnival'(DVD, VOD 2012)
Rated: UR
Runtime: 55 Min.
Directed by Darren Bousman
Starring:
Emilie Autumn
Dayton Callie
Briana Evigan
Sean Patrick Flanery
Jessica Loundes
Terrance Zdunich
Paul Sorvino
Mark Senter
Bill Moseley
Nivek Ogre
Ivan L. Moody

From IMDb- "Lost souls enter The Devil's Carnival where they are each faced with the sins they committed in life."

In 'What Dreams May Come', we saw that Heaven turned out to be whatever each individual interpreted it as- a painting, a favorite diorama.  Even Hell turned out to be what one thought, and it was a beautiful and brilliant movie.

In 'The Devil's Carnival' we find out what Hell might be like according to Darren Bousman and Terrance Zdunich- and it turns out that it's creepy, wild, colorful and even kind of fun in a twisted way.  You can almost smell the burnt popcorn, sickeningly sweet cotton candy, rotten candy apples and rancid peanuts.  Not to mention the smell of old sawdust permeating the very air.   It's always night at the Carnival, and you'd better have your ticket. Also, don't forget to follow the "666 rules"--break one of these and it's your soul on the line.

We follow the lives of three individuals- John, Tamara and Ms. Merrywood.  They've all gone to Hell because of the sins of suicide, greed and trusting too much and making bad choices all the time.  Their stories parallel three Aesop's Fables: 'The Dog and Its Reflection'(greed-Ms. Merrywood, who likes pretty shiny things and isn't above stealing what she wants),'The Frog and The Scorpion'(trusting the wrong people- Tamara, who pays dearly for trusting), and 'Grief and His due'(suicide- John, who learns perhaps the best lesson of all).

 The sets, costumes, music: all creepy and beautiful, and so so demented.  Singer/Musician/Actress Emilie Autumn is wonderful as 'Painted Doll-silent for the most part, but very expressive in her silence. Silent except for when she sings, 'Prick! Goes the Scorpion's Tail' and then you can admire the set of pipes on her.  Gothic and lovely.  Terrence Zdunich is devilishly wonderful as Lucifer- and wow, can he sing! He can turn you into a quivering pile of jelly. 

Also starring, and doing brilliant jobs themselves are: Sean Patrick Flanery(probably best known for 'Boondock Saints') as John, the suicidal father; Briana Evigan(yes daughter of Greg Evigan, and star of such movies as 'Sorority Row' and 'Burning Bright') as the greedy Ms. Merrywood; Jessica Loundes(known for 'Altitude' and 'Autopsy')as the too trusting Tamara. Rounding out the cast were Dayton Callie(Ticket Keeper), Alexa Vega(Wick), the wonderful Bill Moseley(The Magician), Mark Senter(I think a perfect pick for Scorpion)Nivek Ogre(The Twin) and Ivan L. Moody(The Hobo Clown and whom can sing just as intensely as Zdunich)

 The storyline was haunting and rich with the same vibrancy that made 'Repo! The Genetic Opera' so popular and memorable.  The fact that it's also a musical will make fans of RTGO happy(if you haven't seen it yet), and while I'm not usually a fan of musicals, both movies captivated me. I was truly happy to discover TDC and I can hardly wait for the next installments.
  
Basing this movie on Aesop's Fables was a bril-no, frilliant idea- and since there's at least 655+ stories, Bousman and Zdunich had plenty to choose from; and still do, because this story is only the first of several planned movies.  But it's also owner funded, and they hope to make money back to be able to make more movies. But I think they'll have no problem.  Read this awesome post at Darren Bousman's blog- it made my head hurt, and I felt for the guy, but it showed dedication to TDC.

You should visit the official 'The Devil's Carnival' website and show them some love by buying the dvd's, and available swag.  They also have a message board you can hang out at.

Also, because Lucifer says so.

So if you haven't seen it, give it a try. Especially if you like horror movies and also musicals.  The best of both worlds. And even if you don't generally like musicals? Try it anyway- you might like it after all.

5 Stars!