Nightmare Circus

From the acclaimed director of "The Moderns" and "Choose Me" we have a timeless, heartwarming tale of a deranged man living in rural Nevada who kidnaps stranded female motorists (which there seem to be an inordinate amount of for rural Nevada) and, bullwhip in hand, trains them to perform in his private circus, all the while his father who has been turned into deformed monster by radiation from nuclear tests runs amuck.

As other reviewers have noted there is a definite lack of nakedness in this movie alternatively titled "Barn of the Naked Dead", but a lot of bare breasts and female buttocks would only distract from the real (and perhaps only) reason to see this movie--Andrew Prine. Andrew Prine was second only to David Hess when it came to portraying sick psychopaths in 70's drive-in movies, but where Hess's psychos were just flat-out creeps, Prine's could be hilariously funny (even though it wasn't always clear whether the actor himself was in on the joke as he always seemed to take these roles VERY seriously). While this is far from his best work, Prine is always fun to watch.

This movie might also have a bit of "car wreck" appeal considering that it is loudly rattling skeleton in the closet of esteemed director Alan Rudolph. It has an incredibly ridiculous ending that can perhaps only be explained by Prine and the three female leads all walking off the set before the final scene leaving Rudolph to completely pull something out of his. . .well, see it and tell me where it came from. It's hard to believe that anybody would make a movie like this, let alone the otherwise respectable Rudolph.

Addendum: this movie was recently re-releaesed on DVD by Johnny Legend with brief nude scenes of overweight actresses that (partially) justify the alternate title.

Weird, Disturbing Garbage

One axiom is true about any given art form: It did not exist before a person made it. One of my primary interests in evaluating art forms in a critical manner is to contemplate the motivation behind the decision to execute the work. I have no idea why anyone would have made a movie like BARN OF THE NAKED DEAD, though after seeing it I can understand why folks want to see it: Great title.

Existing these days as scummy old rental tapes [including a preposterous version called NIGHTMARE CIRCUS, that is worse if possible] and the occaisional underground re-record, I managed to snag one of the original rental tapes by Ariel Entertainment, whoever they were, and was able to assess an "uncut" 87 minute print of the film. I was not prepared for what it had to offer.

I love low rent "B" grade horror, especially European 1970's stuff, and have just begun delving into some of the American made examples beyond DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT or COUNT YORGA. I was enticed by the name Andrew Prine, a magnetic veteran actor of many a B exploitation movie romp -- his role in SIMON KING OF THE WITCHES might be one of the great overlooked performances of the 1970's. His role in BARN OF THE NAKED DEAD is one that I hope he eventually got over, because films like this can wreck a career especially when an actor throws himself into the role, something that he was not apparently able to resist. I wonder if he got to view his daily rushes, or even if there were any daily rushes -- My thought is that the entire film was shot in about a week & a half, and exposed/edited only afterwards when nobody could stop the cinematic car wreck that unfolds onscreen.

THE PLOT: Man has lived in near isolation on former Army nuclear testing grounds in Nevada [interesting premise], family having long since deserted or otherwise been rendered ioperable. Prine compensates his lack of company by sitting up in a duck tower with a rifle and putting a bullet through unsuspecting car engines.

These cars are all driven by skanky looking 70's B supporting actresses, whom he cons into coming back to his farm. There they are taken prisoner and chained inside of a large barn. The majority of the film consists of footage of the girls chained up to these little posts and cowering with fear, trembling with cold, and discussing their situation. Between conversations Prine lurches in [sometimes dressed as a big top circus M.C.] and drags one of them off to be abused -- verbally, psychologically, physically, and in the movies sole moment of true interest [though the outcome was cut], by a snake. Ahem. He also talks to himself and plays with a toy windup bigtop. He is not a person but a mannerism -- weird behavior for a movie plot with legs attached. I doubt if he was allowed a single 2nd take.

At the end of the film a not too secret horrifying secret is revealed, and everyone dies except the two girls that went crazy during their ordeal, which I guess is to make you think, "Gee ...". The End. How they all die I will leave to be a discovery for those stupid enough to seek it out: Don't let my description of a thirty second clip of Snake Sleaze tempt you: BARN OF THE NAKED DEAD just plain sucks.

The "cinemetography", on all levels of considerations, sucks. The script sucks, apparently an attempt to adapt the Ed Gein story to a contemporary "issue", though just what that issue would be remains undefined ... Be angry at the Army for atmospheric atom testing, maybe. Don't take the long scenic route when you can fly, perhaps. Watch out for maniacs that have been exposed to nuclear fallout? Nahh -- too easy. Maybe it will come to me at some point, but like I said this film seems to have been made without any real intent, unless that intention is to disturb.

And rest assured, BARN OF THE NAKED DEAD is disturbing. Folks may have some bondage romp in mind but BE WARNED: this film lacks even the slightest touch of erotic charm. There is sleaze, but it is not arousing sleaze, unless wondering how the girls go to the bathroom when chained up gives you a rise -- that was the only thing that the film made me wonder about. Then again I guess they didn't need to, since all of the barn scenes could have been shot in one afternoon, so maybe nobody had to go before they were finished.

Avoid this film. Avoid it like you would a burning car at a gas pump.

Avoid it like you would avoid an open cesspit. Avoid it like you would avoid someone with a bad case of bubonic plague. Don't be suckered in by a kinky box cover or descriptions of unspeakable horrors. They are unspeakable, allright -- so awful that I can't manage one more word.

Well, I actually thought that this film would be about zombies, but instead the lacklustre plot follows a deranged young man who keeps women locked up in his barn in order to use them for some kind of circus trick. The film is yet another entry in the already full to the brim seventies exploitation cannon, and while a lot of these sorts of films are very good - this one has very little going for it. The film is, frankly, boring, and since the plot has very little in the way of originality; this film makes for very miserable viewing because you know that nothing is going to come of it. There's another sub-plot involving the young man's father who has been mutated by radiation. This is potentially interesting, but it's not handled well at all and not even that manages to change the tedium of the rest of the film. The acting is horrible as well, and director Alan Rudolph isn't able to get anything out of his cast. Films like this really need to be rather 'nasty' to succeed, and that's one of the most annoying things about this film; it all feels very tame, and therefore its pointless watching. Overall, Barn of the Naked Dead is a film that fully deserves its terrible reputation, and I recommend not watching it.

Played in Seattle as TERROR CIRCUS in 1980 (!) as a bottom half of a double billing with MOTEL HELL. This film is just sick and boring at the same time. A car full of girls takes a short cut to Vegas and get stranded in the desert, only to be prisoners to a madman (Andrew Prine, who is really good in this film). The film has a bad theme song, sloppy editing, a creature who lives in a shack, and whipping girls like animals. The film is made by Alan Rudolph, who now makes art house films. Many of you might see this film and say, it can't be the same guy who made this, but it is. He also made ROADIE with meatloaf! The video print NIGHTMARE CIRCUS is grainy, and the title is video tacked in. I hear it played in most cities in the early 70's as BARN OF THE NAKED DEAD.

let's see. there is a barn, people do die, and no, the dead don't walk around naked. infact, there's no nudity in the film. at least there wasn't in the video copy that i had. i just remember andrew prine keeping girls in a barn, and some creature going around killing.