Ajouter une intrigue dans votre langueTrapped in a forgotten amusement park, a young woman (Kristy) finds herself terrorized by the living memories of the park. She must break free from the park's grasp before she becomes its ne... Tout lireTrapped in a forgotten amusement park, a young woman (Kristy) finds herself terrorized by the living memories of the park. She must break free from the park's grasp before she becomes its next victim.Trapped in a forgotten amusement park, a young woman (Kristy) finds herself terrorized by the living memories of the park. She must break free from the park's grasp before she becomes its next victim.
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As a roller coaster nerd I was drawn to this film, unable to find it for years. All I saw was Brenna Roth's short documentary about the park, which featured the trailer for the movie. That documentary lead me to do some abandoned explorations and fall in love with that too. The alure lasted for many years, maybe my high praise is more based on the satisfaction of actually seeing the thing. But I actually think the film itself is really good. Sure there are moments of corny production (thankfully the special effects shots are limited) but WHAT DO YOU EXPECT IN A FILM ABOUT AN ABANDONED AMUSEMENT PARK COMING TO LIFE ALL TWISTED? Won't put spoilers in because this film deserves a good review without spoilers, but with some of the twists the corny production actually enhances things. I personally think a lot of the bad reviews are from people who stopped watching after the first couple minutes. A surprising amount of the lore is based on the real history of the park. I found myself genuinely invested in the characters and fantacising what I would do/how they'd react to me and not just watching for footage of Chippewa Lake Park I enjoy aestheticly, and I've watched multiple times. There are nuggets you might not pick up on first viewing. Interesting to note they changed the closing year to 1986 as opposed to 1978 and the events of the film take place in 2006. That doesn't spoil any details about the story, and I won't say how that's planted. Just an interesting nugget.
Closed for the Season aka Carnival of Fear offers something that seems more like a feverdream, a stream of consciousness excursion into fear that gets rather muddled in the second and third acts. Director Jay Woelfel has to be given credit for trying to create an alternate universe where fear and regret exist tangibly and haunt the lives of the characters. Yes, it's a very slow burn, but it's fascinating. Woelfel has helmed many films, mostly in the horror and action genres, so it's interesting to see this approach. It's also understandable that so many reviewers would hate this movie--it's not a "gotcha" horror movie. Other reviewers have compared it to "Malatesta's Carnival of Blood", which has a very dreamlike, metaphysical feel to it. In some ways, it also resembles Herk Harvey's "Carnival of Souls", although that film has a very clear-cut rationale that is revealed at the end. Both films are exceptional in their use of cinematography to set an eerie mood. The whole idea of a closed amusement park being a receptacle for the negative energy produced by human suffering is a great metaphor, and Woelfel tries to layer on other ideas as well, but it seems like too many metaphysical concepts spoil the broth. If you like your horror with a lot of esoteric philosophical concepts drenched in atmosphere, then this one might be for you.
Yeah, it doesn't get much worse than CLOSED FOR THE SEASON, which has to be one of the cheapest, dumbest, worst-looking horror films I've seen in a good while. The only - and I mean ONLY - good thing this production has going for it is that it was filmed in a genuinely abandoned theme park somewhere in the US. But everything else is the pits.
The story is vague, ambiguous, and boring. There's not enough plotting to sustain an hour-long running time so why they made this an excruciating two hours I'll never know. The storyline involves a young woman (Aimee Brooks, forgettable) trapped in an abandoned theme park at night, where events from the past are forced to play themselves out for eternity.
There are extraneous characters who come and go in the plot and attempts at a surreal atmosphere a la CARNIVAL OF SOULS but none of the atmosphere-building works. Instead we get tons of dumb moments involving incredibly cheesy gore effects and people dressed up in CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON costumes. CLOSED FOR THE SEASON also employs some absolutely HORRENDOUS CGI effects in the form of a CGI roller-coaster in the opening scene. I actually guffawed when I saw how awful it looked. Sadly it's the most entertaining scene (albeit unintentionally) of an otherwise worthless film.
The story is vague, ambiguous, and boring. There's not enough plotting to sustain an hour-long running time so why they made this an excruciating two hours I'll never know. The storyline involves a young woman (Aimee Brooks, forgettable) trapped in an abandoned theme park at night, where events from the past are forced to play themselves out for eternity.
There are extraneous characters who come and go in the plot and attempts at a surreal atmosphere a la CARNIVAL OF SOULS but none of the atmosphere-building works. Instead we get tons of dumb moments involving incredibly cheesy gore effects and people dressed up in CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON costumes. CLOSED FOR THE SEASON also employs some absolutely HORRENDOUS CGI effects in the form of a CGI roller-coaster in the opening scene. I actually guffawed when I saw how awful it looked. Sadly it's the most entertaining scene (albeit unintentionally) of an otherwise worthless film.
Kept hoping it'd get better but the first 5 minutes pretty much tell you how interesting the whole movie is going be. The boring just never ends. It just goes on, and on, and on. Occasionally the boring gets spiced up with some confusing, some irrelevant, and some totally lame CGI. The story makes little sense, the actors are terrible and the plot is retarded. It keeps jumping around from one strange (and still boring) scene to another as if whoever wrote it, simply made it up as they went along, hoping to make a quick buck. Pathetic. Boring. You don't even care how it ends or what happens to any of the characters. I couldn't wait for it to hurry up and end. If you have absolutely nothing better to do and someone else paid for it - meh, go ahead and waste your time. Otherwise - avoid.
A young woman and a man (Aimee Brooks and Damian Maffei) find themselves stuck at Chippewa Lake Park that's been closed for decades, but terrorizes them with haunting memories.
"Closed for the Season" (2010) was written, scored and directed by Jay Woelfel at the cost of only $250,000. I saw his previous full-length movie, "Ghost Lake," from six years earlier, which cost way less, $110,000, and I wanted to see what he could do with over twice the budget. Well, this is noticeably better on a technical level, and is impressive from that angle, but he omitted the most important part, a compelling story.
I was interested in seeing it because you can't beat the carnival atmosphere. And the dilapidated location makes it all the better, sort of like "Scream Park" that came out two years later and was shot in northwest Pennsylvania's Conneaut Lake Park. That flick is worth seeing since it has a coherent story that holds your interest. Not so here, unhappily.
Yet if you have a penchant for artsy indies or are interested in what Chippewa Lake Park looks like after being closed for 31 years, when shooting was done in 2009, you'll find something to appreciate. It was a happening place in the Roaring 20s.
The film's overlong at 1 hour, 54 minutes, and was shot at Chippewa Lake Park, which is located 27 miles west of Akron and 5 miles northwest of Seville.
GRADE: C-/D+
"Closed for the Season" (2010) was written, scored and directed by Jay Woelfel at the cost of only $250,000. I saw his previous full-length movie, "Ghost Lake," from six years earlier, which cost way less, $110,000, and I wanted to see what he could do with over twice the budget. Well, this is noticeably better on a technical level, and is impressive from that angle, but he omitted the most important part, a compelling story.
I was interested in seeing it because you can't beat the carnival atmosphere. And the dilapidated location makes it all the better, sort of like "Scream Park" that came out two years later and was shot in northwest Pennsylvania's Conneaut Lake Park. That flick is worth seeing since it has a coherent story that holds your interest. Not so here, unhappily.
Yet if you have a penchant for artsy indies or are interested in what Chippewa Lake Park looks like after being closed for 31 years, when shooting was done in 2009, you'll find something to appreciate. It was a happening place in the Roaring 20s.
The film's overlong at 1 hour, 54 minutes, and was shot at Chippewa Lake Park, which is located 27 miles west of Akron and 5 miles northwest of Seville.
GRADE: C-/D+
Le saviez-vous
- AnecdotesThe movie was filmed in the actual abandoned Chippewa Lake amusement park. At the start of principal photography, the park had been abandoned for 30 years, and had recently been sold. The new owners allowed to let the crew shoot the movie there for free.
- ConnexionsReferenced in Garch the Great: Beyond Dream's Door (2025)
- Bandes originalesCarny Car Theme
Composed and performed by Seann Flynn
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Détails
Box-office
- Budget
- 250 000 $US (estimé)
- Durée1 heure 54 minutes
- Couleur
- Rapport de forme
- 2.35 : 1
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By what name was Closed for the Season (2010) officially released in India in English?
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