O Parque Macabro

Carnival of Souls (1996)

* (out of 4)

Worthless remake of the 1962 film has a young girl seeing a man brutally murder her mother. This man just happened to play a clown at the local circus and years later the girl, now an adult (Bobbie Phillips), begins to be haunted by visions of him. I'm not one who is against remakes as I usually like seeing how a different artist puts their spin on a familiar story. This remake only borrows a few elements from the original film with writer-director Adam Grossman making up the rest on his own. What he added is pretty silly stuff and it's really a shame because I think a straight remake could have been much better. The entire subplot dealing with the pedophile clown just adds up to nothing in the end and if you are familiar with the original then the biggest twists are already going to be known. While watching the film I couldn't help but think that perhaps the director's original story might have been a good one but at the same time you can just tell that it wasn't getting on film. The entire movie is meant to make one wonder about what's really going on but you never really have this happen because it's just so poorly made and executed that you really don't care. Another major problem is that the film lacks any real atmosphere and there's certainly no scares to be had. Even what murders are in the film are all forgettable and in the end you really start to wonder what the point of the film was. Phillips offers up a fine performance but sadly she isn't given much to work with. Larry Miller plays the clown and to say his role is weak would be an understatement. The beautiful Shawnee Smith appears briefly but she too is wasted. Wes Craven served as Executive Producer but it seems he was just cashing a paycheck and not really paying attention to anything that was going on the screen.

Spare yourself and see Herk Harvey's original film. The director's cut is particularly good. This movie loses the ideas of the original, and I'm sorry, but Larry Miller is not menacing. I'm not sure whose idea it was to try to 'reimagine' this movie, but it certainly doesn't work on any level. If I hadn't seen the original, I would have been very confused by what they were trying to say with this one.

The eleven year-old girl Alex Grant witnesses her mother being raped and killed at home by the carnival clown Louis Seagram (Larry Miller). Many years later, Alex (Bobbie Phillips) works with her younger sister Sandra Grant (Shawnee Smith) in the Mermaid Inn that was owned by their mother. Out of the blue, Alex is attacked by Louis that was hidden in the backseat of her car on the day of the anniversary of the death of her mother. She struggles with Louis and drives her car into the sea to protect her sister. Then she swims back to the shore on the area of a carnival. From this moment on, Alex has nightmares and daydreams with Louis. What is happening with Alex?

"Carnival of Souls" (1962) is a low-budget cult movie with a story that seems to be an episode of "Twilight Zone". "Carnival of Souls" (1998) is not a remake and only borrows the title and a small part of the original storyline. The plot is boring and totally predictable, sort of a combination of "Jacob's Ladder" with "Carnival of Souls". The result is an average and forgettable horror film. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Parque Macabro" ("Macabre Park")

This is perhaps the worst movie I have seen in my entire life, and I have seen some really bad films. This movie was extremely boring, had zero plot, and no decent acting to speak of. The limited special effects are nothing noteworthy, either. I had a hard time staying awake, and when it was over, I wished I had fallen asleep instead of subjecting myself to such torture. I can't believe that Wes Craven would put his name on such a dismal failure. If you were thinking of watching this film, don't waste your time or money. Rent something better, such as the original Carnival of Souls (1962).

Oh well, It was bound to happen. I finally saw the remake of Carnival of Souls. Was it worth it? In a word, NO! Forget the original set up about the lone survivor (Candace Hilligross) of an automobile accident, moving to a small town, and seeing visions of ghoulish people from the other side coming for her. This time around, A young woman (Bobbie Phillips), a victim of sexual abuse by a pedophile clown (comic Larry Miller) when she was younger, encounters the clown years later. He forces her to drive to the river and she deliberately crashes her car into the river.......you know the rest.

This movie is so terrible. It plays like a dirty USA made for TV movies of the week. The acting is similar to anything you would encounter while watching Melrose Place, etc. Wait til you get a load of what the people from the other side look like this time around. Whooo-boy. No expense was spared for the make up effects for these creatures.

I can just imagine the congratulatory slap on the backs the film makers received from each other. These bums probably think the remake of Psycho was better than the original. I think the audience for this movie is for those who think Urban legend, I Know What You Did This and Last Summer, etc. are great classics. I hope those "12 year old of all ages" enjoy the film. I sure as Hell didn't

I read a few months back, that Candace Hilligross was supposed to have a hand with the remake, but those around the making of the film back stabbed her off the production. I hope she has the last laugh when she sees the critical raspberries this film will rightfully receive.