Side Sho

I blind bought this movie and am pretty upset that I paid as much as I did but I would say that it's at least worth a rent for some cool deaths and laughable acting. It is not a good movie in any way but I must say that I was pretty darn entertained. I guess it could be called so-bad-it's-good.

As I said, the acting is awful, I feel like I could have done a better job showing, at least, any emotion. The story is nothing new and has been done better. I guess I just have a soft spot for any carnival-esquire type film. I would say rent this or download it but definitely don't buy it. It is not worth more than one watch.

Side Sho surprised me as I thought I was in store for yet another dreadful independent horror film from Lionsgate. Boy was I wrong. From the imaginative opening credits to the "feel-at-home" setting of riding with the family, to the building terror of the shocks to be displayed, Side Sho is a solid horror film that will satisfy most fans of the genre. Great effects, attractive nubile young ladies, creepy freaks and good production values made it a wise rental. I have read varying reviews of the movie online, and I'm glad I took a chance with it. Some described the film as The Hills Have Eyes in the swamp, and I guess that is somewhat accurate. However, it is by no means just a simple knock-off of that famed film. Side Sho is well-above the common horror film out there, but yet not the best to come down the pike. Try it, you'll like it.

This is a very chilling movie from director Mike D'Anna and Lucky Kitty Productions. It's creepy, it's full of great horror, and the ending will either tick you off or stick to your brain like glue FOREVER! The performances from the actors are very well done, but where D'Anna really hits home is the creepy vibe of the whole southern goth undercurrent of the film. Moody, scary, deep, and just plain fun to watch, this film is one of the coolest horror flicks to come out since Night of the Living Dead. Yeah, you read that right. This rivals Romero. It's just so "icky". And the ending is so unexpected that you'll want to watch it over and over again to really get yourself settled. Go rent it right now and you'll see what I'm talking about. Very cool film.

A family is traveling the back roads of Florida for the father's book and decide to stop at a rundown sideshow. When their car breaks down the freaks come out to play, and they want women...

For some reason, I thought this was a Charles Band production so I always put off watching it, assuming it would be a cheap, boring movie filmed inside a dark tent for the whole thing. But thankfully Side Sho is an actual attempt at making a film.

Coming out a year after the Hills Have Eyes remake, it's clear where the inspiration for the film comes from, but it is original enough that it never feels like a ripoff.

There is some surprising gore in the film, and some of the 'freaks' makeup is good, but unfortunately no one in the cast is particularly good. They're all competent but I never really care about them the way you do for the family in Hills. Likewise, you don't get to know much about the freaks either apart from the barker and the young boy. A lot of them are just generic bearded biker type men who boss the more mutated ones around.

What the film needed was a bit more in the first section. We only get to see the family walk through a couple of rooms in the side show but they don't see any of the freaks until the two boys happen to meet each other after. It needed an inciting incident for why the family was targeted.

Still, Side Sho managed to be entertaining throughout and stands out over many other shot on digital early-2000s DTV films.

A family on vacation finds out about an old tourist attraction when they make a pit stop. The father is putting together a coffee table book on unusual tourist attractions and decides that he and his family should go explore an old "freakshow". Upon arrival the family is unexpectedly greeted by the owner of the freakshow or side show. The family decides to explore the attraction. The father goes with the owner to see some of the wilder displays and gets grossed out. What the family doesn't know is that there is a whole family of freaks who are looking to add a couple of new gals to breed with a extend their family tree. The father and son take on the freaks to rescue the women of their family. Side Sho isn't a great movie by any means, but it does have it's moments. There's plenty of cool and gory kills. Running around 89 minutes, Side Sho does movie a little slow and would probably have benefited from some trimming.