The Amusement Park

Name: The Amusement Park
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Horror
Released: June 8, 2021
Duration: 54 min
Rating: 77
Cast: Bob Koppler, Halem Joseph, Harry Albacker, Jack Gottlob, Lincoln Maazel

2021

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Generally favorable reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 6 Ratings

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6.3

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6.3	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 6 Ratings

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The Amusement Park

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Movie Details & Credits

Shudder | Release Date (Streaming): June 8, 2021 | Not Rated

Starring: Bob Koppler, Halem Joseph, Harry Albacker, Jack Gottlob, Lincoln Maazel, Marion Cook, Michael Gornick, Pete Chovan, Phyllis Casterwiler, Sally Erwin

Summary: An elderly gentleman goes for what he assumes will be an ordinary day at the amusement park, only to find himself in the middle of hellish nightmare instead.

Director: George A. Romero

Genre(s): Drama, Thriller, Horror

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 54 min

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Critic Reviews

100

RogerEbert.com Scout Tafoya

Jun 8, 2021

Whatever the Lutherans thought they were paying for, they accidentally unleashed our most deeply cynical artist at the height of his ferocity toward the country's decaying morality, and wound up funding one of the most upsetting films of the '70s. Read full review

The Playlist Brian Tallerico

Jun 4, 2021

The Amusement Park is a concise film (only 52 minutes), but Romero packs it so full of detail and ambition that it contains more to appreciate than most films that run three times as long. Read full review

Screen Rant Debopriyaa Dutta

Jun 8, 2021

Sporting discordant sound design and deliberately surreal visuals, The Amusement Park emerges as a harrowing allegory about the terrors of ageism. Read full review

The Film Stage Christian Gallichio

Jun 4, 2021

It doesn’t always work as a coherent whole, but The Amusement Park is still a fascinating experiment from a director at the height of his creative skills. Read full review

A.A. Dowd

Jun 8, 2021

The Amusement Park passes in a deranged blur; it’s a glorified PSA made with the means (and in the spirit of) antagonistic outsider art. Read full review

Jim Vorel

Jun 7, 2021

There’s little here for the casual horror fan, but genre completionists will likely find something that sticks with them. Read full review

Polygon Deirdre Crimmins

Jun 11, 2021

At best, it’s basically a heavy-handed, inelegant Twilight Zone episode that was ultimately rejected by the religious organization that commissioned it. Read full review

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User Reviews

TheQuietGamer

Oct 28, 2021

A feature-length PSA on elderly abuse from the guy who gave us the Night of the Living Dead series. Shot with a dreamlike quality, the film puts a nightmarish spin on what should have been one aging man's otherwise pleasant day out by subjecting him to the horrors of the myriad number ofA feature-length PSA on elderly abuse from the guy who gave us the Night of the Living Dead series. Shot with a dreamlike quality, the film puts a nightmarish spin on what should have been one aging man's otherwise pleasant day out by subjecting him to the horrors of the myriad number of ways society fails those who have gotten on up in the years, all staged against the backdrop of cotton candy and rollercoasters. No matter how surreal the events get given the setting, they can't escape the harsh reality that this what our senior citizens experience every day. An element that allows the movie to still retain a sense of relevance and poignance even after having spent so much time drifting in the void.

It's hard to believe that the work of such a prominent director was left sitting fully completed on a shelf for upwards of 40 years. Yet, the story is that the Lutheran church who commissioned George "Godfather of the Dead" Romero to make the project ended up being so horrified by its content they quickly decided against ever showing it to anyone. I question though if they were legitimately concerned about the picture's violence given how tame it is compared to some of its creator's prior releases, such as The Crazies or his widely controversial for the period directorial debut, or were instead more afraid of the potential blowback they could have received given the blunt, matter-of-fact manner it shined light on some uncomfortable truths of the era.

Whatever the case, a print of The Amusement Park was discovered far after its attempted burial at a film festival in Italy and has since undergone restoration in 4K before ultimately finding a home on the streaming service Shudder for all (with a subscription) to see. Let me tell you, it's genuinely worth seeking out as it stands as one of the late Romero's greatest. The creative, clever method in which it tackles its subject matter has allowed it to remain fresh feeling and original in a way his efforts with zombies just can't anymore due to how much they've been copied. It also packs the same socially conscious vibes that helped define his career and made works like Monkey Shines so special, while adding in an extra layer of humanitarianism that almost counteracts his usual pessimism. The sole flaw being that given the budget and date of original creation, it can be a bit flat and dull in some spots. All in all though, we're truly lucky that this has finally been made available for we, the masses.… Expand

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JLuis_001

Dec 14, 2021

It definitely got a lot more credit than I think it deserves, because the simple fact that it was directed by George A. Romero, but even with the ambition of its creator, this is simply what it is; a commissioned commercial work that really has nothing special about it.

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