Alas poor movie, nobody remembers you. Seriously, did anyone see this movie? In 1962, a cult film named Carnival of Souls was made. It's budget was small, it used local actors and was not really a hit at the time. It has since become Public Domain and is available on just about every random DVD compilation out there. It's in good company alongside The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu & Bela Lugosi Meets A Brooklyn Gorilla. Classics all. Well, there's a 1998 remake...that nobody ever talks about. Why? It's the Remake of a cult hit film Produced by Wes Craven and Anthony Hickox, the man behind the Waxwork films. As a bonus, one of its stars would go on to be a fixture in the Saw series. Which one? Wait and see. Since I wanted something random and obscure to review & this happens to be the 50th Anniversary of the original film, all is well. To find out if there is a reason for this movie being so obscure, read on...
In the past, our heroine sees Larry Miller kill her mother. She runs off and apparently gets his arrested. Thanks for not showing that, movie.
20 years later, he shows up- now more bald- and talks about how he's going to kill her. I think he's serious, honey.
In desperation, she drives the car into the river. As the water rushes in, she wakes up...in a bathtub. Uh huh.
To be honest, there's no drama here. I mean, we all know that she's dead in the river. Why waste an hour on random crap?
Oh look, Shawnee Smith! Have to start somewhere, I guess (even if you first acted in 1982).
Does the film throwing a couple random images of freakiness make me care? No, not really. Good try though.
I should also mention that the film doesn't go in chronological order...for a super-long dream sequence. How does she imagine things in entirely-random order? Larry Miller!
What a shock- she's dead in the car. Can I go home now, movie? The End.
So, um, what was the point of this? Some Remakes I get. 1990's Night of the Living Dead was designed to allow Romero and company to make some money. Most other Remakes are cheap attempts to make money- I can accept that. Was this another example? Was there a demand for a remake after 36 years? Was Wes Craven like 'I can make this movie again...and not pay shit!' I'm just confused by this whole thing. Furthermore, they made a random plot to fill out the middle of the story. The beginning is basically the same (save for why the car crashes) and the Ending is the same. I suppose it's different enough in the middle...which I know is all fake. Seriously, could they have disguised that at all? Here's a thought: have the character be shown in the fantasy world first and have flashes of the crash? It would be a lot more jarring and not be so damn obvious! So is there a point to this movie? No. No there is not. Just make this face, audience...
Next up, the other Walking Tall film featuring Sorbo. It's time to spice this series up...Mexican style! Stay tuned...
Oh look, Shawnee Smith! Have to start somewhere, I guess (even if you first acted in 1982).
No comments:
Post a Comment