George’s Romero’s ‘lost film’ The Amusement Park is awful — and still thrilling

The Amusement Park featured this original feature when Shudder debuted the movie. It has been updated for the movie’s digital rental and home-video release.

Few things make a cinephile’s heart flutter like the emergence of a “lost” film. Discoveries like the missing reels of Fritz Lang’s 1927 film MetropolisThey were revealed in 2010 and give hope of a Lon Chaney movie. London After MidnightThe film, or any other of the many lost movies, will be magically discovered and stored in their original tins. They are patiently waiting for hungry movie fans to see them. Thanks to studios’ flippant early attitudes about cinema, and the flammability of older movie technologies, being a movie-lover can often mean knowing that certain movies no longer exist, but still hanging onto hope.

That’s why the new wide release of the quasi-lost 1973 George A. Romero film Amusement ParkIt should be celebrated. It is a landmark and a clear step in his journey as a horror master. But there’s also no shame in admitting that it isn’t a holy grail, a secret masterpiece from an early horror maestro. At best, it’s a cult item and a novelty, basically a heavy-handed, inelegant Twilight ZoneEpisode that was rejected by the religious organisation that ordered it.

While Romero is rightly worshipped as the godfather of modern zombie cinema, he didn’t necessarily set out to make the undead — or as he called them, “ghouls” — into his life’s work. As most human beings, Romero had to eat. To sustain his lifestyle, he became an industrial, commercial and film director. An examination of his filmography through the years could give the impression that his climb to horror authordom was quick. Night of the Living Dead 1968

The trajectory went much slower. American critics had initially disapproved Night of the Living Dead (Roger Ebert famously decried it as unsuitable for children), and it didn’t earn audiences or critical acclaim until after its release in France, to great appreciation. Romero’s copyright issues on the film were not helped by the fact that he never made any money. After its original release in 1995, the film was rereleased here. Romero moved on to narrative feature-film director and quit his day job.

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Movies are costly to produce, but Romero needed to continue to earn his living so he continued to do commercial work. Here is the point. Amusement ParkIt is perfectly integrated into the filmography. As a PSA, it was funded and commissioned by the Lutheran Society to help raise awareness of elder abuse. They ultimately shelved the film because they were not happy with it, even after reshoots, and on a shelf it sat until IndieCollect’s 4K restoration.

It’s tough to argue that the film was “lost” in the traditional way. Amusement ParkThis was not meant for theatrical or wide-release. It wasn’t loved by the public, but it mysteriously vanished from cinema catalogues and art cinemas. We will never forget. Nope. Amusement Park was paid for by some well-intentioned, but perhaps slightly confused Lutherans, who decided it wasn’t going to serve their purposes. They tucked the item away and it was gone.

However, horror writers and theorists have always known about the existence Amusement ParkThey couldn’t see the movie. Tony Williams’ 2003 book The Cinema of George A. Romero: Knight of the Living Dead” briefly discusses the film, though Williams hadn’t seen it himself. The peculiar nature of the film’s production is a footnote of interest for movie fans, but for anyone with a basic working knowledge of Romeo’s history in commercial productions, its financing and existence make plain sense.

And still, the film’s unavailability in an age of availability built a mystique. This might mean that some people who were expecting the film to be different may feel disappointment. Dawn of the DeadOr even an Season of the Witch. Because in the end, it’s easy to see why Amusement ParkIt is just not worth spending decades in filmtic limbo.

Amusement Park essentially explains its anti-elder-abuse agenda in the prologue, where a kind-voiced man walks through an empty amusement park and warns us what we’re about to see. This introduction, and a similarly presented epilogue were tacked on after a requested reshoot to make the film’s purpose clearer.

Amusement ParkThe vignettes are loosely arranged to depict metaphorical or satirical representations of seniors’ struggles and being forgotten by society. It’s framed within an amusement park, where each attraction or booth is a microcosm of something wrong with the way we treat the elderly, from financial matters to medical or physical ones. Romero illustrates the systemic abuse of older people with bumper cars, first aid tents, and hucksters. Although the parable is very appropriate, it’s not well-written.

Romero is not a subtle man, but his heavy-handed and repetitive style will be criticized. Amusement ParkIt is boring. This article demonstrates one after another the way we treat seniors with no nuance, insight or hope. It’s mean-spirited, but never builds to any conclusion or raises the conversation beyond that. It does not matter whether you are looking at one incident or seven. It does nothing for its own conversations.

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Technically, the film lacks sophistication. There are some technical issues with the film, including sound problems and handheld camerawork that is not properly directed or in focus. The film isn’t polished and packaged in the way fans might expect from a soon-to-be famous filmmaker.

But Amusement Park has considerable value, when it’s taken in context. As an artifact of Romero’s career, it’s tremendously important. You will find nuggets there which hint at Romero’s more social and political themes. Amusement ParkHe sees it as a way to transition from one career into the next. It’s the bridge between his commercial and industrial filmmaking and his horror-centric feature-film directing. The step straddles these two worlds without great success but it’s still important.

Horror enthusiasts are delighted to see a film that is new and different from their favourite genre. Anyone who waits in line will be able to get in. Amusement ParkThis PSA is disappointing and will disappoint Shudder viewers who were expecting an epic, well-crafted horror movie. With a little awareness of Romero’s previous life, though, and some idea of where this film came from, that disappointment has the chance to at least morph into historical appreciation.

Amusement ParkIs Shudder streamingDigital rental is possible on AmazonAnd Vudu. It’s available on Blu-ray and DVDWith commentary and behind-the scenes extras