Sideshow (2000)

I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

A group of teenagers visit a freakshow attraction at a traveling carnival. The kids are all taught nasty lessons about themselves from sinister ringleader Abbot Graves (marvelously played with tremendous theatrical flair by Phil Fondacaro). Director Fred Olen Ray relates the gnarly macabre premise at a quick pace, does a good job of capturing and conveying the creepy seediness of the carnival setting, and maintains both a pleasingly eerie mood and a grimly serious tone throughout. The acceptable acting by the competent no-name thespians who portray the kids keeps the picture humming: Jamie Martz as the meek Bobby, Michael Amos as mean jerk Tommy, Scott Clark as sympathetic wheelchair-bound cripple Grant, Jessica Keenan as the stuck-up Melanie, and Jeana Blackman as frumpy and insecure wallflower Jeanie. The make-up by Gabe Bartalos for the various freaks is strikingly grotesque and imaginative; my favorites are the luscious Curran Sympson as Aelita the inside-out girl -- she does a truly sick variation on your standard striptease! -- and Peter Spellos as Conjoin-O, who has a head living in his stomach. Benjamin Carr's twisted script has a dark fairytale-like quality with the kids all meeting appropriately nightmarish fates that reveal their true natures. Popping up in snazzy small parts are Brinke Stevens as fortune teller Madame Volosca and Ross Hagen as the crusty sheriff. Mac Ahlberg's sharp cinematography and the shivery score both further enhance the overall spooky ooga-booga atmosphere. An enjoyable horror outing.

Sideshow was one of the later Full Moon outings so that means it had a lot of potential to suck. It did, but it's better than most of the drivel they were putting out around this time (Ragdoll, I'm talking about you). We've got the usual 30-somethings masquerading as high school students who visit a traveling carnival and become permanent members of the freak show. The make-up isn't that bad, but some of the freaks don't make sense. I mean, Digestina? She lives in a vat of stomach acid and excretes toasters. What the hell? About the acting, let's just say it was bad and leave it at that. Phil Fondacaro is my favorite minuscule actor and he's the only one coming off as a professional. The movie ended very abruptly and just left me feeling stupid for watching it. But what else did I expect from a Fred Olen Ray movie? Oh, and I almost forgot Brinke Stevens is wasted in a bit cameo. The Videozone after the feature was very informative, however. It revealed that Fred Olen Ray was at one time a carnie. I knew it all along!!!

Someone else called this film a "fable-horror" movie, and I think that fits pretty well. That's the concept at least. A group of teenagers, each with their own vice, catch the eye of a twisted sideshow barker. He decides to teach the teens a lesson by making them part of the freak show. A cool idea, but could have been executed better. The fate for some of the teens is shoved in your face too obviously, while other characters could have been fleshed out more. Also, the ending was a serious let down. No resolution or big twist or anything. But as a low budget horror movie, it's pretty fun to watch. If you're into cheesy spookfests, you should have a laugh watching this one. I think one of it's faults though... that it takes itself too seriously. It's a silly movie, and if it was a little more self-aware when it comes to that, I think it would have been better. But at least there's enough neat carnival themes and b-movie monster makeup to keep you watching.

This is a great horror movie. Great Plot. And a person with a fear of midgets will definately love the evil midget! This is a must see for any horror fan. Finally a lower budget movie with decent effects and a great cast! Highly recommended.