Scream Park

Scream Park claims to pay homage to 80's slasher flicks and it really does do that, sadly it's not very good though.

It tells the story of a group of amusement park staff who after closing up come under attack from a pair of masked psychopaths. One with a plague doctor mask and the other a potato sack they get picked off one by one in the traditional genre style.

I liked the setting, but it wasn't really taken advantage of. The kills would have been okay, but they were all cutaway. And the cast, well actually I can't complain about that as they were well above par. Even Pinhead himself is present (Briefly) and demonstrates that he doesn't need to be that iconic character to deliver a fantastic performance.

As the movie goes on and things start getting explained things get a bit silly, ultimately the true concept and motivation is more than a little eyebrow raising and did the movie absolutely no favours.

A sequel is coming, it has no release year and a budget of about 10% of this so I'll keep my expectations low however will certainly give it a chance.

Scream Park does pay homage to the slasher originals, but some bad cinematography and some questionable writing ruin it.

The Good:

Doug Bradley

The Bad:

Cutaway deaths

That ones girls teeth

Enough with the Night of the Living Dead footage already

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Having an interesting setting but not exploring it makes perfect sense

Metal fences can only be climbed once per movie

Guys in their 30's (And look it) need ID for booze

If you can believe it. This movie was filmed on a budget of $40,000 raised through kickstarter. Donations were mostly made by friends and family members in the same way you buy a few boxes of Girl Scout cookies from your friend's daughter. With kickstarter, this sense of "social guilt" was somehow thick enough to raise quite a bite of money--too bad it was all squandered.

This movie isn't worth reviewing. The other IMDb review, although overwhelmingly negative, was much too long and almost gives the film legitimacy. It makes the mistake of giving this hastily put together "film school thing" credit as a film.

It's not a movie; it barely has a plot, the acting is terrible, it's not scary, it's not gory, the special effects are almost nonexistent, the sound and lighting are not even intentionally managed, and there is no cinematography. Most of all, and to summarize, there's simply no point. Cary wasted 40,000 dollars on...something? I can't tell where it went.

There's something charming about committing to making a movie without any prior experience, and on a shoestring budget. However it turns out, whatever one's opinion, one has to admire the gumption. There's no mistaking that 'Scream park' looks and feels like the small-time production that it is, including pacing that could perhaps generously be described as "difficult," and the inexperience of those involved does shine through. Earnestness goes a long way, however: the effort is there, and while far below the standards of major studio fare, I don't think anything here is done poorly. So long as one is open to the level this is operating, I think it's pretty good!

Though restricted by low production values and a consequent struggle with authenticity, this is classic slasher fare, including the narrative, scene writing, characters, and dialogue. The blood and gore looks fairly decent, and any violence generally, though again at a lower level. I find no especial fault with the cast's performances beyond the noted limitations, with Wendy Wygant standing out in what is effectively the lead role. Filmmaker Cary Hill's direction strikes me as no less capable than his writing, and even Nathan W. Fullerton's cinematography seems unexpectedly adept. From top to bottom the nature of the feature is "as plain as day," as the saying goes, but so is the love and care that went into it.

The difference between 'Scream park' and a home video made among friends isn't all that great; the flow of the film from A to B is less than perfectly fluid. Yet everyone involved puts in the work, with palpable heart and sincerity, and the result is frankly better than it has any right to be. There are no real surprises here, and like most slashers this is built for grisly entertainment more than any major thrills, but that's just part and parcel of the horror genre. Of course I had mixed expectations when I sat to watch; however, I've seen plenty of movies from first-time filmmakers, or that had emphatically minimal resources, but still came out astonishingly well. And so it is again: what 'Scream Park' lacks in polish, it makes up for with passion and honesty. It's up to each individual viewer to decide if that's enough for them, but I for one really like this!

An old amusement park in western Pennsylvania is shutting down soon, so several of the employees decide to have an after-hours party. Unfortunately they start getting slain one by one, but who's doing it and why? Will anyone survive to see the morrow?

"Scream Park" is a micro-budget slasher that debuted for a special screening on Halloween, 2012, in Meadville, Pennsylvania, with a 'world release' in Pittsburgh on January 6, 2013. The singer of Skinny Puppy, Nivek Ogre (aka Kevin Graham Ogilvie), has a pretty significant role while Doug Bradley, who played Pinhead in nine "Hellraiser" films, has a minor part.

It was the debut work of writer/director Cary Hill who got his training from the University of Pennsylvania, which is where the Doug Bradley cameo was shot. The movie was otherwise filmed at the old Conneaut Lake Park in northwestern Pennsylvania.

Despite the low-budget vibe with some questionable sound here and there, the movie honors slasher traditions established in the early 80's craze, starting with "Friday the 13th" (1980). The no-name actors do a fine job and the story pulled me in. The score and soundtrack are also decent.

Wendy Wygant is likable as the main protagonist and Steve Rudzinski does well as the young, somewhat nerdy manager of the doomed park. Winsome petite blonde Alicia Marie Marcucci stands out as Allison on the feminine front and the director doesn't fail to tastefully highlight her beauty. Nicole Beattie is also notable as the glum Goth chick, Missi. Another actress has a top nude scene, but I found her more scary than alluring, although I'm sure she's a wonderful person and I give her credit for her chutzpah (just a heads up).

The film runs 1 hour, 24 minutes.

GRADE: B-/C+

Scream Park: Written and directed by Cary Hill

Oh Scream Park. I feel a little bad for you. It's clear from this viewing experience that you tried. You wanted to have an old school slasher movie that had all the necessary elements and worked. You wanted it so badly right from the pit of your very core. It was a mission statement that you simply could not reach.

This was a rough sit. It lacked some filmmaking 101 bits. The color kept changing scene to scene. It was distracting. The light outside kept changing. One minute it was dead of night, the next it was early morning and then it was day for night. This happened during several of the same scenes. Was no one paying attention on set or during the editing process? I found it very difficult to pay attention to the story.

I also had a hard time figuring out what time period this is in. They have a punk rocker character in the film straight out of the early 80s who has a muscle car and a tape playing boom box. No one has cell phones and everything looks so old. I think they were trying to go for an 80s vibe but it was fuddled in the execution.

Now they're building to a shocking twist. The problem with this twist is it is spoiled in the description for the movie. The amusement park owner hires these sick yokels to murder his employees. The movie is clearly trying to have this be shocking and blind siding you. It doesn't because you already knew about this before the movie even started. Who's job was it and how quick should they be fired?

This was just a cheap and lame hack job of a slasher flick. I know some people like to grade super low budget movies on a curve but I can't do that. I don't view this film on a different plane just because it lacked money. There are a ton of great films that were made with little money that weren't this blatant in their ability to be lame. There are also a ton of awful movies with serious cash behind them. So forget about this one. I give it an F.