Cinefile: The Devil's Carnival

Hey guys :)
It's time for another review!
I watched this one a little while ago but hadn't gotten around to posting about it, till now ;)
 

Today, we're going to be talking about The Devil's Carnival.

So, I debated whether or not to feature this one on "Cinefile" simply because I'm wasn't sure if it was considered a movie. 

It's stuck in between being a feature length film and a short with a run time of 56 minutes, but reminds a bit of a show, especially since the long awaited sequel is being referred to as an "episode".

But for the sake of the column, we're calling it a movie for now.

Let's start with a summary.

The Devil's Carnival follows the stories of three individuals who have died and been sent to hell.

They are all there for separate sins they committed in life, and all seem to have no idea where they are or how they got there.
Based loosely on Aesop's Fables, each "guest" is faced with a chance to redeem themselves, but are doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over again.

The carnival is ran by Satan himself, and each tale is assisted and reenacted by his musical and somewhat terrifying band of carnies.

Let me just start with this:
I really REALLY wanted to like this movie.

The Devil's Carnival comes from the mind of Terrance Zdunich, the same man who created Repo! The Genetic Opera, one of my guilty pleasure musicals.
I didn't even know it existed until I stumbled upon it on IMDb.

I knew I needed to see it, but was nervous about whether or not I'd enjoy it. Like Repo!, it seems that everyone who has seen this movie has either loved it or hated it, with very little mixed feelings in the middle.
All of the people I got to watch Repo! absolutely hated it, which is a real bummer because I thought it was really cool and original.

But, keeping my doubts tucked in the back of my mind, I set out to watch it anyway.

Let me just start by saying that this movie is visually stunning.

The make up and costuming is absolutely beautiful, and the cinematography is vibrant and colorful. It was a delightful surprise, considering that Repo! was really dark and the few colors that made it through the gloom were washed out and subtle.
 

I also really enjoyed that the make up in the film was 100% real (no CGI) and that you could still see some of the seams. I kind of felt like I was watching a play close up. It reminds me of older movies, back before special effects were in EVERYTHING.

But let's talk about the story a little bit.
(WARNING: The following may contain spoilers. I'm going to be as vague as possible though, promise)

The three "guests" of the carnival are John (a grieving father), Ms. Merrywood (a kleptomaniac) and Tamara (a mistreated girlfriend). At the very beginning of the movie, it shows how each of them met their end, just before they wake up at the carnival. John commits suicide, Ms. Merrywood dies in a shoot out with the police, and Tamara is murdered by her angry boyfriend. None of it is actually shown, but it's all implied.

Something that I had a little bit of trouble with right off the bat:
"Why the hell is Tamara in hell?"

 Merrywood and John I can kind of understand. Ms. Merrywood was a greedy jewel thief who would steal whatever she could get her hands on. And John, John was a nice guy but he committed suicide, which I've heard is a no-no when it comes to eternal salvation. Them I understand.

But Tamara? What did she do to go to hell?

Based on what is presented at the beginning of the movie, the only thing Tamara is guilty of is having bad taste in men. Just before he shoots her, Tamara is seen trying to get away from her boyfriend by hopping into her car. Her boyfriend is banging on the windows begging for her forgiveness, stating that "it'll never happen again." When she refuses him entry, he draws a gun and tells her that she has until the count of three.

Next thing you know, she's in hell. What gives?

Shortly after her arrival, Tamara finds a young man locked in a cage.
He asks for her help to escape, and she complies. When he gets out of the cage, it's easy to see that he fits in the stereotypical "bad boy" mold: leather jacket, boots, tattoos, ripped up shirt, and smoking a cigarette. He looks a lot like a greaser, for lack of a better example. He explains that he used to have a knife throwing act, but that he lost his "wheel gal". When asked how, he replied with "it doesn't matter, you're prettier anyhow."

I'm not going to go into detail about the rest of their encounter together (just for the sake of spoilers), but let's just say that she trusts this new man almost instantly despite his shady aura, and things don't exactly end well for the young lady.

It goes on later to show that Tamara seems to have trouble with this sort of thing.
She blindly trusts men who give her attention, leaving her mistreated and abused when things go south.

The fable used to illustrate Tamara's worldly mistakes was "The Scorpion and the Frog".
Long story short, a scorpion asks a frog for a ride across a river. The frog, knowing fully well what the scorpion was capable of, asks "how do I know you won't sting me?" The scorpion replied "because if I do, I will drown." The frog, against her better judgement allows the scorpion to ride on her back across the river.
And surprise surprise, the scorpion goes back on its word and stings her, dooming them both.

The moral is that scorpions will always act within their nature, as do many other creatures and people in the world. I think Lucifer said it best: "Never trust a scorpion, lest you be pricked."

Here's my beef:
Yes, she obviously had horrific taste in men. Yes, she clearly had some problems with her self esteem, which is why she had horrific taste in men. But is that something that really makes you worthy of damnation?

When I think about hell I think about murders and rapists and people who hurt innocent people.
I can understand the use of the deadly sin (Merrywood's greed), and John's whole suicide thing, but I just can't see why a naive girl belongs in hell.

Okay, end rant.

My only other complaint with this movie is that it's a little hard to follow.

I am well known for total focus when I'm watching a new movie. Whenever I go to the theater, my eyes never leave the screen. I don't talk (that much), my phones off (not on vibrate, OFF) and I don't even go to the bathroom. The crazy thing is I never really have to, I'm so locked into the movie. But with this one I had trouble.
I mean, it's not like you're completely oblivious when you're watching, there's just bits where you have to stop and go, "wait, what?"

It's probably because a lot of the dialogue is sung or spoken with metaphors and allegory.

I've watched parts of the movie over again, and the more I watch the easier it is to understand.

I really just think it's one that you have to see more than once.

 

Last but not least we have the music.
Although I didn't enjoy the music in this one as much as I did in Repo!, it was still a wonderfully electric soundtrack. Lots of energy and wonderful writing.

Overall, I think I'm going to go with 3 stars :)

Luckily, this movie has recently been added to Netflix so you can check it out with ease :)
Leave your comments about how you felt about the movie below.
Did you hate it? Did you love it? Let me know ;)

Until next time,