“The Amusement Park” movie is the type of film that you watch and think not much of. Then, slowly over the course of time, its points of contention eke their way into the back of your mind. Then, almost daily, you are reminded of just how poignant it all is. Described as a Public Service Announcement, Romero’s ‘lost’ and restored film from 1973 serves as a reminder about one facet of life. Age. Frankly, this title is a must-see.
We all age. And as a 40-something-mumbled Mother of Movies, there is certainly no doubt that a lot of what this ‘horror’ movie has to say, was a little scary. Not a horror movie in what is considered a traditional form, The Amusement Park does not feature monsters, jump-scares, or gore. For some, they will argue this film is not horror at all. But I digress. What scares us is inherently the point of having all different types of things represented in film that individually we might consider scary.
“Dawn of the Dead” As A Gereatric Horror Movie
Prior to Romero’s well-known films, he was commissioned to do this particular movie by the Lutheran Society. The Lutherans hated it and so, it was never released. “The Amusement Park” is a human apologue for what it’s like to grow old. The title begins with a speech that automatically points out the injustices of a society fixated on the next new and shiny thing. It then opens in a white room with Maazel, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, in a white suit conversing with himself. Hidden in plain sight, the beginning and end of what’s to be for Maazel center the point on hope.
Shoulder to shoulder in a crowded complex, Maazel wanders around where he is witness to and inundated with all the woes those over 70 might encounter. It shouts at you with blatant examples of things everyone knows to happen. What’s more, The Amusement Park shames you for the fact that money is indeed a factor in the comforts older people are afforded. The Amusement Park is menacing with its messages and doesn’t let up until Maazel is a blubbering, bleeding, beaten, and bruised mess back in the same room he started in.
Official Movie Trailer The Amusement Park
I give The Amusement Park
4 horrors of aging out of 5
The Amusement Park – Romero
- Premiered Tuesday, June 8th, 2021 on the Shudder streaming platform.
- The Amusement Park is a restored 46 year-old-film by the George A. Romero Foundation.
- Produced by Suzanne Desrocher-Romero.
- Written by Wally Cook.
- Released in 4k by IndieCollect in New York City. The film stars Martin and Lincoln Maazel.
- For the history behind “The Amusement Park movie” check out Consequence.net’s article
