The Place For The Latest Movie Reviews
Cast: Aimee Brooks, Damian Maffei, Joe Unge
Trapped in a forgotten amusement park, a young woman (Kristy) finds herself terrorized by the living memories of the park. She must break free from the park's grasp before she becomes its next victim.
"Closed for The Season" is not going to be for everyone but for anyone looking for something a bit different they are in for a treat. The story is about Kristy and James who we find out later are childhood friends, they meet in the park when Kristy runs across a man impaled by a tree and goes looking for help. Together they attempt to find their way out of the park but it isn't that simple, it seems the park and it's ghostly inhabitants which include a lake monster, crazed clowns and even gangsters want the two to play in the park and enjoy it's rides before being set free. The film and it's story reminded me of a mix between "House of 1000 Corpses" and "Alice in Wonderland" with it's strange characters and dream-like sequences. The story is very original and creative but the film does have it's flaws as well. For starters the movie is a bit long and could of been maybe 15 minutes shorter as you well follow Kristy and James around the line between reality and dreams begin to blur which makes the story a bit confusing at times. The movie is a mix or horror and the supernatural and when you toss in all these weird characters and the nightmarish dreams you get something pretty trippy and unique.
One of the best parts about the film is the park itself, filmed in the actual abandoned Chippewa Lake amusement park. At the start of principal photography, the park was abandoned 30 years almost to the date and man does it give all the spooky atmosphere anyone could ask for, a perfect setting for a film such as this one. Like I said before "Closed for The Season" isn't going to be for everyone but for those who love Independent cinema this is a gem waiting to be experienced. Writer/Director, Jay Woelfel did a wonderful suing what he had to work with on such a low budget and he shows great story telling ability here by creating something so different. The cast for the most part did a terrific job as well playing their roles. The DVD comes with Special Features that include:
Behind The Scenes
Deleted Scenes
You can order the DVD HERE.
Released by MTI Home Video
**** Out Of *****