Carnival Magic — Carnival Magic(Blu Ray)
I’d imagine if you're into grindhouse/ exploitation fare you’ll know the name Al Adamson- between the early 1960s and the late 1980’s he directed over thirty films that dipped in & out of various exploitation genres- going from violent biker gang pictures, cheapy & bizarre takes of famous monster fare, campy gothic horror, blaxploitation, fighting & low-grade action film, & cheeky softcore. The films here are Adamsons final two films, where he attempted to tap into the family/ children’s film market, and like much of his output the films have that distinctively hammy, quirky, and at times bizarre take on there chosen genre.
So moving onto the films themselves, and first up we have 1983’s Carnival Magic- it focuses on small traveling fair/ circus that is going through financial issues due to dropping numbers coming in. One day Markov(Don Stewart)- the compies middle-aged magician, reveals a secret from within his caravan- Alex a talking chimp, who back talks, enjoys stealing ladies underwear, and can drive cars. So it seems the company is saved, but unfortunately along comes creepy beared & clunky European accent Dr who becomes fascinated by the chimp, and does a bargain with boozing lion tamer to get hold of Alex. Along with the films lengthy we get a blend of fairly competent & clever magic performance, fair/ circus footage, awkward & often highly uncomfortable soapy drama & romance- including a very inappropriate relationship between barely age tomboy & the companies thirty plus fair worker. We have tacky chimp & cops car chases, bloody lion attacks, chimp-knapping, bumbling fights, and more. The whole things soundtracked by a decidedly off-kilter at times badly placed soundtrack, that moves from sentimental Liberace like piano pomp and throbbing lo-fi synth scaping. By normal standards, this is bad, bad & largely highly impropriate family film, but it’s most certainly bad-movie gold- that will have you moving from awkward chuckles & campy enjoyment- with some truly great jaw-dropping & head-scratching moments. So you most certainly wouldn’t want to put this anywhere near a child audience - because I feel it will give them both nightmares, puzzlement, and more than a few questions.
The second film here 1989’s Lost is much more run-of-the- mill family fare- though it feels more of the ’70s instead of the late ’80s in its tone/flow. It features very occasionally Adamson quirks, like sudden jarring/ no-sensical cuts & a wonder, at points off tone score- but mostly it’s rather bland & dull. This follows the Morrison family- stepdad Jeff(Don Stewart), mother Penny( Sandra Dee), and ten-year-old daughter Buddy?!(Shelia Newhouse) moving from the city to the isolated wilds of Utah. The three move into a rundown/ window-less cabin, and while they try & make the best of it, young Buddy misses the City & her real dad who works in horse racing- so one day she & the family dog decide to run away. And what unfolds is a very predictable kid lost in the wilds story- Buddy is decidedly brat like, and the rest of the family are painted so vaguely that you really don’t care. Don Stewart from Carnival Magic reappears as the stepdad, and certainly, his acting seems less bizarre & creepy here- but he just comes across as now run-of-the-mill screen dad. Sadly this was the final Adamson film to get completed, which makes it a rather sad/ bland last bow from this once tacky-yet-inventive B movie director- really only for Adamson diehards, and I think even those will find this a struggle.
Moving onto this Blu Ray- and prints for both films look good enough, though it’s a clear a little more love & attention has been given to Carnival Magic- as the print seems clearer & cleaner, with good color definition. Moving onto the extras, and first, off we get a new commentary track from the film's producer Elvin Feltner- who was very hands-on, as he co-wrote the story/ script was based on, and he also filmed some of the more documentary-like footage of the fair in operation. The track moves from him talking about how the film came about & it’s costing, moving on to discuss the cast- many of who were from daytime Soaps. Going on to discuss the Chimp, and how it got on well with lead star Don Stewart. He also talks about his wider career in exploitation film- all making for a most worthy track. Next we A Boom To Science – an eleven-minute appreciation on the film from Zack Carlson who was gifted the print the film came from, and Lars Nilsen from the Austin Film Appreciation Society- the pair talking about the story behind the print, the film its self, and other primate films/ tv shows of the ’70s/ 80’s- so again good stuff. We get twenty minutes worth of outtakes from Carnival Magic- plus original trailer & TV spot for the film. We also get a trailer for Lost, and around twenty minutes of silent footage from Adamsoms abandoned late 80’s family film The Happy Hobo- which is largely fun fair/ parade footage.
This really is a great second release from Severin Kids- with Carnival Magic been a wonderful bad & impropriate slice of 1980’s family fare, and a damn great slice of great bad movie-making!. Sure Lost isn’t great, but it’s nice/ have it as part of this set- and of course the extras a most worthy. So I’m really looking forward to seeing what Severin Kids have got for us next!.