The Amusement Park (1975) User Reviews

Ever wonder what an educational film directed by George Romero would look like?

[cfisanick-551-293544 · 7/10 · 15 October 2019]

Answer: The Amusement Park, an hour-long film on the terrible way society treats the elder commissioned by the Lutherans and directed by the great George Romero in 1973 but not seen until now. I can only imagine that the investors, upon seeing it, said, "WTF did we pay for???"

While it is what it is--a public service film on ageism--there's no mistaking that Romero directed it. (He even shows up as a nasty patron of the park's bumper cars.) It's extremely avant garde, humorless, and depressing. But it's well done on its nothing budget and still has a lot to say on the subject today. No, it's not so terrible or unfinished that it couldn't have been released back in the day. It's was just too much. (And kudos to George's widow and the George A. Romero Foundation for doing a nice job restoring it from a couple of faded 16mm prints.) It's worth a look as a weird curio and footnote to the career of the greatest horror director who ever lived.

Pretty Clear Why it Was Shelved

[AlGranthamMusic · 5/10 · 10 June 2021]

The topic of elderly people being mistreated in Western society is a perfectly noble one to cover in film. That doesn't exempt filmmakers from providing a story though, or character development of any kind. There's essentially zero of either in The Amusement Park, a "lost film" from the late George Romero that I'd wager is getting praised by critics because of context more than anything.

There isn't much of a film here. Our main character orates to the camera for a few minutes at the beginning, explaining just how poorly seniors are treated. Then for the next 45 odd minutes, seniors are treated poorly at an amusement park. The film plays like a not-particularly-good colourized episode of the Twilight Zone, or perhaps more accurately The Ray Bradbury Theatre.

Was excited for this based on the hype, but sadly it proved little more than a mildly curious historical novelty. Heck of a poster though.

Old man's trip into park madness

[AdrenalinDragon · 6/10 · 9 June 2021]

An old geezer wanders around an amusement park for 50 minutes. There's something about it that feels hypnotic and intriguing though. Many of Romero's directorial flourishes and styles are rough and recognisable here, and there's a Horror/Nightmarish vibe to the whole thing. That being said, I kind of needed more from it to give it higher than an alright watch. Not a bad little lost project though, and there's at least a purpose to the whole picture.

5.5/10.

Overhyped junk

[Ex-Player · 9 June 2021]

When I first heard George Romero had squirreled away this movie where it couldn't be viewed my first thought was that it was probably awful. In hindsight, this was an understatement.

The Amusement Park comes across as an extended student film that tries to be clever but winds up being both predictable and dull. It doesn't help that the film's introduction basically tells you what you're about to see, making the viewing experience somewhat redundant, and the overblown in-your-face visuals combined with the non-stop cacophonous screaming on the soundtrack makes the 53 minute running time seem like a day and a half.

The "restoration" clearly ran out of money at some point as constant scratches and wildly uneven color balancing totally destroy any concentration the viewer might attempt - not that there's anything to really concentrate on. The bottom line is that it's a bombastic assault of both image and sound that's somehow supposed to indicate that society's elderly are getting a raw deal. And it fails spectacularly in attempting to communicate this sensitive theme.

It makes for nice marketing to imply that the film's financiers found the finished work to be too unsettling, gruesome, horrifying (all of which were used in the ballyhoo trumpeting this film's release,) but in truth it's just not a very good movie and really should've been kept hidden indefinitely.

But, since George's name has a dollar value attached to it and he's no longer a meal ticket to certain people, it's not surprising that this "discovery" was plucked from its dark closet, hurriedly patched together (by the talented colorist of such complex works as Pawn Stars, no less,) and auctioned off to the highest bidder as a "lost" Romero classic.

But the fanboys will still throw money at it because it's "George A. Romero" and they couldn't care less about being bilked as long as their obsession is fed.

The things greedy people do to make money . . it gets no more shameful than this.

A Mislabeled Fantasy Film That Is OK

[isantistao · 6/10 · 23 October 2021]

I'm not sure why this film has been so mislabeled. It is obviously not a horror movie, or a drama, or a thriller. Anyone who knows the meaning of those words would know that. There is nothing scary about it, dramatic about it, or thrilling about it. It's just simply none of those things.

What it is 1,000% though is Fantasy. It's about as fantasy as it gets. Anyone can see that. So I'm not sure why they wouldn't label it as such. They can choose 3 categories to use for films here, and yet they didn't choose fantasy for any of them. That is very odd.

And it is quite counter-intuitive to do so from a marketing standpoint. Because I ended up watching this movie when I was in the mood for a horror film and thriller...I wanted something that was going to get my adrenaline pumping. And this movie does the opposite of that. If you are in the mood for something thrilling and scary, this is not the film to watch, because it is extremely boring for someone who wants that. For not only does it not get the adrenaline pumping, but it is actually a very slow and low key movie.

As I said, what it is is a fantasy film. And if you are in the mood for a fantasy film, this is an OK one that may just tickle your fancy for that. You will probably enjoy it if thats what you want. But if you are looking for a horror or thriller you are just setting yourself up for disappointment.

Twilight Zone episode

[redtiago · 7/10 · 13 September 2021]

I saw it this Friday at MotelX.

It is a film almost lost in the career of George A. Romero. In the early 70's the Lutheran Society of Pennsylvania commissioned him this work with the aim of raising social awareness for the problems of the elderly and getting more volunteers. However, they didn't think the film would fulfill its objectives and the film was put on a shelf.

The George A. Romero Foundation recovered it, initially with the Romero still alive, and together with distributor Yellow Veil distributed it commercially in 2019.

It is an atypical work, but by no means inferior of Romero.

It's like an episode of the famous and excellent serie "Twilight Zone" dedicated to atrocities committed to the third age, with an introductory narration before and narration with the moral of the story at the end, as in the aforementioned serie.

Excellent interpretation / narration Lincon Maazel, with the exception of a few cameos (Tom Savini, Michael Gornick, among others) the only professional actor. The rest of the cast consists of volunteers.

It is, in my view, a good and effective film (maybe too much Lutheran society?) and unfortunately still very up to date. One day it will be us...

Its not a horror movie!

[realityinmind · 6/10 · 25 September 2022]

How can so many reviewers know that the film was intended as a PSA, yet still complain that it isn't a good horror movie? Smfh. Its not a horror movie!!! Its a PSA that didn't fit the mold of a typical PSA, so it was shelved. Jeeez. The movie is intended to metaphorically describe the issue of elder abuse. Plain and simple.

On that note, it doesn't do a good job. The scenes are too confusing because they aren't realistic experiences one would have at an amusement park, regardless of an elderly person's mindset. Such as the bumper car scene..... its not realistic. So we are left to view it with suspended disbelief, which makes the film boring because there isn't a real story here.

Basically the film is too much movie to be a PSA, but too little movie to be a movie.

Though do not get me wrong.... it is still better than a lot of the junk made in the 70's. There are way worse movies from the 70's to watch. I am glad to have seen this, but it won't be on my replay list.

It was all fun and games...

[Pjtaylor-96-138044 · 4/10 · 28 June 2021]

'The Amusement Park (1973)' is basically a PSA regarding elder abuse, bookended by extended fourth-wall breaks that outright tell you its mission statement. It's considered 'lost' because the people who commissioned it were supposedly so horrified by it that they buried it, making sure it never saw the light of day. Recently, it has been unearthed and restored in 4K, making its way over to Shudder as an exclusive piece of content. For seasoned horror fans, the flick is somewhat of an amusing oddity. It may very well be worth watching just to see what a Romero-made PSA actually looks like. However, it probably won't hit home for most audiences, despite its good intentions and general technical prowess, because it simply isn't all that engaging. Its eponymous amusement park is allegorical for life, being fun for its younger visitors but not so much fun for its older ones. Instead of height restrictions, rides are restricted by health, wage and general social status. The bumper cars require valid licences, the snack stands give out paper grocery bags, the 'freak shows' consist of only OAPs. The picture essentially puts you in the position of an innocent and eager older gentleman who gets consistently beaten down by the park's unfair systems. It's a fairly claustrophobic watch that has a relatively strong sense of escalation to it. However, even though it should work well, it ultimately falls a little flat. As I said earlier, it isn't all that engaging. In fact, it's actually quite dull. It also isn't as scary as some people are making it out to be; it's barely a horror film, if I'm honest (not that that's really an issue). I wish I liked this more than I do. 4/10.

Wonderful lost gem from the most iconic horror Director

[clk264-649-716463 · 10/10 · 9 June 2021]

It's an educational film directed by George A. Romero, a few years after "Night" and before "The Crazies" about the dangers of elder abuse, because, whether we want to admit it or not: we will all get old, if we are lucky.

What separates this educational film from all the others, is that this gives a more nightmarish look at respecting elders, as opposed to making it a joke or lighthearted, as other films have done in the past.

The old man in the movie, is very confused as to why people are reacting to him, which, is confusing to the viewer, because, we don't see what he's doing is being wrong or inappropriate. However, the younger people know that they can take advantage of the elderly, and, this is what causes the terror in reality and in the movie.

To me, the best part of the movie is whenever the old man is just being friendly to children, and, a younger man yells at him saying something like "what are you doing those children? Are you a creep?" This is a very realistic thing, which, people often times will think that just because you're being friendly that you must be a child molester or, you want something in return, when in fact you're just being friendly.

See you in the park, someday.

Different Type of Horror For Romero

[jimmyhoover-55861 · 7/10 · 17 October 2021]

George Romero's long lost film isn't horror in the traditional sense. There are no zombies eating people or young men who think they're vampires, but it deals with a more real horror - the horror of getting older in a world that sees you as less than and disposable. I'd like to think that things have gotten better since this was made, but you still hear all kinds of horror stories about how our elders are treated and this film is a sometimes disturbing reminder of that.

Horrible

[tylerlafleur · 1/10 · 4 July 2021]

This is 57 minutes I will never get back, would of rather watched paint dry on the wall. Acting is horrible, sounds are obnoxious, and the messages behind the scenes are far-fetched. Do your self a favour and skip this.

This is a Public Service Announcement... Have you hugged your Grandmother today?

[Coventry · 8/10 · 27 September 2021]

A good two years after his passing, relatives of the great George A. Romero discovered and professionally restored a (short) movie the master himself directed in 1973 already. Evidently that, for many diehard horror fanatics - myself included - "The Amusement Park" promptly became one of the must-see genre events of the decade! Seriously, how could this go wrong? Especially with an awesome film poster like that, and the knowledge Romero helmed this little project during his most genius period as a director (namely in between the "Night" and "Dawn"), this was going to be a guaranteed winner!

"The Amusement Park" was apparently never meant to be an actual film, but more like an educational/awareness video message to make clear to younger generations that we are mistreating our senior citizens, and to urge everyone to treat the elderly with a little more respect and dignity. It's somewhat of an extended Public Service Announcement; - if you will! Of course, in the hands of the natural born rebel and anti-conservative George A. Romero, the concept immediately became a grim, shocking, and pitch-black social satire the producers never even dared to unleash upon the world. What a bizarre idea to hire Romero for a PSA-video, anyway. That's like asking Rob Zombie to direct a commercial for diapers, or recruiting Michael Moore to shoot a presidential election promo-video for the Republicans.

Romero's interpretation of the sadly factual and relevant social theme is nothing short of amazing, though. The film, which starts and ends with long speeches by lead actor Lincoln Maazel who elaborates on the subject, is overall extremely powerful, impactful, and very VERY depressing. Fancily dressed and in a joyful mood, our elderly protagonist hopes to have a fun day in a crowded amusement park. He quickly experiences, however, how he and other people of his age are constantly ripped off, patronized, humiliated, ignored, abused, and even physically hurt by all the so-called active and more productive members of society. Various metaphorical sequences are incredibly confronting and harrowing, like how the bumper carts turn into a recognizable traffic situation, or how elderly people are often denied to spent time around (grand-)children. It's a crude but eye-opening film, and it honestly doesn't even matter that it remained shelved for 45 years, because it is still more or less applicable today. Life-expectancy has gone up significantly, but for issue like loneliness and digital analphabetism are the new challenges.

This won't be your favorite Romero picture but you will be glad you watched it

[kevin_robbins · 7/10 · 19 January 2023]

The Amusement Park (1975) is a public service announcement of sorts from George A. Romero that is currently available on Shudder. The storyline follows a series of elder people in society, the challenges they have "keeping up," and the potential impact on their psyche. There's a key message about be careful because you will get old too.

This movie is directed by George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead) and stars Lincoln Maazel (Martin), Michael Gornick (Dawn of the Dead) and S. William Hinzman (The Crazies).

This movie was made in 1973 when the Lutheran Society in Pennsylvania hired Romero to make a movie about the challenges of getting old. They saw the movie and felt it was too scary and never released it. In 2017 the movie was sent to Romero three weeks before he passed away. Shudder purchased it and rereleased it. It has only been viewed at a couple film festivals in the 70s until it was recently rereleased.

This had such a unique premise and depiction of elder individuals. Most of the scenarios are over the top but the depiction of the fear and concerns of the old people was well done. The opening and closing narration was very good. The scenarios are unique and fun to watch unfold - the biker scene and bumper cars were my favorite. The ending was a perfect way to close this storyline.

Overall, this won't be your favorite Romero picture but you will be glad you watched it. I would score this a 7/10 and recommend seeing it once.

Horror yes but not the horror you were expecting

[A_Different_Drummer · 5/10 · 13 June 2021]

Romero's place in history should not be overlooked. When he launched NOTLD (in B&W with the body parts provided gratis by the local butcher) the horror category was in tatters. Sci-Fi had broken away into its own genre. Old timers like Vincent Price somehow had managed to take over the horror niche, often reduced to doing parodies of parodies just to stay relevant. The sector was no empty that even B-films from Italy, badly dubbed in English, were considered a draw. Romero changed that forever and deserves props. Nor is the notion that our culture is unkind to the aged in any way wrong. Like you were told at the beginning of the film, one day YOU will become old and find out for yourself. That said, nothing in the above in any way legitimizes this oddball film or makes it watchable or laudable. To quote Woody Allen, sometimes a train going into a tunnel is just a train going into a tunnel.

What Goes around

[afrocut · 7/10 · 23 August 2021]

In 1973, the late great George A. Romero, was hired to film a short movie about elder abuse. It's goal was to not only give a voice to this rampant problem, but show how important it is to care for seniors. When Romero turned his finished work into the society who had hired him, they were terrified by the film and locked it away. Personally, I see why they didn't want the world to see this horrifying nightmare journey into the world of an old man. It's one part Public service announcement and one part Twilight zone in the most surreal of fashions. I kind of loved this take and Romero's unique horror vision on the subject. At times its Haunting and upsetting and the final moments which recycle back to its beginning is eerie and sad. But at other times it's quite a tedious trek and definitely as low budget and indie as you can get. It mostly looks like a home video shot at an amusement park during a family vacation. That amusement park is however a perfect setting for what turns out to be a great metaphor for life and also serves as a great look at America. The Selfishness, greed and superiority complex of it all. With that being said, I do love being in a world where movies like this can be saved and restored. It now lives on the streaming service "Shudder". Its honestly, a perfect home, for such a creepy P. S. A..

The Lost George A. Romero Film

[CinemaClown · 14 August 2021]

What was originally commissioned as an educational film about elder abuse & ageism turns into a nightmarish hellscape in the hands of an influential horror filmmaker. The Amusement Park remains the least seen of all George A. Romero films, for it was considered lost until an existing print surfaced recently, and is no less than a surreal, disquieting & harrowing chiller.

Directed & edited by Romero (Night of the Living Dead), the story covers a day in an elderly gentleman's life who visits an amusement park for fun but finds himself in a hellish place he cannot escape from. Apart from the bookended segments, the film is short on dialogues and relies on its uncanny imagery to portray the sheer brutality of how old people are treated by the society.

There is an uneasy aura that the film comes equipped with, and the eerie camerawork, silent forebodings & strange hallucinations only contribute to it. Still, the horror isn't derived from the protagonist's unending misery but from the realisation that it's a stage in life where all of us are inevitably headed, an unavoidable reality that comes to us all. And this is how it may unfold if we don't change things.

Overall, The Amusement Park is a plea that asks its viewers to treat the elders with respect, kindness & understanding in a world that favours the young & ignores the old. The religious faction behind this public service announcement surely got more than what they bargained for but Romero's sharp, aggressive treatment of the material not only delivers the goods, it also infuses a sense of urgency to it. Only 54 mins long.

Solid

[PedroPires90 · 6/10 · 18 June 2021]

It's not a masterpiece, but it's a solid entry in Romero career. Interesting exercise about ageism, even it feels more like an episode of something than a real film.

Nostalgia

[Tweetienator · 6/10 · 25 June 2021]

I will make it sweet and short: if you are heavy into Mr. Romero's work you will watch The Amusement Park anyway, if not, you don't need to bother. Myself I was entertained but mostly for nostalgic reasons, I guess. The Amusement Park, a nice little snack for the hardcore aficionado.

Painful, as intended

[zurdo-472-660887 · 5/10 · 27 August 2022]

Yes the pain and compassion we feel for that character and old people in general (the old version of us all) was the exact point of the movie. An important and almost metaphysical point that is still relevant today, if not even more relevant. Romero cleverly and powerfully executed it, throwing his character in a crowd that sometimes feels more violent and crual than actual zombies.

It nonetheless remains a painful movie to watch, which I was happy didn't last more than 50 minutes that already seemed way too long. There's a reason the master didn't release it, and that difficulty to watch it was probably it.

No country for old geezers.

[Fella_shibby · 10/10 · 11 July 2021]

This one is more scarier than most horror movies.

It's like a documentary which is very enlightening.

What A Surprise!

[jamiemiller-07611 · 7/10 · 19 January 2022]

It might not be a horror film in the traditional sense with things popping out at you and gallons of fake blood, but The Amusement Park is still unsettling in a similar way as recent A24 films. It makes you think about how we still treat the elderly and disabled in this country and any movie that leaves you thinking about stuff like that can't be all bad. If you're expecting more Romero zombies, you'll likely hate it.

Absolutely terrible!

[mr-m-moran · 1/10 · 9 January 2022]

Worst movie I've ever seen. Boring from start to finish. It should not be classified a horror movie but rather a bland documentary. Plan 9 From Outer Space was better.

How to Feel the Problem cinematically speaking

[Quinoa1984 · 10/10 · 24 June 2021]

First of all, you know you're a forever Dawn of the Dead fanatic if you can spot the canned-public-domain music cues in this film (hint, it's the rich man/poor man food serving scene, shot like a silent film "comedy" of course).

This is above all how the pain and agony in life itself and all of the irreparable harm that it causes, from the police and classism to bonds and simple human connections to infirmary and violence both mental and physical, can catch up to what is supposed to be good gay old times. If the undead were a metaphor for chaos and unbridled instinct and what it means to be human, the Amusement Park is about reality itself becoming unglued when whatever made sense is dissolving away. And God help you if you don't have insurance for that bumper car accident!

What does it get old? Well, it means realizing how much people, so called polite society working in the Social Contracts, don't care so much about other people if it doesn't mean what it did before - if use and transactional purpose are null. We're savage cretins, folks, is what Romero uses the form of an Educational program to get at, and let's use the camera to get under your proverbial skin! It's satire that is Dead serious, no pun intended for this filmmaker, and it surely would've cracked Kafka's top ten list had it come out at the time (or if you know he was alive but why carp). This is how a nightmare works, or at least like one of those funky dreams that goes on for far too long and is too vivid to not revisit.

Like the Other Side of the Wind (by one of Romero's idols Orson Welles), the rediscovery serves as a solid reminder that innovators will use whatever is accessible to not necessarily (or not just) seek out to find new ways to tell stories but to use the tools of Cinema to try to create impressions via style. Romero like Welles was also an editor, and how he cuts this together is what makes it; the 16mm is grainy and washed out even in 4k restoration, but that's also the dark allure of it. Too clean and it wouldn't have the effect of being kicked the s*** out of this way and that.

Oh, and what a phenomenal performance by Maazel!

Are YOU Amused ?

[caspian1978 · 7/10 · 5 August 2021]

"No subject is terrible if the story is true, if the prose is clean and honest, and if it affirms courage and grace under pressure." Hemingway. The same can be said for what Romero set out to accomplish with the Amusement Park. This vision of a world where the elderly are lost, taken advantage of, treated like cargo and are simply just scared with everything around them is showcased. Death and the fear of such is around every corner. Romero successfully brings this fear, this horror, this normal feeling the old witness daily to the screen. No, they are not zombies, but they are the walking dead. Set at an amusement park, the theme of anything pleasant is far from Romero's truth. Instead we watch a very real depiction that the viewer can't hide from. It is obvious what message Romero is telling us. If you are blind to see this, then you are part of the problem. Although this is not a horror movie, it falls under a genre that should scare you.

too loud

[nonessentialpersonnel · 5/10 · 13 June 2021]

Was wondering why it wasnt widescreen. Had no idea this was filmed in the 70s. I liked it a bit but 20 minutes in the loud ass background music became too much for me.