Genre:
Horror
Release Date: 09/28/2004
Dubbed: English
Sound: DD
Run Time: 80 Minutes
Flags: Violence, Adult Situations
Distributor/Studio: Guilty Pleasures
For all of its inexplicable weirdness, this monster musical from cult filmmaker
Ray Dennis Steckler is not only the director's best-paced film, but also his most entertaining. Visiting a carnival with friends, happy-go-lucky Jerry (
Steckler appearing as "
Cash Flagg") is hypnotized by evil gypsy fortune-teller Madam Estrella (
Brett O'Hara) and turned into a zombie murderer. Surprisingly, the most competent parts of this film are the dance numbers at the carnival's nightclub, The Hungry Mouth, with pretty showgirls and flashy costumes, some good singing, and a fun strip act by
Erina Enyo. Estrella scars her victims with acid and keeps them in a cage, but they break loose, strangling her and her ugly assistant Ortega (
Jack Brady). Jerry, now a scarred killer, escapes to the beach where he is shot by police. Cult-film regular
Titus Moody (
Pit Stop) appears as a hobo, and rumor has it that
James Woods is in the film somewhere as an extra.
Steckler's leggy erstwhile wife
Carolyn Brandt, who stars in most of his films, plays Marge, an alcoholic dancer who gets so drunk that she falls down during her routines. Incomprehensible Greek actor
Atlas King and co-screenwriter
Gene Pollock also appear in this odd film, presented in "Hallucinogenic Hypnovision." When it was re-released as
Teenage Psycho Meets Bloody Mary, men in zombie masks ran through theaters trying to scare people. Among the cameramen on this cheesy, but exceptionally good-looking production were such luminaries as
Joseph V. Mascelli,
Vilmos Zsigmond, and
Laszlo Kovacs.
~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide