After giving us some of the greatest genre films of all time, like the Night of the Living Dead series, Creepshow, and The Dark Half, George A. Romero sadly passed awaylast year. But the acclaimed director still has something left to give the world, as an unseen long lost film he created has just been rediscovered.
In 1973, Romero shot a movie called The Amusement Park. The 60-minute film was intended for television but ultimately was never released, as it was apparently too jarring and horrifying for the producers, but one man is hoping to soon bring the film to the masses. Author Daniel Kraus, who has co-written books with Guillermo del Toro and is currently working on completing Romero’s unfinished Night of the Living Dead novel, has gotten his hands on a copy of The Amusement Park. Here’s what you need to know: 1) He thinks it’s amazing, and 2) He’s trying to figure out a way to release it.
Kraus live-tweeted his watching of the film on Nov 10, calling the movie “a revelation,” “hugely upsetting in form and function,” and making the astounding claim that, “With the exception of Night of the Living Dead —maybe—The Amusement Park is Romero’s most overtly horrifying film.” That’s all well and good for Kraus, but where does it leave the rest of us?
It was never shown publicly. The people who funded it wouldn’t allow it. And no wonder. It’s hellish. In Romero’s long career of criticizing American institutions, never was he so merciless. pic.twitter.com/987qbeb1J0
— Daniel Kraus (@DanielDKraus) November 11, 2018
It turns out you can actually help this movie see the light of day, as Kraus revealed there is an effort underway to restore and release the film, and he’s currently soliciting donations through the George A Romero Foundation to make it happen.
Everyone’s excited! That’s good. This is Romero at the height of his full-throttle, machine-gun-edit, CRAZIES-era confidence. It’s a sun-soaked nightmare: bright, loud, demented, disorienting. (It is *not*, as some sources report, a documentary.) pic.twitter.com/h7OIZixyvy
— Daniel Kraus (@DanielDKraus) November 11, 2018
Here’s the film’s synopsis, according to Bloody Disgusting:
An elderly gentlemen sets out for what he thinks will be a normal day at an amusement park and is soon embroiled in a waking nightmare the likes of which you’ve never seen.
If this sounds like something you’d enjoy, head on over to the George A Romero Foundation’s donation page here and make your contribution. Soon, we may all be able to enjoy this long lost “savage masterpiece”!
