MovieChat Forums > The Devil's Carnival (2012) Discussion > Pretty pathetic all around. (spoilers)

Pretty pathetic all around. (spoilers)

posted 11 years ago by TheatreNachos
10 replies | jump to latest

I know some people like this thing, and everyone is entitled to their opinion, but here's why I hated it:

--The songs were poor. I'm not into musicals that much but at least in something like 'Dr. Horrible' you can A) Understand what the lyrics are, and B) the songs are actually fairly good. In this, I don't know if it was a technical problem or poor pronunciation by the singers, but I couldn't easily understand all the lyrics. At any rate the songs weren't good.

--There was really no horror to it. It was more like dark Tim Burton-esque Cirque du Soleil film. If you're going to go over the top with horror themes on purpose to make larger than life archetypes, make sure you have a solid story, this was garbled and unclear, lost under the weight of it's failed plot...which leads me to...

--The sins of these people were either unclear or not really sins. The guy kills himself--ok, that one gets a pass (even though the door was obviously unlocked when his wife or girlfriend or whatever was turning the knob). Briana Evigan's character is a thief. Ok, I guess. What isn't explained is how she dies. Was she shot by cops in the trailer? While the other two are obvious deaths, hers is very murky. Which brings me to the girl who makes bad relationship decisions. This is such a weak "sin". Out of all the sins out there...it makes me think they had the frog and scorpion song lined up and had to roll with it. If this is a sin worth hell (bad choices), we're all in trouble.

Briana Evigan was the best part about this film, the next best part was when the credits rolled.

[–] RoxyMoron101 11 years ago

I think it would have been better as a plain old movie cut out the musical numbers or even keep one. It probably would have made sense too.

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[–] TheatreNachos 11 years ago

I agree. They should have cut out the music. They are third rate musical numbers anyway, and whoever mixed the sound didn't think it would be important for us to here all the words anyway.

[–] msdantemax 11 years ago

huh...no matter how much I love Joss Whedon but the songs were WWAAAYYYY better than in Dr. Horrible. You can argue that the songs in Buffys musical episode were on par with this but as a musician I have to say that these songs were good...

And it wasn't supposed to be a horrorfilm but rather a musical experience...everyone's entitles to his opinion but I can't agree with you points but the third

[–] Black_PuddleT5 11 years ago

Oh man, OP you're entitled to your opinion and everything but these songs... I can't tell you how much I love these songs and surprised I am with how good they are. When you first hear them they're either iffy or just pleasant, like most first encounters with songs, but when you listen again once or twice you'll hear things that will make you go "wow." At least for me. Not to mention they're pretty catchy in the best way.

But that's all subjective. I hope at least, if you look at the lyrics, you can't deny how brilliantly poetic the writing is. Or at least count it as "good."

But yeah, so much of this thing is metaphors, and abstract ones at that. To me, the girl "frog" ended up dying in hell, unlike the greedy lady. Where do you think she went from there? To me I think she either went into purgatory, or reincarnated now having learned the valuable lesson of not being too impulsively trusting of a "scorpion." AKA reckless boyfriend with a gun. And Hell wanted to humiliate her so she might finally learn. That's my take on it.

Was any horror promised? The "horror themes" are used because the story takes place in hell. The trailer didn't even make it look like a horror film, at least for me.

About the understanding of the lyrics though, I personally always find it difficult to make out some words in musicals, and didn't think this film made it harder than the average musical, so I don't know about that.

_

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[–] Quebin_chino_123 11 years ago

I'm addicted to Beautiful Stranger, and Grief. Not that any one cares hahah

[–] Xcalat3 10 years ago

There was really no horror to it. It was more like dark Tim Burton-esque Cirque du Soleil film.

agreed with this, plus the fact its a *beep* musical.

Liberate tutemet ex inferis.
pro ego sum diabolus, pro ego sum nex.

[–] rabid_chipmunk 10 years ago

It's been over a year since the original post, but I just recently saw this movie and the topic interests me

In regards to the bit about the sins not seeming worthy of hell, I think that's point. The audience isn't supposed to think that the 'sinners' were deserving of hell. God, in this film, is intentionally made out to be someone who tolerates nothing less than perfection. (The movie opens up on him throwing a doll into the 'broken' bin, after he messes up one of the eyebrows) And then there's Lucifer's line, "I’m not in the business of murdering innocent children. That’s God’s jurisdiction." "We're all in trouble" is exactly what you're meant to take away from the story. If you don't get your sh!t together during your time on earth, God will deem you as a lost cause, no matter how slight your sin, and leave you to be dealt with the devil, who at the very least, will let you go if you overcome the destructive pattern that got you sent to hell in the first place.

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[–] mec_os 9 years ago

at first i was like ok. but then every song was the exact same song with different lyrics. it was very poorly executed. and i'm sick of there just being sexy women. men can be sexy too. there were to female souls in hell, throw in a few sexy guys twerking or something.

[–] Dan_Garten 9 years ago



[–] Lady_Elaine_Fairchild 8 years ago

I had to explain Dante's Inferno from The Divine Comedy to the tweens I watched the movie with. That it wasn't an original idea but neither is anything else.

A woman who is abused by a man shouldn't be the sin that sends you into the Devil's Carnival-but I ca understand the thought process if she allowed it to happen to her but it just doesn't play that way IRL.

I just thought it was more of a long music video.

I was bored they caught me sleeping a few times.lol

Emilie Autumn was the reason we watched it and she was not featured enough.

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