Back in 1973, George A. Romero made a film for TV, but it never aired and has gone nearly unseen. Titled The Amusement Park, the film made news on Twitter this weekend when best-selling author Daniel Kraus (The Shape of Water, The Living Dead) announced he was watching the “virtually unseen” Romero movie. During the thread, Kraus called the film “a revelation,” and “Romero’s most overtly horrifying film.”
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,” Kraus stated. “Where can you see this savage masterwork? You can’t. But I’m dedicating myself to changing that. Can you help? Yes, probably. Give me some time to figure out what’s what.” He continued. “This is truly one of those magical (cursed?) objects that I cannot believe has fallen through the cinematic cracks. We’ll drag it back.”
Romeo’s widow, Suzanne Desrocher-Romero, has already told fans that we’d see an never before released film in 2019 and that the film will be restored and released. That film is The Amusement Park.
We’re gonna restore it, and we’re gonna show it to Romero cinephiles. It’s a scary movie, but it’s not a horror movie, and it’s about ageism. Anyway, he has a cameo in it, and it’ll be fun. And we’ll show the movie, or get it distributed. It’ll be a project that the foundation’s gonna do.” Desrocher0-Romero stated.
So what’s the film about? In the film, “An elderly gentleman 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.”
Head over to The George Romero Foundation for information on Romero’s legacy and more.
