Closed for the Season (2009)
"... Open For Terror."
Not Yet Rated / Color / Approx. 120 Minutes

WARNING: THIS CAPSULE REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!

On the weekend of March 12 - 14th, 2010 I attended my first ever convention, namely Monster Mania Con XIV! I got to see some cool 80's horror flicks with crowds of fellow horror fans, saw Charles Band get a girl to flash her breasts (multiple times) on stage during his world famous Full Moon Road Show, met Tom Atkins, Kane Hodder, Jake Busey, Bruce Abbott, and several other special guests, and caught the world premiere of Jay Woelfel's latest film Closed for the Season.

The first screening of Mr. Woelfel's latest did not go too well; there were technical issues with the film (which was down-converted from an HD master), plus a good chunk of the crowd left before the film even ended. Luckily, the screening on the following day went a lot smoother; the room remained filled, and the movie looked fantastic, as this time they used a better transfer of the film, and managed to do a little extra touch-up work on it.

The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself... and clowns.

Closed for the Season is a totally surreal viewing experience and doesn't follow a traditional movie narrative. As it opens, we see a young boy in a rundown amusement park, where he gets offered one final ride on the dilapidated roller coaster by "The Carny" (Joe Unger). The boy is locked into the front seat, while an older man takes a seat in the back. Through the magic of (not entirely convincing) CGI, the boy and other mysterious passenger go for a ride on the rickety coaster.

As the car climbs another hill, the mystery man pushes up the security bar and gets out of his seat, then heads up to the front where the boy is sitting. He then grabs the kid by the arm, lifts him up, and tosses the youth to the ground below. As if that wasn't bad enough, the youngster is impaled on a small pine tree! This scene was a real crowd pleaser, and totally set the tone for how crazy the rest of the film was going to be.

After a little more strangeness, we are finally introduced to one of our main characters. A girl named Kristy (Aimee Brooks) awakens late at night in the rusted remains of car, within the remnants of the (actual) Chippewa Lake amusement park. Within moments of stumbling around in confusion she is attacked by a "lake monster," witnesses the "Seville Giant" hanging a skeleton in a tree, and gets chased by a demonically possessed car.

She continues to have one strange encounter after another, then suddenly comes across the home of James (Damian Maffei) whose parents own and maintain the park. (If they are supposed to being doing upkeep on this park, they are doing a sh*tty job!) He calms the hysterical hot blonde down and then takes her on a tour of the park in order to show her that her imagination was probably getting the best of her.

John Stamos and Lori Loughlin star in Full House... of the Dead!

Soon, even James begins to realize that things are not as they seem, as both he and Kristy begin experiencing all sorts of strange phenomena. And then they meet "The Carny," (played with zeal by veteran actor Joe Unger) the entity that haunts (and taunts) the two bewildered protagonists for the remainder of the film.

The spectral Carny is at times, sort of sympathetic, as he waxes nostalgic about the glory days of the long-abandoned amusement park. But he can also be downright cruel and nasty, and plays a variety of mind games with Kristy and James. If I had to describe the Carny, I'd have to say that he is sort of a cross between Captain Spaulding (from Rob Zombie's House of 1,000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects) and Ernest P. Worrell, and we never quite figure out his true origins or purpose.

Is he the vengeful spirit of the Carny that once owned and operated the park? Is he a figment of Kristy and James' imaginations? Is he some sort of spiritual manifestation of the park itself? We are never told. All we really know is that he's bi-polar as all hell, and can go from being a friendly gent, to a vicious, dirty old man in a heartbeat.

So you may be wondering what the rest of the film's plot holds. Well, I find myself hard-pressed to even attempt to describe all of the ensuing bizarreness. So many strange and unexplained things occur, that it almost becomes dizzying. Characters die horrifically, but seconds later are perfectly fine, and monsters and evil doppelgangers attack Kristy and James, then suddenly vanish as if nothing happened.

The Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog claims yet another victim!

And if that isn't enough to drive you mad, writer / director Jay Woelfel hits viewers with a series of fake endings, where we are meant to think that the two main characters are in the clear and ready to ride off into the sunset together, but suddenly find themselves sucked back into the nightmarish confines of the dilapidated amusement park!

Eventually, after multiple failed escape attempts and the (supposed) death of the maniacal Carny, fate finally intervenes in the form of a lost driver (Joe Unger again) that just happened to be hauling a Ferris Wheel to a nearby county fair. Kristy and James pay the man to set it up in the center of the abandoned park and go for a ride, which leads to several realizations (i.e. plot twists) that I won't ruin for you.

Before I discuss Closed for the Season any further, I should point out that what I saw was the two-hour rough cut. Some of the effects needed to be touched up, there was still a few issues with the soundtrack, and I believe that director Jay Woelfel still has a bit of editing to do. This is actually a good thing because, in my opinion, the film runs too long in its current form. (You can only hit your audience with so much seemingly pointless weirdness before they get sick of it.)

Closed for the Season is a movie that belies its small budget because Jay Woelfel managed to snag such a great shooting location and cast. The movie was shot on location at the hundred-acre resting place of the real Chippewa Lake amusement park, which as of my writing this review, has probably been completely demolished after rotting away for thirty years. The park on its own is extremely creepy, and Jay uses it to great effect, especially during the nighttime sequences.

Director Jay Woelfel and 'The Vault Master' at Monster Mania Con XIV!

The cast of the film is quite exceptional, with strong performances by both Aimee Brooks and Damian Maffei, but admittedly, it is Joe Unger who steals the show as "The Carny." Every time Joe was on the screen he had my full attention, especially when he was in full clown attire and spouting obscenities at the other characters. He ends up becoming one of those rare movie villains that you silently cheer for, and I really wish the story was more centered around him.

But this isn't supposed to be a killer clown film, and it isn't a conventional supernatural thriller. Closed for the Season is an entirely different creature altogether and is almost guaranteed to keep all those who watch it off balance. It's an assault on the senses, and you almost feel like you are watching someone's nightmare play out.

My gripes this film are few; aside from the long running time, my only other complaint is that the ending was (to me) a bit unsatisfying. But perhaps that and several other things will have been changed by the time Closed for the Season makes its eventual DVD debut later this year.

I'm really looking forward to seeing this movie again, if only to make some comparisons to the version I've seen and see what has been changed and/or improved upon, and I readily recommend it to all of you curious readers. It's a bit hard to get into at first and you'll be saying "What the f*ck?" a lot, but trust me, it gets much better as you go.

Jay Woelfel's newest cinematic masterpiece definitely isn't for everyone, but I found it to be a fascinating and original film. I am pleased to give the rough cut of this upcoming horror film:


- THREE 'RADS' -

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