George A. Romero's Long Lost Film THE AMUSEMENT PARK Will Premiere on Shudder
Back in 1973, director George A. Romero made a thriller titled The Amusement Park. The movie was commissioned by the Lutheran Society because they wanted a film about the horrible treatment of the elderly in contemporary society. The movie was never released because the Lutheran Society thought is was too gruesome for mainstream audiences.
The Amusement Park stars Lincoln Maazel “as an elderly man who finds himself increasingly disoriented and isolated during a visit to the amusement park. What he initially assumed would be an ordinary day quickly turned into a hellish nightmare filled with roller coasters and chaotic crowds.”
All prints of the film were thought to be lost, but one was tracked down in 2018 by Daniel Kraus, who is a longtime collaborator with director Guillermo del Toro. Kraus took action to restore the film, and a 4K restoration was completed by IndieCollect in New York City.
Shudder is now planning to release the film this summer, and they describe as “perhaps Romero’s wildest and most imaginative movie, an allegory about the nightmarish realities of growing older.”
Romero's wife Suzanne Desrocher-Romero shared in a statement:
“The first and only work-for-hire in Romero’s career sheds a new perspective on an ongoing issue of ageism and Romero’s uncanny sense of reflection on society, and the Romero ‘footprint’ is ever-present and bodes well for the future of his impact on American cinema. We are thankful to Yellow Veil Pictures who helped forge a path for us to find the most perfect custodian for this piece. Shudder understands that this film adds an important element to the Romero oeuvre. We are grateful.”
It’s previously been explained that this film is not a horror movie, and it's about ageism. Regardless of that fact, I’m very much looking forward to watching it.
Stay tuned for additional details on The Amusement Park before it hits Shudder later this year.
Source: Variety