Customer Reviews

Sideshow

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I gave this film a rating of two out of five stars. I think the idea of a circus sideshow, complete with grotesque freaks is a terribly wonderful idea. Although there are fewer and fewer traveling circus' displaying freaks these days, the topic is wide open for horror interpretations. I enjoyed a couple of the characters, but thought that overall this film could have been given a little more life with better writing and directing. This film should have had a grittier atmosphere and more gore. For a superior film about traveling circuses, I would recommend Something Wicked This Way Comes. I gave this film two stars out out five, although ti was somewhat closer too a 1.5 on a five star scale. If you can rent it, as for buying it...thats up to you.

The movie takes place a great carnival.The group of teens go out on a double date and dr.graves one by one starts to give them what they always wanted!!If you like this take a look at the dead hate the living by full moon!!

Not really scary. But I really liked it. Little tiny Dr. Graves makes his own freaks. He has been at I guess doing it for a long time and does a pretty good job at it. Some of the effects are not real good but they are different. Not great acting but I've seen oscar winning movies with worse. Its going to stay in my DVD collection a long time.

If you're familiar with the company Full Moon, then you know what type of stuff to expect from them. Depending on how long you've been watching their movies or how familiar you are with the company, then you'd also know that while their earlier stuff was just awesome (Puppet Master, Subspecies) they also have some clunkers in their collections. The fun of Full Moon is that even when the stuff is bad by their standards, it is usually so bad that it is good. Sideshow manages to lie smack in the middle of the Full Moon schlock scale, which is part of what made it a little disappointing.

Sideshow follows a group of teens that decide to attend a local freak show, hoping for some fun & laughs. They all get their fortunes told, each one having ominous undertones. As the night goes on & the teens get an all access pass into the sideshow, the group begins to realize that this show needs a few new exhibits- THEM!

This isn't the worst I've seen from Full Moon, but it isn't the best. It's good enough that I got a copy of it & I've watched it more than once. It's just not something that I've watched as much as the other stuff they've put out. When I realized that this was put out by the producer of the Puppet Master series (my favorite of all the Full Moon films), I got even more disappointed.

What makes this worth watching? The story line is pretty decent & it has the fabulous Phil Fondacaro (the sinister sideshow ringmaster) in it- he's pretty much the sole reason I purchased this movie at all. He's never played a role where he isn't entertaining, with this movie being no exception. If Linnea Quigley is a scream king, then Fondacaro is very much a scream king.

Where does the movie go wrong? The sideshow freaks are a little farfetched, but still entertaining. It's the cast aside from Fondacaro that is just lacking. I'm used the whole "18 going on 30" thing in horror movies, so I'm not going to entirely fault them on that. It's just that at times they all seemed to just sleepwalk through their roles, which made for scenes that just lagged. Overall it is a fun enough film, but when the movie drags you notice it.

I'm kind of torn between recommending this for a purchase or not. It is definitely worth a rental if you like the schlocky stuff, but for many it might be only worth a rental. If you've never seen a Full Moon picture before, then I don't recommend that you start with this one. Start with Subspecies or Puppet Master- those are Full Moon at it's best.

What a huge disappointment. I was actually waiting to see this. Fred Olen Ray used to make fun "bad" movies where you could at least count on nudity and senseless violence. "Sideshow" is a dud, deadly boring and cheaply shot. The "teen" characters are so poorly written that staggers the mind. One of the teens appears to be a 35 year old woman. The only decent actor in the film is Dr. Graves, the same actor who did a great job of playing Dracula in "The Creeps". I tried to watch this movie with a few other people and they made me turn it off. LAME!

I do not understand all the negative reviews this film is getting. Sure, it is by no means one of the greatest films ever made, but it does have some redeeming qualities. As others have noted, Phil Fondacaro's performance is good. Another performance that shouldn't be overlooked is that of Scott Clark, who played Grant, the boy in the wheelchair. I really identified with the character he played, perhaps because I am also in a wheelchair. This movie deserves your look.

Watching this movie is such a waste of time. What a waste of energy, resources and creativity this might have been for those involved in the production of such a terrible film. The cover of the DVD is quite attractive, yet the movie itself is a let-down and the greatest disappointment I've experienced as a movie buff. I agree with the other reviewer that the only worthwhile performance is that of Dr. Graves' and all the actors seemed to have been chosen from amateur bystanders, who mostly were asked to memorize their dialogues, or just be living props! If you plan to while away and waste some of your time, then, you can think of other more creative and more entertaining ways than "SideShow" which is more like a home-movie or an extended trailer of film students on probation for a passing mark.

Slow and talky; no thrills, no chills. For something better or at least more fun in the genre, go with the original, Freaks, or try Freaked, or Mutations (a.k.a. The Freakmaker).

Slow and talky; no chills, no thrills. For better and/or at least more interesting efforts in the genre, go with the original, Freaks, or try Freaked, or Mutations (a.k.a. The Freakmaster).

Personally, I agree with the other reviewers about this movie being terrible and actually very frustrating to watch. But if you're like me, and you love horribly made, but entertaining films, this ones for you. I'm sorry to say I had a great time watching this, basically because I love seeing bad films and having a great time laughing at them. But if you want to see a good horror film, or some good acting, please, please, do not watch this. You will be very disapointed. I just have to note I don't know where in the hell Full Moon finds these actors.