Essence Dennis| Assistant A&E Editor
18 Oct 2015 was something I was definitely not mentally prepared for. From the glitter, to the musical, to the costume contest and the topless dancer. This was something that will be burned into my retina for years.
From the American Director and screenwriter who brought us the “Saw” trilogy as well as the American actor and writer Terrance Zdunich, comes “Alleluia! The Devil’s Carnival.”
These filmmakers brought to life a living nutcracker, introduced a God that in turn was a dictator and a Devil that was surprisingly loving, and opened the show by shouting “HAIL SATAN!”
The film was 1 hour and 30 minutes of excessive glitter, caked on makeup as if it were meant to be set on stage live and too many corsets to count, with lots of objectification of women’s bodies throughout.
When I arrived I was ambushed with a live dancing woman that was stripping with a bright red wig and pasties over her nipples in short red shorts.
She held balloons in front of her chest for a few minutes until the last note of a song ended and she released them into the air of the theater.
I was in for a wild ride as I struggled to find a seat; Bright pink and purple wigs, lacy fishnets and tons of face paint to look like the characters in the film began to flood the theater.
Once the film started my ears were on fire from the screaming/singing that greeted me with a ton of people on a ship with the devil and a white woman bloody and whipped.
Within minutes of the film starting the audience was screaming words at the screen as if the actors could hear them.
They clapped for nearly every character that they knew (which I had no clue about).
At one point, nearly the entire audience stood up and began dancing when a song about driving a ship came on.
The jokes were of those that if you didn’t watch the first movie you were lost on why the audience was cackling so loud and for so long.
The film deals with the Devil, played by Terrance Zdunich, trying to start a war with God, played by Paul Sorvino.
The cast is full of interesting characters and actors you’d be surprised were a part of the production, like David Hasselhoff who was “the designer,” and rapper Tech N9ne, who studded a gold encrusted headband over a bald head and a goatee full of golden glitter.
The film is set to seem as if it’s in the 40s, besides the fact that one of the character gets caught trying to read a book that has an apple on it, which an audience member screamed was “THE MAC BOOK.” She’s eventually beaten and sent to Hell (because this book was banned by God) and Hell just so happens to be a carnival run by the Devil.
Alleluia! failed to hold my attention, but I thought the movie was coming to a climax. A huge war was going to break out, when everyone was singing and one of the “angels” who was called an agent was being tortured by a demon ex-angel that was on his back. But nothing happened. There was a ton of loud exciting singing and then the credits rolled.
Overall, the film was aesthetically interesting, with flashy colors and so much GLITTER was everywhere you couldn’t help but feel like you were in a different world watching the film. But it is definitely one for people who enjoy ‘cult’ films. They’re made for a particular kind of audience and it will most likely not meet the masses. But if you like that sort of wacky acting, with lots of singing then Alleluia! The Devil’s Carnival is totally the film for you!
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