The Theatre Bizarre (2011)

The final movie on the first night of the 2011 Film Four Frightfest was The Theatre Bizarre, a dark and twisted anthology movie, which aims to re-invent the wheel.

Enola Penny is obsessed with the seedy looking theatre across the road from her apartment, and one night heads off across to have a look. Once in she discovers Pegg Poet who tells her a series of disturbing tales, the results of which bring about a strange transformation for Enola.

The Theatre Bizarre is really a difficult movie to get to grips with, possibly made more difficult due to the fact that the UK screening started at near on midnight, when the crowds were a little bit worse for wear. The main issue though is its heavy hitting subject matter, the stories which include a woman who has power over toads (and may even be one), food and confectionery fetishists, a women who steals fluid from the eyes of women at the time of their death and injects it into her own eye, a couples marriage collapsing, a man with fear of castration, and a creepy road traffic accident involving a biker and a moose.

Each one of the instalments is far from normal; one could argue that the segments are a little “Channel 4” back in the 1980’s. There is a complete lack of emotion from many of the characters in many of the segments. And rather interestingly similar themes, although all the writers state they were working independently of each other.

Directors Karim Hussain, Tom Savini, Douglas Buck, Richard Stanley, Buddy Giovinazzo, Jeremy Kasten and David Gregory, all get their own slots. But because they share much of the same crew, they all seem to have rather a lot in common, they all have a very airy feel about them, and are all incredibly random and dark.

The best segment, entitled “I Love You” was by far the most entertaining, and the most compelling, the story tells of the decline (or end I guess) of a couple’s marriage. The dialogue is incredibly well thought out and includes likes like “Your penis and my vagina hate each other”. While being a little predictable, it was still an enjoyable tale.

Some of the vignettes are very quick, while others seem over long and laboured.

A nice touch is the addition of the wonderful Catriona MacColl marking her return to the horror genre, which really made her famous.

The Theatre Bizarre appears to be one of those movies that needs a second viewing, and ideally any viewing with a very clear head.

Details of the release of the movie across the globe are yet to be released.