CARNY (2009) Review: The Jersey Devil Joins The Circus
I welcome any appearance of The Jersey Devil in all facets of media. JD has been the subject of a few films such as The Last Broadcast and 13th Child, but The Jersey Devil has yet to leave a mark in Hollywood. 2009’s Carny, was a step in the right direction, but not the badass horror flick that seemed to be depicted on it’s DVD cover. This was an RHI production (formerly Hallmark) which usually stands for low grade fare, but that didn’t bother me, I am a salivating beast constantly hunting for more Jersey Devil stuff to watch, and it started streaming on Netflix a while ago so I gave it a shot. I saved my thoughts for the Halloween countdown since it’s always best to let a movie sink in before I go writing about it irrationally.
The film begins in a small town, in of all places, Nebraska. The town is preparing to host a traveling carnival. While setting up, the carnival is derided by towns people as “the work of the devil.” The circus freaks are out in full force and so is the Jersey Devil. “What the hell is he doing in Nebraska?” you might ask. Well, it sounds like he took an insanely wrong turn on Route 287 if you ask me. The Jersey Devil is caged and on display for all to see and gawk at as part of the Carnival. That is until…he escapes and goes ballistic. It becomes The Jersey Devil versus the circus freaks and random towns people. The honorable and heroic cop, RICHIE!, ahem, I mean Lou Diamond Phillips, gathers his group of cronies to rid the town of the creature while the local pastor vows his own revenge on it for killing his son.
The Jersey Devil has become such a popular cryptid that creative license has caused him to terrorize other places besides strictly New Jersey. This defeats the purpose of the character. In Mystery of the Jersey Devil by Calu & Hart, The Jersey Devil is found to be a spirit meant to ward off anyone who hinders the growth and ecology of the stretch of rich Pine Barrens in southern Jersey. It might sound boring but that is one of the actual theories of why the legend exists. Putting him in another state as part of a traveling carnival is just plain wacky.
There IS a surprise ending. The keystone cops show up, and all of a sudden JD gets incarcerated in the local jail and gets shot with what seems like a pop gun several times. I remember hearing the line “I have slayed the beast…” seriously. There’s more after that but I’ll let you be unfulfilled for yourself. And stay for the closing credits where you’ll be serenaded by a bluesy rock song, “Pray For Dawn,” written and sang by RICHIE!, I mean Lou Diamond Phillips.
It must have come from New Jersey! – Garden State License Plate
You may think it’s a stretch, but the film does actually mix elements from the original King Kong and Universal Frankenstein films but it’s obviously nowhere near as good. The script could have used a little bit more humor instead of taking itself so seriously. DVDTalk.com has compared it to the ’80s horror vibe of “Friday the 13th The Series or HBO’s Tales from the Crypt,” and though I see the comparison, it’s not as imaginative or creepy as some of the aforementioned series’ best episodes.
The Jersey Devil’s look is pretty faithful to the way we know him, but he’s actually never been uglier or more ferocious. A beast like this could only be born in Jersey. In a review he posted at AssociatedContent.com, Kevin L. Powers said the film had “subpar CGI effects,” and I disagree. I don’t know the budget of the film, but the devil did not look cheap at all. Obviously, Powers doesn’t understand that for a movie of this scale, he can’t expect it to have Avatar-like CGI.
You’ll notice a lot of fake blood. When someone gets punched they spit a gallon of blood out of their mouth. The whole time I just wanted to yell RICHIE!!! and see Lou Diamond Phillips completely stop what he’s saying to look through the TV screen toward me and throw up his middle finger. He didn’t have the balls though. Not a bad film for someone who loves low to mid grade horror and the Jersey Devil legend during the Halloween season. Or if you’re just a fan of stock footage of people eating popcorn and riding ferris wheels, this is destined to be your part of your DVD collection.
A truly creepy Jersey Devil movie has yet to be made. It’s surprising too because that’s an urban legend whose story is deserving a seriously scary adaptation. Hopefully when one finally does get made, it will be filmed in New Jersey, not Canada. If you have no patience for this kinda stuff go find a few bootletg copies of Carnie!, Carnie Wilson’s ill fated talk show, now that was way scarier.
Jersey Devil Statue
The Pinelands Preservation Alliance is a group who are committed to protecting New Jersey’s vast Pineland region. The Jersey Devil and The Pine Barrens have become synonymous. Check out the Alliance’s website for a page dedicated to The Jersey Devil. If you dare, you can also join them on one of their Jersey Devil Hunts. *Unfortunately there was no credit as to who made the awesome statue of the creature that’s pictured above. You can make a tax deductible donation to the Pinelands Preservation Alliance at this link.
Kurt Loder in Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2
Mainly thanks to his MTV exposure, Kurt Loder has appeared in a bunch of TV shows and films. One of those films is 2000’s Blair Witch sequel, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2. It’s a movie I’m fanatical about, and thought it deserved a better reception, but that’s another story. It’s now time for MTV NEWS.
To the Gideon Yagos and the Sways of the world: You will never be Kurt Loder. Ocean City, New Jersey’s own Kurt Loder might have had a bland, straight down the middle delivery when breaking in between commercials with his MTV News brief, but he’s still the most authoritative news anchor MTV has had. If there was an important event going on in the music industry, I used to feel comfort in hearing it from the droll Kurt Loder.
The guys and girls who came after the likes of Kurt Loder, John Norris, Chris Connelly, and Tabitha Soren, totally missed the point. To be a cool broadcast journalist on MTV you shouldn’t try to be cool, and you shouldn’t try to be uncool. Loder didn’t try, he just seemed like he was always on a mission to bring us all accurate, unbiased music news. With U.S Army experience and a serious journalism career under his belt, Kurt Loder has become one of the most reputable music authorities in the world. And he was in the first scene of Blair Witch 2 which is pretty badass in my book.
New Jersey’s Great Pop Culture Moments Vol.47: Friday the 13th Part 3
What do sexual escapades, skinny dipping, smoking pot, and getting murdered all have in common? They are all things that those punk ass teenagers from New Jersey like to take part in, hence, the state was the natural choice for the home of Camp Crystal Lake in the Friday the 13th franchise. Some of the films in the series don’t harp on it’s setting, while others are proud and throw in many references, some blatant, some subtle. Friday the 13th Part 3, was not only presented in 3-D, but it also featured overt references to New Jersey.
Friday the 13 Part 3 is one of my favorite installments of the series along with 1, 2, 4, 6, and Freddy vs. Jason. How could it not be on my list? There’s hot women, a Tommy Chong wannabe, and 3-D yo-yo-ing! And I also can’t forget the villainous biker gang led by Ali, who look like they were ripped out of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” video. In the scene pictured above, one of the gang members is about to siphon the gas from the kids van. Their van has a New Jersey license plate as well as a Bruce Springsteen “The Boss” bumper sticker. I think it’s cool that the filmmakers paid attention to the details and kept the film set in Jersey no matter how unpopular the state used to be. Nowadays the chances of seeing a film set in Jersey are much greater.
NJ T-Shirt Tuesday 65: More Jersey Devil
Since we are fully into The Halloween Countdown, let me share not ONE but THREE Jersey Devil T-Shirts that I came across for NJ T-Shirt Tuesday. When you’re finished looking and putting your jaw back into place from all the coolness, click on the links toward the bottom of the post and they’ll bring you to even more Jersey Devil T-Shirts that appeared previously here at The Sexy Armpit!
November Fire is an online store that offers merch that falls into the category of “horror, halloween, antiestablishment, underground, punk, metal, gothic, and drug culture,” and as SNLer Vanessa Bayer’s Miley Cyrus says it’s “Pritty Cool.” The site offers a ton of original art designs that can be printed on a variety of different t-shirts, sweatshirts, and tanks tops. Their Jersey Devil looks sort of like a ram and it’s only in black and white, but who cares, it’s still J.D!
Artist and Designer Nick Horvath’s website features photos of all his work and if you scroll down the front page of his blog you’ll see the awesome Jersey Devil shirt he designed which is pictured above. On the front is The Garden State colored in Jersey Devil red, outfitted with horns and a spiked tail. Unfortunately there is no info on where to buy it!
Finally, in the logos archive of Think Tank Creative they have presented two original labels they designed for a local NJ microbrew. The first depicts a sexy punk rock chick as The Jersey Devil while the other was a completely different take on the legend. The artist wanted to stay away from the typical look of The Jersey Devil and actually used Lou Reed as their inspiration!
Previous NJ T-Shirt Tuesday Posts Featuring The Jersey Devil:
Artist Tom Krohne’s Unparalleled Jersey Devil Illustrations on T-Shirts
Retro DC features a Jersey Devil Fossil T-Shirt
Halloween 1990
Halloween 1990
I love to look at photos from Halloween years ago. It’s fun to reminisce about the various costumes my friends and I wore through the years, although sometimes it’s mind boggling. I’m still operating in the mode that 1990 was 10 years ago, but clearly my calculator has proven me wrong. This is a picture of my friends and I in front of our school, oh my Lord…20 years ago! I loved dressing up for Halloween when I was a kid but as I got a little older I started to grow tired of putting so much effort into going home and changing and putting on makeup etc. I phased out of getting dressed up when I stopped going trick or treating. So this photo marks the beginning of my lazy phase for Halloween, a phase that many of us have gone through.
Friday the 13th was one of my favorite horror film franchises and until that point I never dressed up as Jason Voorhees for Halloween so I wanted to see how it felt to live behind the hockey mask for a day. My least favorite film of the series, Jason Takes Manhattan was released a year earlier but it didn’t hinder me from deciding to be J.V. At that time, anyone who dressed as Jason for Halloween was considered to have a “copout” costume. That was the easiest way to go; the lazy man’s Halloween costume. I bought the mask real cheap and I recycled the knife from a Rambo Combat set I had and just slathered some fake blood on it!
My friends in the picture all had outstanding costumes. From left to right you’ll see my life long friend Greg who was way ahead of his time dressed in drag. This guy always had a great sense of humor and to think that he had the balls to dress as a woman when we were kids was awesome. I’m not sure if he would do it now though! I don’t remember too many kids dressed in drag back then. To make things even more bizarre, he was holding a bloody axe making him some sort of deranged cross dressing serial killer.
To the right of me is the absolute greatest homemade Flash costume ever. My best friend Frank kept his costume a secret for a whole month! Then, on Halloween day, after we all came back to school after going home to change for the school parade, he walked into class in full Flash costume and I was literally in awe. The Flash TV series was only a few episodes in and we were both hooked since we were DC comics freaks. The costume had that extra authenticity because there wasn’t even real Flash costumes or cowls available at that time so his mom just went ahead and made it for him herself! Beside The Flash was an awesome Invisible Man costume and underneath those wraps was my friend Steve. Superb costume!
Halloween Plaques
I found these Halloween Plaques at the local 5 Below store and couldn’t pass them up. They have sort of an ’80s retro vibe to them and remind me of the decorations my parents would hang around the house back then. Even though I don’t really have anywhere to hang them, they looked too cool and they were only $2 bucks! I figured I’d scan them in and doll up the blog for Halloween. What do you think?
The Spookhouse in Keansburg, NJ
On a whim I recently took a ride to The Keansburg Amusement Park merely to go on a dark ride. After the extremely short ride was over, Miss Sexy Armpit wondered why I wanted to take the drive just for this ride. She also commented that it was “so old,” and for a girl who is usually scared of haunted houses, she thought this was remarkably unscary. She didn’t quite understand the history that this ride holds. This isn’t any old dark ride, this is THE SPOOKHOUSE, one of the first dark rides that ever existed, and even more incredibly…it still operates today!
Sure, it might seem like a hokey old ride to some young kids who are conditioned to see scarier stuff in video games, but The Spookhouse (originally called The Mystery Ride) is truly a landmark in New Jersey. The cars you ride in and other parts of the ride itself date back to the late 1920s! Since I live fairly close, haunted house aficionados, dark ride lovers, and fun house freaks consider me extremely lucky to have the opportunity to hop on this Preztel Ride at my leisure.
I can remember going to Keansburg every summer when I was a kid. My Dad always took me on the rides since he was a good sport. I don’t think he was ever particularly a fan of amusement park rides, (i.e the Tilt-a-Whirl) but he rode them with me anyway! If my mom went on rides she definitely would’ve lost her lunch!
Keansburg hasn’t changed one bit. Many of the same rides that I rode as a child are still there. As for the Spookhouse, yes, it’s been updated and blacklit, but it’s still the same classic ride. It’s truly a piece of American history. If you live in Jersey and have never been to Keansburg, it’s nothing like Six Flags or even Seaside, but it’s a lot of fun for children, it’s very reasonable, and it will bring back tons of memories from when you were a kid!
For the BEST coverage and information ANYWHERE on The Spookhouse, check out Laff In The Dark. They have a complete history of the ride as well as exclusive photos.
Also be sure to visit our friends at The Onezumiverse for more great pictures!
| Keansburg Amusement Park: 107 years of Jersey charm |
Welcome to The Sexy Armpit’s 2010 Halloween Countdown!
The Sexy Armpit has a lot of awesome posts in store for the Halloween season and I’m looking forward to sharing them with you! I consider October to be the best time of year and it must be the supernatural atmosphere that possesses all of us bloggers to write spooky posts all month long. Make sure to follow all those cool blogs participating in The Countdown to Halloween, many of which are friends of The Sexy Armpit so pay them a visit! If you’d like to be a part of the crew, head over to the site and let them know!
Creating countdowns on a blog can become more hard work than fun. In the summer, Shark Month here at the Armpit became quite tedious, but Halloween is always a blast. In the spirit of making it even MORE fun, look at the top of this page and you’ll notice this year’s Halloween header. It’s The Sexy Armpit’s homage to the ’80s vampire classic, The Lost Boys! There’s really nothing “Jersey” about The Lost Boys other than the fact that I used to watch it incessantly as a kid growing up in NJ.
As you prepare yourself for the coming onslaught of the most ghoulish month of the year, remember to come back and visit The Sexy Armpit often throughout October to see all kinds of haunted, nostalgic, and Jersey related Halloween stuff. I’ll have posts about my costume this year, events I’ll be attending, crap I picked up at stores, and the typical Sexy Armpit content.
Also, please check out some of the BEST Halloween related posts from previous years here at The Sexy Armpit if you haven’t read them yet.