My quick rating - 5.9/10. I recently read something about this since a sequel popped up and realized I had never seen this quirky horror musical. Sinners are invited to a theme park where they endure the repetition of their transgressions. What chances do a conniving kleptomaniac, a gullible teenager, and an obsessed father stand when facing their own moral failings? Lucifer (Terrance Zdunich) and his colorful cast of singing carnies invite you to grab a ticket to The Devil’s Carnival to find out! After I took a quick peek and saw that Darren Lynn Bousman was behind it, I knew after he brought us the excellent Repo! The Genetic Opera this flick had to be worth a watch. Sean Patrick Flanery plays a father (John) looking for his son but is soon tormented by his depravity. Lucifer then sits down with John's son and gives a version of Aesop's Fables in hell. To say that Bousman has a specific "type" of movie he is shooting for is an understatement. Influenced by The Rocky Horror Picture Show and attempting to make his own cult classic (which I believe Repo already has hit), he has again brought us an entertaining trip to a macabre musical world. The circus is filled with well-costumed oddities that luckily all can hold a note without issue. I had no idea that either Briana Evigan or Jessica Lowndes were so in tune with singing that they performed wonderfully. The tunes were catchy including a during-credits song that may have had the most meaning. My biggest gripe is that it felt very rushed and I actually wanted it to be longer than the mere 56 minutes we were given. The good news is it ended up with a clear nod to a sequel but the very bad news is the late Paul Sorvino is shown as G-d towards the end. RIP and I am sure you will be a highlight in the sequel when I check it out. And I also suggest you should check this one out if you are into anything that is straying off the genre's beaten path such as this. It was quite fun.
