DVD Review: SCREAM PARK Is A Roller Coaster Of Horror Tropes 

Riffing on the slasher movies of the 1980s, Scream Park (how has this title never been used before?) is a‘kill by numbers’ flick that sees the employees of a theme park killed off in a multitude of gory fashions. Funded by a Kisckstarter campaign, writer-director Cary Hill’s film is an enjoyable enough throwback with a good musical score.

There seems to be a lot of love for 1980s horror films at the minute and more and more young filmmakers are returning to recreating the cheap and cheerful vibe of the VHS era. Maybe it’s the looseness of the digital era and the opportunities of new revenue streams which help get these movies released. I’m happy with seeing these movies as long as they’re well intentioned. The low budgets can make them a little charming and you often want them to be an artistic and creative success. Scream Park works within its own rules and it makes for a fun diversion.

The cast of Scream Park is made up of a lot of unknowns, although Hellraiser’s Doug Bradley turns up as the money-hungry owner of the theme park. The performances aren’t the strongest but that’s not enough to ruin any enjoyment. The practical makeup effects are good and there are a few inventive murders to keep gore hounds engaged.

DVD releasing label Left Films continues to release little films like Scream Park on DVD in the UK and they’re a dedicated little company that continues to give burgeoning genre filmmakers the opportunity to get their work seen. Again, this is reminiscent of ‘wild west’ of the 1980s when a lot of VHS distributors released a glorious collection of weird and exotic products for an audience thirsty for movies.

Scream Park is a fun little horror throwback that should work for its intended audience. Other viewers may find it lacking in finesse or plot, but it’s a pretty good replication of the cheap and cheerful horror explosion of the ‘80s.