'Scream Park' DVD: 'Saved By The Bell' Meets Michael Myers

Cary Hill's "Scream Park," which Wild Eye Releasing is introducing on DVD and VOD on April 22, 2014, has everything that fans of '70s and '80s slasher flicks and afficionados of more modern horror films can hope for in a film of this type. This theme extends to having established and upcoming horror actors in the cast.

The following spoiler-laden clip, courtesy of YouTube, of the trailer for "Park" shows how Hill gets it right.

This trailer specifically provides a sense of the talent of Hill in his roles of writer, director, and producer. Whether he also manages craft services and provides the wardrobe from his own closet is uncertain.

The terrifically uber-cheesy premise of "Park" is that the stereotypical high school students who work at the rapidly failing Fright Land amusement park convince their manager, who is a 30 year-old version of Mr. Belding, to allow a party with drinking in the park after it closes for the evening.

Watching said manager be an ineffective authoritarian, failed playa, outsider, and heavy contributes great humor to the film.

Hill spends roughly 30 minutes establishing which characters are the tough girl, the good girl, the slut, the jock, the dweeb, the burn out, and the average guy. He then follows the masters of the horror genre in building the horror/suspense.

Early ominous indications of the inevitable mayhem include the black security guard (whose fate is obvious to anyone who has seen any horror film made since the '70s) watching a scary movie on his television and a creepy panel van being parked in the lot.


Seeing the creepy shadowy figure in the distance, ultimately coming face-to-mask with an uninvited guest, and seeing the killer suddenly appear outside a dark window are all terrific expected fun for folks familiar with the genre and will threaten any pre-existing cleanliness of the underoos worn by the pre-teen boys who choose this film as the means for losing their horror virginity.

Other expertly provided tried-and-true classic scenes include the villain walking comically glacially and a probable victim crawling just as amusingly slowly. Hill further keeps things interesting by blatantly breaking other rules of this genre.

Additionally, the motive for this roller-coaster of a massacre is a perfect commentary on our modern era. It relates to the particularly destructive form of fame that originated in the '90s with Bob Saget using the prospect of a $10K prize to entice fathers to encourage their toddlers to use their 'nads as a softball (of course, pun intended.)

The autopsy regarding all this is that Cary may well become "King of the Hill" in the horror world. He combines the best from the past 40 years of this genre and adds enough originality to make it fresh. This talent allows him to attract folks to theaters or their couches/futons without drenching the screen in blood.

Anyone with questions or comments regarding "Park" is welcome to email me; you can also connect on Twitter via @tvdvdguy.