Malatesta’s Carnival of Blood

12/15/2025

**_Artistic no-budget flick shot at a near defunct carnival north of Philly_** Shot in late 1970, but not released until the spring of 1973, this indie combines elements of “Carnival of Souls” and “Night of the Living Dead” with bits reminiscent of “The Mansion of Madness,” aka "Dr. Tarr's Torture Dungeon.” There is a sense of low-budget macabre artistry with the amusement park “in its death throes” being the highlight, but the characters aren’t fleshed out and so the story becomes tedious. Furthermore, plain Jane Janine Carazo is serviceable as Vena, but the production needed someone more alluring to keep the viewer’s attention. The later "Closed for the Season" (2010) was shot at Chippewa Lake Park in northeast Ohio and had the same deficiencies. A decent indie of this sort is "