{"id":34300,"date":"2020-12-31T00:01:45","date_gmt":"2020-12-31T05:01:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=34300"},"modified":"2020-12-31T01:47:19","modified_gmt":"2020-12-31T06:47:19","slug":"kiss-meets-the-phantom-of-the-park-1978","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2020\/12\/31\/kiss-meets-the-phantom-of-the-park-1978\/","title":{"rendered":"KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park (1978)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I think even during my days when I was all about KISS (1997-2003), I would have probably found \u201cPhantom of the Park\u201d kind of banal and run of the mill. It\u2019s not so much that it\u2019s a bad movie, but it\u2019s kind of monotonous and tedious, even for the most forgiving fanatic. I mean forgiving<\/em><\/strong> as in you even accept their lame attempt at disco: \u201cI Was Made for Loving You.\u201d It\u2019s so void of narrative or substance that not even the great rock music and theatrics from the band at the height of their fame can save what is a ton of filler and about twenty minutes of actual narrative.<\/p>\n

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\u201cPhantom of the Park\u201d is the adventures of larger than life rock band KISS and their efforts to thwart a diabolical plan by mad scientist Abner Devereaux during a big amusement park opening. Devereaux has found a way to clone humans into robots in his laboratory at an amusement park. It just so happens that he plans to uses the highly anticipated KISS concert as a platform to unleash his devious plan on the world and seek revenge on the park owner. Not so secret superheroes KISS must use their special powers to stop him and perform their concert for their cavalcade of paid extras\u2014er fans<\/em><\/strong>!<\/p>\n

\u201cPhantom of the Park\u201d has picked up a ton of cult momentum since its days as a goofy TV movie turned sought after out of print musical. Overall, the movie is a mix of \u201cScooby Doo,\u201d \u201cThe Impossibles,\u201d and \u201cWest World\u201d where KISS finds time to perform and fight crime. It\u2019s almost like one of the many Hanna Barbera series\u2019 from the seventies and eighties starring people like Mr. T, Harlem Globetrotters, and The Beatles. \u201cPhantom of the Park\u201d is only a movie that really features<\/em><\/strong> KISS, as most of it is devoted to a park engineer using technology to build an army of robots and two nosy teens trying to stop them. Meanwhile the movie becomes interesting to watch mainly because of everything that happens behind the scenes that drips in to the movie.<\/p>\n

There is Peter Criss being dubbed over (by prolific voice actor Michael Bell) because Criss was too wasted most of the time to mutter any kind of dialogue. There\u2019s the god awful green screen. And, of course, there\u2019s Ace Frehley being replaced by an obvious African American stunt double who the director works hard to look like the rocker. It\u2019s sadly about as noticeable and awkward as the Lugosi double in \u201cPlan Nine.\u201d As a KISS fan I guess this is a movie you could watch just to say that you did, but there\u2019s not much of an argument for why this must be seen throughout its entire run time. The premise is pulled off so much better in 2015\u2019s \u201cScooby Doo! Meets Kiss: Rock and Roll Mystery,\u201d which I highly doubt is by coincidence.<\/p>\n