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The Science Fiction Horror and Fantasy Film Review

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Theme: Circuses

Circuses and carnivals are real world phenomena. They are travelling companies that move from place to place and put on performances consisting of acrobats, clowns, trapeze artists, fortune-tellers, trained animals and other acts, along with novelty attractions, rides like Ferris wheels and dodgem cars, and arcades where one can win prizes. They are pockets where one can step out of the real world and into one of novelty, amazement and make-believe magic.

Circuses have had some fascination in genre cinema. One of the recurrent themes is the belief that there is a real magic beneath the make-believe showmanship, which can be either sinister or transformative. The circus is often seen as housing real monsters and fantastical creatures, or else is a welcoming refuge for such creatures.

Of fascination in the horror genre is the house of horrors attraction, which is often seen to house real horrors, while the circus is also frequently home to the trope of the Killer Clown. Another fascination that often features in horror films is the freakshow, a nowadays defunct part of the circus that would display real human Deformities and Disfigurements.


The Amusement Park (1975)

26 February 202419 February 2025

Rating: ★★½

Surreal Journey Through a Fairground

Director: George A. Romero
Actors: Lincoln Maazel
Category: Fantasy

Baby Blood (1990)

4 July 202329 June 2024

Rating: ★★★

Woman Impregnated by a Blood-Drinking Parasite

Director: Alain Robak
Actors: Emmanuelle Escourrou, Christian Sinniger, Alain Chabat
Category: Horror

Berserk (1967)

4 April 201313 November 2019

Rating: ★★½

Circus Murders

Director: James O'Connolly
Actors: Joan Crawford, Michael Gough, Diana Dors, Ty Hardin, …
Category: Horror

Big Fish (2003)

9 March 200417 October 2024

Rating: ★★

Tall Tales

Director: Tim Burton
Actors: Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, …
Category: Fantasy

Big Top Pee-Wee (1988)

8 July 200129 March 2021

Rating: ★★★

Overgrown Adolescent’s Absurdist Adventures

Director: Randal Kleiser
Actors: Pee-Wee Herman, Paul Reubens, Valeria Golino, Kris Kristofferson, …
Category: Fantasy

BloodRayne (2005)

29 March 200825 March 2025

Rating: ★

Videogame Adaptation/Vampire War

Director: Uwe Boll
Actors: Kristanna Loken, Ben Kingsley, Michael Madsen, Michelle Rodriguez, …
Category: Horror

The Bride (1985)

29 July 20067 March 2020

Rating: ★★

Frankenstein Film

Director: Franc Roddam
Actors: Sting, Jennifer Beals, Clancy Brown, David Rappaport, …
Category: Horror

A Bug’s Life (1998)

19 June 199926 June 2021

Rating: ★★★

Pixar Animation/Talking Insects

Director: John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton
Actors: Dave Foley, Kevin Spacey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Hayden Paniettiere, …
Category: Fantasy

Captive Wild Woman (1943)

13 March 201913 February 2023

Rating: ★★½

Were-Ape Woman

Director: Edward Dmytryk
Actors: John Carradine, Acquanetta, Evelyn Ankers, Milburn Stone, …
Category: Horror

Carnival of Souls (1998)

17 November 200028 November 2023

Rating: ★

Haunting and Hallucination

Director: Adam Grossman
Actors: Bobbie Phillips, Larry Miller, Shawnee Smith, Paul Johansson
Category: Horror

Circus Kane (2017)

10 December 201827 February 2023

Rating: ★

Circus Master’s House of Death Traps

Director: Christopher Douglas-Olen Ray
Actors: Jonathan Lipnicki, Tim Abell, Ted Monte, Nicole Fox, …
Category: Horror

Circus of Horrors (1960)

5 February 200117 October 2024

Rating: ★★★

Psycho Surgeon-Circus Master

Director: Sidney Hayers
Actors: Anton Diffring, Yvonne Monlaur, Jane Hylton, Erika Remberg, …
Category: Horror

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant (2009)

2 November 20096 July 2022

Rating: ★★

Young Adult/Vampire Wars/Circus of Freaks

Director: Paul Weitz
Actors: John C. Reilly, Chris Massoglia, Josh Hutcherson, Michael Cerveris, …
Category: Horror

Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away (2012)

21 December 201213 February 2023

Rating: ★★

Magical Circus/Fantasy World

Director: Andrew Adamson
Category: Fantasy

The City of Lost Children (1995)

19 October 200230 March 2024

Rating: ★★★½

Mad Scientist/Clones/Gonzo Comedy

Director: Marc Caro, Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Actors: Ron Perlman, Dominique Pinon, Daniel Emilfork, Jean-Louis Trintignant, …
Category: Science Fiction

Clown (2019)

31 March 20202 September 2021

Rating: ★

Killer Clown

Director: Eric Forsberg
Category: Horror

The Devil’s Carnival (2012)

17 September 20191 August 2022

Rating: ★★

Carnival for Damned Souls in Hell

Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
Actors: Sean Patrick Flanery, Briana Evigan, Jessica Lowndes, Terrance Zdunich, …
Category: Fantasy, Horror

Dumbo (1941)

20 November 200128 September 2020

Rating: ★★★★★

Disney Animation/Flying Elephant

Director: Ben Sharpsteen
Category: Fantasy

Dumbo (2019)

29 June 20195 December 2024

Rating: ★★

Flying Elephant/Disney Live-Action Remake

Director: Tim Burton
Actors: Colin Farrell, Danny DeVito, Nico Parker, Finley Hobbins, …
Category: Fantasy

Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)

17 May 200118 July 2024

Rating: ★★★★

Planet of the Apes Sequel/Time Travel

Director: Don Taylor
Actors: Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Bradford Dillman, Natalie Trundy, …
Category: Science Fiction

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)

2 March 201913 February 2023

Rating: ★★

Harry Potter Spinoff

Director: David Yates
Actors: Eddie Redmayne, Johnny Depp, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, …
Category: Fantasy

The Fantasticks (2000)

15 July 201412 November 2020

Rating: ★½

Musical Adaptation/Magical Circus

Director: Michael Ritchie
Actors: Joel Grey, Barnard Hughes, Teller
Category: Fantasy

Flesh and Fantasy (1943)

12 April 2022

Rating: ★★★½

Fantasy Anthology

Director: Julien Duvivier
Actors: Edward G. Robinson, Charles Boyer, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Benchley, …
Category: Fantasy, Horror

Frankenstein Unlimited (2009)

30 November 200917 December 2020

Rating: ★★½

Anthology of Frankenstein Short Films

Director: Matthew Saliba, Matthew Forbes, King-Wei Chu, Maude Michaud, …
Actors: Kayden Rose, Gordon Liu
Category: Horror

Freaked (1993)

4 December 199911 August 2024

Rating: ★★★★

Mutants and Mad Scientist Gonzo Comedy

Director: Tom Stern, Alex Winter
Actors: Alex Winter, Randy Quaid, Megan Ward, William Sadler, …
Category: Horror

Freaks (1932)

12 November 20026 September 2023

Rating: ★★★★

Human Deformities

Director: Tod Browning
Actors: Olga Baclanova, Angelo Rossitto
Category: Horror

From a Whisper to a Scream (1987)

18 June 199913 April 2021

Rating: ★★★★

Horror Anthology

Director: Jeff Burr
Actors: Vincent Price, Martine Beswick, Cameron Mitchell, Susan Tyrrell, …
Category: Horror

Fun & Fancy Free (1947)

4 April 199918 April 2022

Rating: ★★

Disney Animation Anthology

Director: Jack Kinney, Hamilton Luske, Bill Roberts, William Morgan
Actors: Edgar Bergen, Luana Patten, Dinah Shore, Clarence Nash, …
Category: Fantasy

The Funhouse (1981)

14 September 200229 March 2021

Rating: ★★★½

Carnival Horror House Slasher

Director: Tobe Hooper
Actors: Elizabeth Berridge, Kevin Conway, Sylvia Miles, Cooper Huckabee, …
Category: Horror

Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022)

17 December 202217 December 2022

Rating: ★★★½

Living Puppet Boy/Stop-Motion Animation

Director: Guillermo Del Toro, Mark Gustafson
Actors: Ewan McGregor, David Bradley, Gregory Mann, Christoph Waltz, …
Category: Fantasy

House of Frankenstein (1944)

15 February 200122 December 2022

Rating: ★★½

Universal Monster Bash

Director: Erle C. Kenton
Actors: Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr, John Carradine, J. Carrol Naish, …
Category: Horror

The Hunchback of Notre Dame II (2002)

11 January 200920 September 2021

Rating: ★★½

Disney Animation Sequel

Director: Bradley Raymond
Actors: Tom Hulce, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Michael McKean, Demi Moore, …
Category: Fantasy

Imaginaerum (2012)

4 May 201430 May 2022

Rating: ★★

Journey Through a Dying Man’s Mind

Director: Stobe Harju, Mark Roper
Actors: Thomas Lord, Marianne Farley, Joanna Noyes, Francis-Xavier McCarthy, …
Category: Fantasy

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)

7 September 201021 September 2024

Rating: ★★★½

Magical Circus/Deals with the Devil

Director: Terry Gilliam
Actors: Heath Ledger, Christopher Plummer, Lily Cole, Andrew Garfield, …
Category: Fantasy

Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart (2013)

21 December 201418 November 2021

Rating: ★★

Animation/Boy With a Cuckoo-Clock Heart on a Quest

Director: Stephane Berla, Mathias Malzieu
Category: Fantasy

Jack the Reaper (2011)

21 December 202321 December 2023

Rating: ★

Boogeyman/Mysterious Carnival

Director: Kimberly Seilhamer
Actors: Tony Todd, Jay Gillespie, Douglas Tait, Sally Kirkland
Category: Horror

Jeepers Creepers Reborn (2022)

6 November 202222 April 2024

Rating: ★

Monster Movie

Director: Timo Vuorensola
Actors: Sydney Craven, Imran Adams, Jarreau Benjamin, Peter Brooke, …
Category: Horror

Josh Kirby … Time Warrior! Journey to the Magic Cavern (1996)

23 February 200417 December 2024

Rating: ★★

Juvenile Adventures Through Time

Director: Ernest Farino
Actors: Corbin Allred, Barrie Ingham, Jennifer Burns, Matt Winston, …
Category: Science Fiction

Legend of the Werewolf (1974)

17 August 200227 December 2024

Rating: ★★

Werewolf

Director: Freddie Francis
Actors: Peter Cushing, David Rintoul, Ron Moody, Hugh Griffith, …
Category: Horror

The Little Mermaid (2018)

23 September 201913 April 2025

Rating: ★★

Mermaid Film

Director: Blake Harris
Actors: William Moseley, Poppy Drayton, Loreto Peralta, Armando Gutierrez, …
Category: Fantasy

Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (2012)

6 June 201214 August 2020

Rating: ★★½

Animation/Talking Animals

Director: Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath, Conrad Vernon
Actors: Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, …
Category: Fantasy

Meridian (1990)

6 November 20039 June 2020

Rating: ★★★

Erotic Fairytale

Director: Charles Band
Actors: Sherilyn Fenn, Malcolm Jamieson, Charlie Spradling, Hilary Mason
Category: Fantasy

MirrorMask (2005)

11 February 20078 January 2025

Rating: ★★★★

Fantastical Dream World

Director: Dave McKean
Actors: Stephanie Leonidas, Rob Brydon, Jason Barry, Gina McKee, …
Category: Fantasy

The Mutations (1974)

24 December 200221 April 2020

Rating: ½

Mad Scientist

Director: Jack Cardiff
Actors: Donald Pleasence, Tom Baker, Brad Harris, Michael Dunn, …
Category: Horror

The New Adventures of Pinocchio (1999)

8 January 20119 June 2020

Rating: ½

Living Puppet Boy

Director: Michael Anderson
Actors: Martin Landau, Udo Kier, Sarah Alexander, Simon Schatzberger, …
Category: Fantasy

Nightmare Alley (1947)

5 February 200314 June 2024

Rating: ★★★★

Fake Clairvoyant/Predestination

Director: Edmund Goulding
Actors: Tyrone Power, Joan Blondell, Coleen Gray, Helen Walker, …
Category: Fantasy

Nightmare Alley (2021)

12 February 202215 December 2022

Rating: ★★★★

Fake Clairvoyant/Predestination

Director: Guillermo Del Toro
Actors: Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Willem Dafoe, …
Category: Fantasy

Octopussy (1983)

15 July 200012 December 2022

Rating: ★★

James Bond Film

Director: John Glen
Actors: Roger Moore, Maud Adams, Louis Jourdan, Kristina Wayborn, …
Category: Science Fiction

Pinocchio (1940)

8 July 20055 December 2024

Rating: ★★★★★

Disney Animation/Living Puppet Boy

Director: Hamilton Luske, Ben Sharpsteen
Category: Fantasy

Pinocchio (2019)

13 June 202020 July 2023

Rating: ★★★★

Living Puppet Boy

Director: Matteo Garrone
Actors: Federico Ielapi, Roberto Benigni, Massimo Ceccherini, Rocco Papaleo, …
Category: Fantasy

Pinocchio (2022)

16 September 202224 May 2025

Rating: ★★

Living Puppet Boy/Disney Remake

Director: Robert Zemeckis
Actors: Tom Hanks, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Benjamin Evans Ainsworth, Keegan-Michael Key, …
Category: Fantasy

Quicksilver Highway (1997)

14 July 201020 February 2025

Rating: ★★

Horror Anthology

Director: Mick Garris
Actors: Christopher Lloyd, Matt Frewer, Missy Crider, Raphael Sbarge, …
Category: Horror

Santa Sangre (1989)

31 July 201028 June 2021

Rating: ★★★★

Surrealism/Psychologically Disturbed Mime Artist

Director: Alejandro Jodorowsky
Actors: Axel Jodorowsky, Guy Stockwell, Adan Jodorowsky
Category: Fantasy

The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019)

8 September 201925 May 2023

Rating: ★★★

Animation/Talking Animals

Director: Chris Renaud
Actors: Patton Oswalt, Kevin Hart, Harrison Ford, Lake Bell, …
Category: Fantasy

Shadows and Fog (1991)

8 June 20015 February 2024

Rating: ★★

Kafka and German Expressionism Homage

Director: Woody Allen
Actors: Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, John Malkovich, John Cusack, …
Category: Fantasy

She Freak (1967)

9 May 20249 May 2024

Rating: ★★★

Circus Horrors

Director: Byron Mabe
Actors: Claire Brennan, Lee Raymond, Bill McKinney, Claude Earl Jones, …
Category: Horror

Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)

2 February 20013 November 2020

Rating: ★★★★

Sinister Circus/Ray Bradbury Adaptation

Director: Jack Clayton
Actors: Jason Robards, Jonathan Pryce, Vidal I. Peterson, Shawn Carson, …
Category: Fantasy

Spawn (1997)

8 March 200813 February 2023

Rating: ★★

Demon Superhero/Comic-Book Adaptation

Director: Mark A.Z. Dippé
Actors: Michael Jai White, John Leguizamo, Martin Sheen, D.B. Sweeney, …
Category: Fantasy

Torture Garden (1967)

28 June 200224 September 2024

Rating: ★★

Horror Anthology

Director: Freddie Francis
Actors: Peter Cushing, Jack Palance, Burgess Meredith, Michael Bryant, …
Category: Horror

The Unknown (1927)

14 July 20001 May 2024

Rating: ★★★★

Love and Amputation

Director: Tod Browning
Actors: Lon Chaney, Joan Crawford, Norman Kerry
Category: Horror

Vampire Circus (1972)

18 March 20058 September 2022

Rating: ★★★

Circus of Vampires/Hammer Film

Director: Robert Young
Actors: Adrienne Corri, Thorley Walters, John Moulder-Brown, Anthony Corlan, …
Category: Horror

Victor Frankenstein (2015)

5 December 20152 June 2025

Rating: ★

Frankenstein Adaptation

Director: Paul McGuigan
Actors: Daniel Radcliffe, James McAvoy, Jessica Brown-Findlay, Andrew Scott, …
Category: Horror

What Josiah Saw (2021)

20 February 202320 February 2023

Rating: ★★★½

Southern Gothic

Director: Vincent Grashaw
Actors: Robert Patrick, Nick Stahl, Scott Haze, Kelli Garner, …
Category: Horror

Where the Devil Roams (2023)

3 May 202412 September 2024

Rating: ★★★

Circus Horrors/Cross-Country Murder Spree

Director: John Adams, Zelda Adams, Toby Poser
Actors: Toby Poser, John Adams, Zelda Adams, Sam Rodd, …
Category: Horror

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Contact Moria

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Theme Essays

  • Films About Atlantis
  • Werewolf Films
  • Virtual Reality
  • Imprisonment Thrillers
  • Films Depicting NASA and the Space Program
  • Human Bloodsports and Death Games
  • Animals Attack Films
  • Films About Plague and Pandemic
  • Disaster Movies
  • Steampunk Films
  • Documentaries
  • Films About Halloween
  • Films About Prophecy
  • Magicians and Sorcerers
  • Secret Societies
  • Real-Life People in Fiction
  • Techno-Thrillers
  • Twins in Fantastic Cinema
  • Asylums
  • Possession Films
  • Films About Imaginary and Magical Lands
  • Religion in Fantastic Cinema
  • Romantic Comedies
  • Film Noir
  • Spy Films
  • Jekyll and Hyde Films
  • Films That Make Dubious Claims to Being True Stories
  • Coming of Age Stories in Fantastic Cinema
  • Films About Cryogenics and Suspended Animation
  • Alternate History Films
  • Disturbed Psychology as Portrayed on Film
  • Law Enforcement in Fantastic Cinema
  • Weird Westerns
∧

Copyright Richard Scheib 1999-2025

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