George A. Romero is a stone-cold legend who almost singlehandedly created a horror subgenre that is, as you can see, still going strong today. So it'd probably be a pretty big deal if someone just, like, unearthed the filmmaker's lost and mostly unseen film The Amusement Park and streamed it for the first time in history. Anyway, that exact thing is happening: Horror streamer Shudder announced today it has acquired the rights to The Amusement Park and will present a copy restored in 4k this summer.
“The moment we heard The Amusement Park had been rediscovered and was being restored, we knew we had to bring this unseen George A. Romero masterpiece to Shudder members,” Craig Engler, Shudder’s General Manager, said in a statement. “We’re beyond thrilled to work with Yellow Veil Pictures, Suzanne, and the George A. Romero Foundation to give this important film the wide release it deserves.”
Completed in 1975, The Amusement Park follows Lincoln Maazel (Martin) as an elderly man growing increasingly disoriented and detached from reality, as his troubles with growing old in the United States take shape around him in the form of roller coasters and chaotic crowds. Two years ago, author Daniel Kraus got his hands on a copy and called it “hugely upsetting in form & function," so obviously we're hyped as hell over here.
The film was restored by IndieCollect, partnering with the George A. Romero Foundation. Said Desrocher-Romero, founder and president of the foundation, in a statement:
“We at the G.A.R.F are thrilled that after this long journey, this Lutheran’s society’s industrial with its poignant message will finally get its light! The first and only work-for-hire in Romero’s career sheds a new perspective on an ongoing issue of ageism and Romero’s uncanny sense of reflection on society, and the Romero ‘footprint’ is ever present and bodes well for the future of his impact on American cinema. We are thankful to Yellow Veil Pictures who helped forge a path for us to find the most perfect custodian for this piece. Shudder understands that this film adds an important element to the Romero oeuvre. We are grateful."
Check out The Amusement Park poster below. The film will be available to stream—again, for the first time ever! what a time to be alive!—this summer.
