Delays are bound to happen when making movies, but something was clearly wrong when Amusement was postponed not once but twice in 2008. It wasn’t long before John Simpson’s American directorial debut was removed from the theatrical schedule altogether and then later dropped on DVD that following year. Although going from the big-screen to direct-to-video is an undeserved fate in some cases, this movie’s new destination was understandable. The unfavorable feedback from an early test screening — the word “disastrous” was tossed around — forced Warner Bros to salvage the potential flop now on its hands. Nevertheless, the negative consensus hasn’t stopped Amusement from amassing a small fan base over the years; its followers focus on this panned movie’s few merits rather than its many shortcomings.
At first, Amusement looks to be an anthology; this horror movie’s first three acts are well defined and almost function as standalone short features.
At first, Amusement looks to be an anthology; this horror movie’s first three acts are well defined and almost function as standalone short features.
- 1/18/2024
- by Paul Lê
- bloody-disgusting.com
Veteran BBC journalist John Simpson has told of his guilt at the “devastating effect” on his teenage son of him risking his life as a war reporter in Ukraine and elsewhere.
Simpson, 78, said son Rafe, 16, physically blocked his path to try to stop him jetting off to cover a foreign conflict out of fears for his safety.
“That poor little boy, he’d stand at the front door as I was leaving with his arms across to try to stop me,” said the BBC world affairs editor.
“It’s devastating and has clearly had an effect on him. One of his teachers told me he can tell when I’m on an assignment because Rafe’s behaviour changes.
“I had just came back from Ukraine and the teacher said: ‘He sits looking out of the window and doesn’t join discussions’.”
Rafe was “a lovely kid” and he was “absolutely...
Simpson, 78, said son Rafe, 16, physically blocked his path to try to stop him jetting off to cover a foreign conflict out of fears for his safety.
“That poor little boy, he’d stand at the front door as I was leaving with his arms across to try to stop me,” said the BBC world affairs editor.
“It’s devastating and has clearly had an effect on him. One of his teachers told me he can tell when I’m on an assignment because Rafe’s behaviour changes.
“I had just came back from Ukraine and the teacher said: ‘He sits looking out of the window and doesn’t join discussions’.”
Rafe was “a lovely kid” and he was “absolutely...
- 2/19/2023
- by Simon Walters
- The Independent - TV
Director John Simpson's Amusement was largely overlooked upon its release in 2008. Which is a shame, because the film deserves better. I wasn't expecting much from it when I discovered it in a second-hand DVD bin last night for a whopping 3 bucks, but the clown on the cover looked creepy, so I decided to give it a try. I was soon pleasantly surprised to find myself enjoying it. The script is playfully sinister and you can never quite tell e…...
- 12/9/2011
- Horrorbid
We've finally gotten around to dissecting the creepy little horror film 'Amusement' which released earlier this year on DVD. Check out our Amusement Movie Review and gander at the official synopsis below. We've included the trailer under that as well. Enjoy.
Official Synopsis:
Tabitha. Shelby. Lisa. They're longtime friends on separate life paths. But they share a horrific destination when a seemingly innocent incident from their school days comes back to terrify them.
Something someone wants payback: warped vengeance…mind-games vengeance…taunting, shredding, slashing vengeance. Inside a stonewalled chamber of prison cells and mechanisms of doom, the three women and other victims face a fierce fight to survive. Who lives? Who dies? It's all for someones Amusement.
From screenwriter Jake Wade Wall (The Hitcher) and director John Simpson (Freeze Frame) comes a new film foray into horror. Turn down the lights. Turn up the fear.
Amusement Trailer:
Official...
Official Synopsis:
Tabitha. Shelby. Lisa. They're longtime friends on separate life paths. But they share a horrific destination when a seemingly innocent incident from their school days comes back to terrify them.
Something someone wants payback: warped vengeance…mind-games vengeance…taunting, shredding, slashing vengeance. Inside a stonewalled chamber of prison cells and mechanisms of doom, the three women and other victims face a fierce fight to survive. Who lives? Who dies? It's all for someones Amusement.
From screenwriter Jake Wade Wall (The Hitcher) and director John Simpson (Freeze Frame) comes a new film foray into horror. Turn down the lights. Turn up the fear.
Amusement Trailer:
Official...
- 11/19/2010
- by admin
- MoreHorror
Hello hello, the Coroner here with another installment of the Report, this time focusing on the direct to DVD and Blu-ray Amusement. The film is writer Jake Wade Wall's first foray into something original, he previously penned the remakes of The Hitcher and the atrocious When a Stranger Calls. Working with his own material, Wall does a decently good job, though with obvious flaws. Director John Simpson is similarly inexperienced, but manages to craft a pretty good movie with one section that is absolutely awesome. This little film came out a good while ago and I've been meaning to catch up with it for months now. The cover is a spooky clown and it stars a couple of women, I mean how bad can it be? The story is broken up into basically three sections. The first serves as an introduction to our killer as he does what he does best - look kind of nerdy...
- 10/15/2009
- by Robert Fure
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Chicago – We apologize to the people behind these four titles but the star power is a little dim in this edition of HollywoodChicago.com’s DVD Round Up. When a canceled vampire series is arguably the biggest release in a four-pack of titles, it’s a weird edition of the Round Up. Prepare yourself.
“Amusement,” “City of Ember,” “College,” and “Moonlight”. A straight-to-dvd horror movie, a TV series cancelled after one year, and two movies that barely opened in theaters and made a Combined $13 million in domestic gross. These titles are for specialized audiences but that’s why we love the Round Up. Enjoy.
“Amusement,” “City of Ember,” and “Moonlight: The Complete Series” were released on January 20th, 2009. “College” was released on January 27th, 2009.
“Amusement”
Photo credit: Warner Brothers “Amusement” is one of those movies that you pass at the video store and wonder, “What the heck is that?...
“Amusement,” “City of Ember,” “College,” and “Moonlight”. A straight-to-dvd horror movie, a TV series cancelled after one year, and two movies that barely opened in theaters and made a Combined $13 million in domestic gross. These titles are for specialized audiences but that’s why we love the Round Up. Enjoy.
“Amusement,” “City of Ember,” and “Moonlight: The Complete Series” were released on January 20th, 2009. “College” was released on January 27th, 2009.
“Amusement”
Photo credit: Warner Brothers “Amusement” is one of those movies that you pass at the video store and wonder, “What the heck is that?...
- 1/27/2009
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
I don’t really think that either the writer (Jake Wade Hall, The Hitcher) or director (John Simpson, Freeze Frame) of Amusement would take it as much of an insult if they heard me say that the film delivered exactly what it promised. I took one look at the DVD box, and presumed that this was going to be a film about a weird guy with some sort of clown fixation who killed off young, attractive women for reasons that really only make sense to him. I wasn’t too far off. The film opens with vignettes(kind of Creepshow-style) of three young women: Shelby (Laura Breckenridge), who is driving home on the highway with her boyfriend; Tabitha (Katheryn Winnick), who is babysitting her two nephews (real-life brothers Preston and Brennan Bailey); and Lisa (Jessica Lucas), who is looking for her missing room-mate. They’re unconnected, or are they? Well,...
- 1/20/2009
- by Anders Nelson
- JustPressPlay.net
Three former childhood friends -- Tabitha (Katheryn Winnick), Lisa (Jessica Lucas) and Shelby (Laura Breckenridge) -- find themselves at the mercy of a madman obsessed with terrifying them for his own personal amusement. One by one they are trapped within his spacious industrially gothic lair and if they don't play his game he might just decide the whole lot of them are better off dead. On and off the theatrical calendar for over a year, thanks to Warner Bros.' internal absorption of New Line and Picturehouse the horror-thriller Amusement makes its premiere on DVD in all its completely unoriginal glory. Granted, this little Saw meets "The Twilight Zone" wannabe has its effective moments, with a couple of moments burrowing under my skin far more than I'd expected them to, but Jake Wade Wall's screenplay is every bit as asinine and as mind-numbingly idiotic as his ones for remakes...
- 1/20/2009
- by Sara Michelle Fetters
- Rope of Silicon
The official site for Amusement, the long-delayed anthology from Warner Bros, has finally opened its doors to the public, offering up new images and more information for the film which is skipping its planned theatrical release and going straight to DVD on January 20th.
The story follows three women who are stalked by a psycho from their past who they believed had long forgotten about them. Now a sick series of games are played on the three girls, along with other hapless victims, as the killer finally gets some long-delayed retribution.
Jake Wade Wall (When a Stranger Calls redux) penned the film, which was directed by Freeze Frame helmer John Simpson. Some of the images on the site are pretty cool, I have to admit; I just hope the film itself was worth the wait. Check out the official Amusement site here for more!
Amusement Trailer
Uploaded by dreadcentral
-...
The story follows three women who are stalked by a psycho from their past who they believed had long forgotten about them. Now a sick series of games are played on the three girls, along with other hapless victims, as the killer finally gets some long-delayed retribution.
Jake Wade Wall (When a Stranger Calls redux) penned the film, which was directed by Freeze Frame helmer John Simpson. Some of the images on the site are pretty cool, I have to admit; I just hope the film itself was worth the wait. Check out the official Amusement site here for more!
Amusement Trailer
Uploaded by dreadcentral
-...
- 1/5/2009
- by Johnny Butane
- DreadCentral.com
Some goods news and some bad news. The bad news is that the long delayed Amusement won't be hitting theaters. The good news is that it'll be available on DVD and Blu-ray on January 20th from Warner Home Entertainment (where's my Trick 'R Treat?!). Keir O'Donnell, Katheryn Winnick, Laura Breckenridge, Jessica Lucas, Tad Hilgenbrinck all star in the film directed by John Simpson. Jake Wade Wall's script centers on a traumatized woman who's questioned by a cop and a psychiatrist about three stories -- involving a clown, a hotel and a convoy -- that involve her and two of her female friends from childhood.
- 11/14/2008
- bloody-disgusting.com
Warner Picturehouse's long-delayed anthology horror movie written by Jake Wade Wall ( When a Stranger Calls ), Amusement , is bowing in the U.S. on DVD (and Blu-ray) January 20th after all. Following well over a year of speculation about whether it will get a theatrical release, the movie was handed over to New Line Home Entertainment for distribution duties. And there you have it, a DVD release with no special features to speak of. Cover art front and back can be found below. Directed by John Simpson - and starring Jessica Lucas, Tad Hilgenbrink, Keir O'Donnell and Katheryn Winnick - Amusement is a trio of terror tales involving a young woman and her friends who are preyed upon by someone from their past.
- 11/14/2008
- shocktillyoudrop.com
I remember seeing all sorts of cool stuff at the 2007 San Diego Comic Con for Picturehouse's horror anthology, Amusement, which has since gone under reshoots and varius edits over the past two years. Now that Picturehouse has closed its doors, it;s up to Warner Bros. to choose what to do with this pic. Will you ever see it? Who knows... I wish they'd just dump it on DVD already. Anyways, it looks like it might be getting a release internationally as new stills have arisen, read on to check 'em out. Directed by John Simpson from a screenplay by Jack Wade Wall, the film stars Keir O'Donnell, Katheryn Winnick, Laura Breckenridge, Jessica Lucas and Tad Hilgenbrinck.
- 10/15/2008
- bloody-disgusting.com
NEW YORK -- First Look Media has acquired worldwide rights, excluding the United Kingdom, to writer-helmer John Simpson's futuristic thriller Freeze Frame. Starring Lee Evans (There's Something About Mary), Rachael Stirling and Colin Salmon, the film premiered this year at the Tribeca Film Festival. Frame follows Evans as a man who nearly escapes a murder conviction and spirals into paranoia, recording in detail his every move via camera should the police accuse him again. When the body of a murdered woman surfaces, Evans is targeted as the prime suspect.
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