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| "I'm so horny!!! No pun intended!" |
Over multiple films, The Devil's
Carnival would chronicle a war between Heaven and Hell, with Hell cast as
the good guys: anarchic antiheroes rebelling against a cruel and megalomaniacal
God. Three years later (totally independent filmmaking takes time) part 2 is
finally here... and it is more than worth the wait. Again the project has grown
in ambition and scope: this time it isn't an hour-long episode, but a
100-minute feature that is easily the best and most mature of their three
collaborations. It certainly continues the larger ongoing series, but it also
stands as a very good film in its own right. With a strongly-written story,
thoughtful attention to its main characters, fantastic art design, and a
wonderfully eclectic approach to its music, Alleluia! more than lives up
to the potential developed by its predecessor.
The first Devil's
Carnival is, without any doubt, a pilot episode, and it works best when
viewed as such. It's a really good pilot episode, but it needs to be viewed
with that storytelling intention in mind: it doesn't want to be a stand-alone
movie like Repo!, and if you try to watch it like one, it is somewhat
disorienting. The short feature does have some self-contained plot threads, but
its primary goal is to launch a series; to introduce viewers to the characters
and their world, and to set up the conflict between Hell and Heaven which will
form the ongoing story arc. Alleluia!, on the other hand, makes full use
of its running time to focus as much on its own self-contained plot as the
larger serialized one. The result shifts the series from a TV-show storytelling
model to a film-franchise model, and is much more narratively satisfying.
We get two
stories this time around, running in parallel. In the present, Lucifer (writer
Terrance Zdunich) strikes the first blows of his war against God (Paul
Sorvino), and readies his hellish band of antiheroes. Simultaneously in
flashback, we see firsthand the cruel, corrupt fascism beneath the shiny facade
of Heaven, through the tragic backstory of one of Hell's most haunting
inhabitants, The Painted Doll (singer/violinist Emilie Autumn). While Episode
1 thoroughly developed the surreal gothic carnival that is Hell, Alleluia!
equally develops Heaven: a fascinating, multi-layered place of opulent 1920s
glamor and corrupt Orwellian backstabbing. It also expands the series'
already-impressive ensemble cast into a nearly-ridiculous who's-who of horror actors,
Broadway stars, and rock musicians. Lucifer's macabre cast includes, in
addition to Autumn's Painted Doll, Marc Senter (Starry Eyes), Bill
Moseley (The Devil's Rejects), Ogre from Skinny Puppy, and Dayton Callie
(Sons of Anarchy). God has gathered an equally impressive ensemble
including Adam Pascal (Rent), Ted Neeley (Jesus Christ Superstar),
Barry Bostwick (The Rocky Horror Picture Show), David Hasselhoff, Jimmy
Urine from Mindless Self-Indulgence, Chantal Claret from Morningwood, and Tech
N9ne.
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| "Wanna know how I got these scars?" |
Emilie Autumn
carries the emotional weight of this whole plotline, in what amounts to her
first acting performance; she played The Doll in the first Devil's Carnival,
of course, but this is the first time she's had any substantial amount of
non-musical dialogue. And she is fantastic, stealing the show from almost
everyone; this is one hell of a dramatic debut. Adam Pascal, who originated the
role of Roger in Rent, is equally strong opposite her as The Agent.
Naturally he's great, with the prestige that he brings to the role; it's a
further testament to Autumn's performance that they're on such equal footing as
actors. Their powerful singing voices also give the film two of its best songs.
Terrance Zdunich and Paul Sorvino are excellent as Lucifer and God, both
bringing different brands of gravitas to their mythically huge characters.
Sorvino plays God like an early-20th-century gangster; a metaphysical Vito
Corleone. And Zdunich is the one guy that no one could possibly steal the show
from: his magnetic presence and resonant baritone voice make him the ultimate
film portrayal of the Devil.
While the
other members of the ensemble have smaller parts, they serve a very important
purpose: making this large, complicated world feel real by showing how it works
as only a large slice of the population can. Zdunich has said that he hates the
overuse of exposition in musicals, where the words take front and center, and
he wanted to minimize that as much as possible in Alleluia! by crafting
a world through subtexts of characters' actions, rather than things they
directly say or sing. The songs, for the most part, don't directly further the
story so much as they give depth to the world and its inhabitants. By observing
the cogs in the machine, we gradually get a sense of how the whole machine
works.
However,
while the main leads are all well-balanced in the acting and singing
departments, there is a bit of unevenness in the supporting cast. Some people
were clearly chosen either because of their talents as musicians or their
talents as actors, and they aren't quite as strong in the other department.
Jimmy Urine and Chantal Claret, for example, are here because of their very
particular vocal styles – which they bring to a solid duet number – but their
acting leaves something to be desired. Their performances are so
over-the-top-slapstick that they clash with the film's otherwise very
consistent tone. Barry Bostwick has the opposite issue: he is quite good in a
camp-villain role that goes just the right amount of over-the-top, but gets
stuck with a weaker song that doesn't compliment his more limited vocal range.
But these are ultimately minor complaints; for the most part the supporting
players are quite good, and their smaller roles make strong use of their
particular talents. In the cases of Ted Neeley and David Hasselhoff, they also
get chances to play off of their star images, and they both have a lot of fun
with it. Hasselhoff in particular gives an effortlessly natural, self-aware
performance as a scenery-chewing diva; heavenly indeed.
The music in Alleluia!
is great, and marks a bold break from the previous Devil's Carnival
film. While there are still a few numbers in the rock, goth, and industrial
veins that Repo! and TDC Episode 1 would lead you to expect, most
of the music this time is wildly different: very eclectic, and heavily
vintage-inspired. Just as Heaven is decorated in Roaring-Twenties decadence and
1930s big-band night-club styles, the music there draws from theater's past. There
are swing songs, Cole Porter-style numbers, an homage to Cabaret, and
more. Stylistically it still maintains its gothic rock opera personality, but
so thoroughly mixing it up musically is a bold and welcome choice. The series
is sure enough of its identity that it can comfortably play with form and genre
in creative ways that benefit the story; it doesn't feel the need to stick to
the obvious styles just to show its edge. The music is rich and multi-layered
enough that multiple viewings (or multiple listenings to the soundtrack CD) are
somewhere between helpful and necessary to unpack everything that Zdunich has
loaded in. I can't think of a higher compliment to the music than that; he
chose complicated artistry over pop accessibility, and created something worth
coming back to and analyzing.
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| "Like a poor man's Liberace......." |
When the
touring theatrical screening makes its way to your city, Alleluia! The
Devil's Carnival is definitely one to go see. While the first installment
had its flaws, and worked best when viewed as a pilot episode, this sequel
fully realizes all the potential for which its predecessor laid the groundwork.
It's the strongest and most mature of Zdunich and Bousman's three rock opera
collaborations, and the world they have created with this series is wonderfully
unique. As the carnival grows, hopefully we'll get episode 3 a bit sooner than
three years from now; it's definitely a world I would like to return to, the
sooner the better.
Score
- Christopher
S. Jordan
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