Circus of Horrors

Circus of Horrors follows psychotic plastic surgeon Dr. Schuler (Anton Diffring) as he and his two cronies (Jane Hylton’s Angela and Kenneth Griffith’s Martin) inexplicably take control of a remote circus, with the film subsequently detailing Schuler’s ongoing efforts at transforming the circus into a top attraction – which he accomplishes by murdering any and all performers that attempt to leave his employ. Circus of Horrors gets off to an impossibly underwhelming start and only grows more and more tedious as it progresses, as filmmaker Sidney Hayers, working from George Baxt’s screenplay, offers up a slow-moving atmosphere that’s compounded by the inclusion of decidedly baffling elements (eg Schuler is on the run for deforming a woman yet he goes out of his way to help a little girl; why?) This is hardly as problematic as the mind-numbingly repetitive nature of the film’s midsection, however, with the narrative primarily detailing the behind-the-scenes exploits of the circus’ various workers (as well as the many, many performances that logically ensue). The movie’s increasingly dull atmosphere is perpetuated by its continued emphasis on melodrama, and although Hayers has peppered the proceedings with a few grisly, suspenseful sequences (eg a knife thrower accidentally kills his assistant), Circus of Horrors ultimately comes off as a tedious and downright worthless endeavor that also, on top of everything else, features a bland, frequently unintelligible villain.

1/2* out of ****