Cheap Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park (Video) (Gordon Hessler) Price

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Customer Reviews of Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park

Please, release it on DVD!
I saw this movie on TV once, Way Back When. I didn't understand it then, and I still don't now, but one thing's for sure; this movie *must* be released on DVD! It's a cult classic, right up there with "Plan 9 From Outer Space" in its' (unintentional) badness. KISS fans, unite; petition the band to get this movie released on Special Edition DVD--featuring a "making of" documentary, of course!!! 'Nuff said.

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"The Phantom"
There is only about 30 minutes worth of actual KISS members in the film, but there is some outstanding live in-concert film from the show at Magic Mountain in the spring of 1978. Some of the show is the actual live recording, not dubbed music. This is the made for TV movie that came out on Halloween of 1978.

I believe this video is out of print, so grab it if you can find it somewhere. A must for any diehard KISS fan.

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"Its the cosmic forcefield that protects our talisman."
I think it helps if you're a KISS fan to enjoy this movie as much as I do, but I loaned it to a friend who was never into them at all and it became a cult favorite of his which he quotes to this day. This 1978 masterpiece was directed by Gordon Hessler who did tv shows like Hawaii 5-0, Kung Fu, and Wonder Woman and I think the influence is apparent. Also, the film is produced by Hanna-Barbera (as in Yogi Bear & the Flintstones) and that influence is extremely present!

The plot! involves KISS playing live at Magic Mountain where there is lots of cool things going on like a Peter Criss look a like contest! Anthony Zerbe (Omega Man, First Deadly Sin) plays the mentally unstable Abner Devereaux (the Phantom), creator of all the rides at the park and also the machanical apes. Anyway, he starts losing it when some biker dorks mess with his ride so he sends them to his haunted house to get sucked down these big pipes and....wo! My brain stings...hang on. Ok, so Abner ends up losing his job and he totally flips out and creates a little microchip thing that fits behind the ear and turns whoever is wearing it into a mindless robot. He's also jealous of KISS, not to mention hates their music so he creates a duplicate KISS to destroy the original KISS. Whew!

Watching KISS try to act is endless fun. Gene has a few lines like "Starchild!" and other times just opens his mouth and a prerecorded animal growl comes out! Paul says stuff like "Easy Catman, these guys are serious." and shoots a laser beam out his eye so he can listen to what people are saying far away. Ace says "Ack" and can teleport the whole band out of sticky situations (like when be attacked by samurais or cat people in disco suits, stuff like that.). I never found out what Peter's power was but I know his real voice isn't in the film, its a famous cartoon voice like Aquaman or something. He does have some great lines like "without them we'd be ordinary human beings." This is in response to a question about their talisman, which are these little glowing objects they keep in a little briefcase in their apartment. They get their powers from these things you see. Anyway lots of KISS tunes and scenes that are pricelessly cheesy and unintentionally (I think) hilarious. Like when the cops go to question KISS about a Gene look alike bashing up property in the park and all 4 of them are sitting on high lifeguard stools at their pool dressed in their normal black leather and also silver hooded robes sweating their butts off! This scene always gets me. "Rock and rollers don't bathe."

I found this at a dept. store for cheap on VHS and now I wish I would've bought more copies because it's very out of print. I hope it comes to DVD someday but KISS aren't very proud of it so they probably want it to be buried. However, since KISS will usually sell anything for a buck including a big coffin with their autographs on it, maybe their greed will make them put this timeless cheezeball from 1978 on special edition DVD with interviews about why they hate it! I love this movie! "Rip & Destroy!"