KISS MEETS THE PHANTOM OF THE PARK... what a film! I first encountered this film as a Movie-Of-The Week on TV when I was about nine years old. I thought it was great then, of course, because back then (late '70s) ANYTHING Kiss-related was "great." When I saw it again years later on the late movie I found it hard to keep my drink from spraying out of my nose while I laughed hysterically through the entire movie. I ran out and found the movie on VHS the next day and spent many a happy Saturday night during college exposing my friends to this underrated gem. It became a surrogate "Rocky Horror" midnight movie for the metal heads in my dorm. The other posts on this movie have already beaten the "plot" (or lack thereof) to death so I don't need to berate it any further. Let's just say this: the script is hilariously bad, as are the performances, the special effects, etc., etc. But for KISS fans this is mandatory viewing at least once. In fact, I use this film as a litmus test when speaking to other KISS fans to find out how hardcore they are. I ask "Have you seen KISS MEETS THE PHANTOM?" and if they answer "Yes," I ask "How many times?" If the answer is more than five times, then I know I'm in the company of a hardcore member of the KISS Army. The band may hate this movie (I believe they even sued a DVD distributor recently for releasing the film on DVD and had it taken out of circulation) but I simply can't get enough of the Star-Child ("you're looking for someone...but it's not KISS"), Space Ace ("Insufficient data, Starchild! ACK!"), the Demon (There ARE no right hands but OURS!"), and the Cat Man ("Gene's brother was an only child!")in action. It's a bad movie to end all bad movies. I love bad movies, and I love KISS, so for me it's a match made in heaven.
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MetalGeek16 January 2006
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b5erik13 June 2004Consider this: In 1978 Wonder Woman was a fairly decent sized hit TV series. Cheese and camp were in. KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park originally was planned (and scripted) as "Star Wars meets A Hard Day's Night." Unfortunately, the network censors decided that it was too violent and too serious for all the kids that would likely be watching, so the script was toned down. After 3 or 4 re-writes the script hardly resembled that which the band and their management agreed to, but they had already signed their contracts, so...
Out came KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park to TV screens in the Fall of 1978. It was bad, unintentionally funny in spots, and yet - it was still kind of cool if you "got it." The idea of KISS as superheroes was a natural, and, in fact, it followed the two Marvel Comics KISS special issues from 1977 & 1978 - including the idea of where they got their powers. There are some ideas in the story that if fleshed out and written well could have made for a good TV movie. Unfortunately Hanna Barbera was running the show, and turned it into a live action cartoon - with the approval (and outright urging) of NBC. The band so hated the script that even Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons - the guys in the band with good work ethic and aspirations of becoming serious Hollywood actors someday - didn't bother to study their lines. They just had their lines barked out to them and repeated them for each take. Peter Criss, as has been noted many times, didn't even bother to show up for the "looping," or overdubbing of his voice to fix the spots where the audio recording wasn't up to par (and had his voice replaced by a cartoon voice actor throughout the film as a result). Ace Frehley also seems disinterested for most of the movie (and as he was, and still is, a big Science Fiction fan that shows just how unhappy he was with the script - and the film-making process in general).
Anthony Zerbe and Carmine Caridi, however, do their best to salvage something out of this mess. They give solid, fairly believable performances despite dialog that is often cheesy, and despite their characters being written as cardboard cut-outs rather than 3 dimensional people. Kudos to them, they clearly were (and still are) professionals.
The highlights of the movie end up being the music and the cheesy fight scenes - and maybe the interplay between Zerbe's Abner Deveraux and Caridi's Calvin Richards. KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park can be fun to watch IF you go into it expecting a cheesy 70's superhero camp movie. If that's all you expect, then it meets and exceeds those expectations. It's a great bit of nostalgia as well.
KISS survived this movie, but just barely. A year later they had a huge hit with their Dynasty album, but then saw Peter Criss leave the band, with Ace Frehley following suit a couple of years later. They saw their fortunes fade for a few years (despite the introduction of the late, great Eric Carr on drums in 1980) before their career revival minus the make-up with albums like Lick It Up, Animalize, Asylum, and Revenge. In 1996 the original group got back together for a wildly successful reunion that lasted for 5 years. Once again, Peter Criss and Ace Frehley proved to be too unstable and erratic to continue in the band, and they each ended up leaving KISS (or being asked to leave) for a second time. Despite a "Farewell Tour" in 2000-2001 KISS still continues today, and they still hate this movie. But like a veteran telling war stories, they still tell the tale of making this movie, and of how a great idea was turned into something profoundly stupid yet still strangely compelling. -
This is such a terrible movie that i can't help but love it. It's so pointless! The plot is terrible, it looks like it was shot on a broken VHS camera by someone with a blindfold on. The acting really couldn't be any worse but the music is good apart from when the evil Kiss robots do a show. Can anyone tell me why Beth is in there, yeah it's a good song but it's not set-up, no-one comments on it and everyone is just posing... absurdly. The thing i love the most though is how Gene strides around in his platforms, he looks like he's been riding a horse for too long! It's such fun it has to be watched and absolutely essential if your in danger of taking Kiss too seriously...
These are the reasons why i hate this film and the reasons why i love it. Don't ask me how that works i'm as confused as you. -
spidey0218816 April 2003Yes, the movie is horrible, and yes it is an embarrassment. However, if you grew up with KISS in the 1970's this movie will be very near and dear to your heart. The fact that this movie was even made is a testament to the KISS phenomenon of the 70's. It isn't so much a movie as it is a magical moment in time captured.
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heekiesavin24 May 2005I can remember in 1978 when this movie came out. It was aired on October 29th, just 2 days before Halloween. The anticipation for this movie was kind of like being a kid at Christmas time. You know on Tuesday of this week that Rudolph is on Friday of next week. The days can't go by quick enough, and you anxiously await for it to finally air. Well finally, it did. At 12 years old, and being a huge KISS fanatic, that was the best movie ever. I can remember the next day, every kid in the neighborhood talking about the movie, and for about a week, playing KISS vs their robot doubles. To the hard core KISS fan, the tunes rocked. Rock And Roll All Nite started off the opening credits. Again....at 12 years old, it was magic.
Now enter 8 years later. The age of the VCR's, and cable TV. I had noticed in TV Guide that KISS Meets The Phantom of the Park was going to be on....next week. Just like 1978, I had to go through the anticipation phase again. But the night finally came, and I had the VCR and brand new tape all set. My movie finally aired. I watched it.......and it was totally and completely one of the most dumbest movies I had ever seen in my life. Needless to say....the movie didn't have the same impact on me as it did 8 years prior. I had come to realize that aside from wasting my money on a blank tape, I had just wasted 2 hours of my life that I will never be able to get back. The songs were still great, and the concert footage was good, but the acting was absolutely horrible. At least Gene went on to do a couple better movies a few years down the road(Runaway, Wanted Dead or Alive).
Because of this disappointment I experienced, I had come to the decision that I would never buy this video. I have since seen it on Ebay, record stores, movie stores, etc. And for cheap money at that. But I know deep down inside I'll either never watch it, or I'll start to watch it and get bored rather quickly. I find it better to hold it as a childhood memory.
In a note to the previous posting about Peter Criss' voice being re-dubbed because it was awful.....perhaps. The real reason is (as stated by Paul Stanley of KISS in the KISS home video Extreme Closeup)...the reason for the different voice is because....after the filming of the movie, the band had to go back to the studio to do what was called looping (re-taping their voices). Peter Criss would never show up, so another person had to do his voice. -
sadclownrep5 February 2004SPOILERS!!!
It take a rare combinations of elements for a truly awful movie to achieve legendary status. Most bad movies vanish into well-deserved obscurity. Sometimes, however, one is so bad that it rises above its own failings and turns into an inadvertently entertaining nugget of, well, not gold, but something precious. "Plan Nine From Outer Space," "Showgirls," and, yes, "Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park" fall into this category.
This movie is entertaining for all of the wrong reasons. I think it was meant to be a kind of drama or thriller or at least a movie that made Kiss seem cool. It turned out to be a campy nightmare of badly dubbed voices, embarrassing acting, cheesy stunts and (best of all) some of the most marvelously wooden dialogue this side of "Josie and the Pussycats." That Kiss survived to once again be one of the great rock bands is a testament to their musical prowess.
I watch this movie at least once a year, and there is a line in it - the last line - that is one of my favorite pieces of dialogue of all time. Alas, it gives away the conclusion and hints at a major plot point, hence the spoiler warning:
"He built Kiss to destroy Kiss... and lost..."
I mean, good writers can't produce lines like that. The more the pity.
I gave the movie 1 out of 10, because it deserves it. IMO, A movie should receive a 1 if it is memorably awful, as opposed to just dull and bad. -
planktonrules3 September 2009Whether or not you like the rock band KISS, it's hard not to admit that they are the biggest whores in the history of music. I am not talking about their sex lives, but their willingness to almost anything for a buck. No, wait...considering that they starred in KISS MEETS THE PHANTOM OF THE PARK, they would do ANYTHING, A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G for a dollar!! You don't believe me? Well check out their official website as well as Gene Simmons' site. There is KISS wine, KISS skateboards, KISS phone skins, KISS comic books and even KISS toys. Heck, sooner or later I almost expect to see KISS home pregnancy kits, toilet paper and suppositories!! If I were in their position, I might, too, succumb to the lure of cash...it's hard to say. But as far as this made for TV movie goes, it's hard to imagine money holds this much power over anyone and this is way beyond the limit for traditional rock and roll whoring! It is, in my opinion, a travesty and KISS owes its fans something to pay them back for making this film--like maybe some free Gene Simmons Java (this is a real product, I swear).
To say this is a horrible film is a gross misstatement. Aside from playing a few of their famous songs (such as "Beth" and "Detroit Rock City"), there is nothing about this film that is good in any way. Heck, even the choice of songs is often suspect, as the group definitely had better stuff than many of the forgettable tunes in this film.
As I explain the plot, I want you to understand that I am not insane nor am I on drugs--this REALLY is the plot for the film. An amusement park has invited KISS for a series of concerts. However, the mastermind behind creating the park is a loopy guy (Anthony Zerbe--who made a career out of playing evil and slimy villains) and he hates KISS--though you are never exactly sure why. But, because Zerbe does not control the park, he is forced to spend most of his time living underneath the park--perfecting his weird audio-animatronic creations (similar to Disney's but even more evil). But, when Zerbe is fired, he vows revenge and unleashes his army of robot zombies!! Egad! Can anyone help? Is there any hope? Well, sure...as it turns out that KISS is actually made up of superheroes who make the X-Men look like losers. The Star Child (Paul Stanley) can shoot lasers out of his eyes and sing well. The Demon (Gene Simmons) can growl like a lion, shoot fire out of his mouth and sing...not so well (but he makes up for it by singing loudly). The Space Ace (Ace Frehley) can appear and disappear at will (sort of like his career with KISS, actually). And, the Cat...is a guy painted like a cat. So how do they have all these cool powers (that look REALLY bad on film, by the way)? They have a case with magic talismans which enable them to live many lives, play great tunes (sometimes) and shoot things out of their bodies (I'll say no more).
So, Zerbe can't get himself a decent hairdo, but he is able to figure out that his next step is to steal these talismans. Unfortunately, they (like most talismans) are protected by a force field and his robot-zombie can't get them--that is until Zerbe creates a cool ray gun which renders the force field inert (by the way, how did he test this to know that it would work?!). In addition, he has created four exact replicas who will take KISS' place after they are kidnapped. Step one (get the talismans) and step two (kidnap KISS) work out great, but considering that Zerbe did not appear to have a step three it's not surprising that it all fell apart at the end. You'd think step three would be global domination or at least getting some hot chicks, but you never hear or see anything that would indicate there is any plan other than to replace KISS with robots (and, judging by this movie, this MIGHT have already been done by some other mad scientist before filming began!).
Overall, this is a god-awful mess of a film which happens to have a few good songs, but otherwise it's 100% terrible and ONLY of interest to rapid KISS fans (who STILL might insist this is better than STAR WARS or the works of Akira Kurosawa) or bad film aficionados like myself. What makes this especially bad is not just the terrible script but the fact that it's obvious that the band could have cared less about the film--putting no energy into it and not even bothering to show up for the dubbing sessions or scenes (see the IMDb trivia section for more of this). Basically, it's just a change to whore themselves out and get even richer! -
tusken_2004-122 February 2009I have been a KISS fan since I was a little tyke, and back when this stinkburger came out on TV, I had to watch it. I only now realize that the world of music-related films must be pock-marked with bomb craters (no pun intended)left in the wake of such cinema gold as this poor excuse to sell cheaply-made action figures by MEGO. I mean, even Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978) makes sense compared to this.
It was a cartoon. A live-action cartoon. Joseph Barbera must have felt horrible after unleashing this poor excuse for a film on an unwitting public.
But yet, as with so many other films that are real cheese-fests, I can't help but sit mesmerized by the events on screen. I'm not following the apparent lack of plot, nor am I really caring about the equally detestable special defects, I guess it's that I just go into Zombie mode with this film. If Dr. Forrester of MST3k really wanted to rule the world so bad, he would have used THIS film to turn Joel & the 'bots into so much mental cabbage.
I am still a fan of KISS, however. This film failed to change that. All the same, I am NOT a fan of the people responsible for convincing Gene, Paul, Ace, and Peter that a TV movie of the week would be a great idea for publicity.
I think that any film aficionado worth his/her salt owes it to themselves to see this film once. after that, appropriate dosage should be determined by your physician. -
Being a major Kiss fan, even I can't justify this abomination! 'Kiss Meets The Phantom' is definitely a candidate for the "so-bad-it-was-good" category. The acting in this movie was about as abysmal as humanly possible, and I'm not even referring to the band! I'm talking about the "professional" actors they hired for this thing! Apart from Anthony Zerbe's somewhat credible performance as the evil Deveraux (sp?), the rest of these stiffs--especially the guys playing the cops/authority figures--couldn't act their way out of a paper bag! I can't say I blame Ace Frehley and Peter Criss for not showing up for filming and/or looping--they were smart enough to see what a travesty this thing was. This film is best viewed after a few stiff drinks--even I'd love to see the "MST3K" crew skewer this turkey!
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thebeersgood22 August 2006I saw this move when it came out and ever since would love a copy to put in my collection if any one can tell me were I can find a copy I would be Grateful as I think you only loved this movie with selected taste and I must have the correct taste. I remember going to the city with friends one off which would dress up to see the movie As a mad lover of kiss made it easy for me to like the movie have spent years waiting for the come back only to find time and time again it is not there So I have started looking for a copy of this film and I am not real sure if it ever came out on video but would be prepared to buy a copy. this may have not been the best film ever released but I loved it and so did my friends would love to see it return to the screen
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happipuppi1313 January 2006Well,I originally wasn't going to review this but with all that i read here,I had too. Just to many negative ones for my taste.
Okay,1st thing about this movie to know before you view it,it's made by Hanna-Barbera,you know,the folks who brought you "Yogi Bear" & The Flintstones"? Once you know that,you know not to expect a masterpiece in the vein of the "Star Wars" series. Also,take into account that it's a TV movie and it's from the 70s (when special effects were "just beginning" to improve! This is from 1978 and only 5 good movies before this had good effects,"THX 1138","War Of The Worlds" (1950s),"Logan's Run", "Star Wars" and "Close Encounters O.T.Third Kind"
It's no secret now,that the band was driving their career as well a blindfolded student driver at this time,so making this movie was just something "someone else" said yes to. Plotwise,yes,it's much like a Scooby-Doo plot on Saturday morning. It's purely campy and goofy and kind of fun,just like Scooby. It's a bit darker than that though.
These guys (KISS) are not meant to be actors (depite Simmons' later efforts). They're musicians and this was supposed to be a Halloween "treat" for their fans. If you don't take this movie so seriously,you can have fun with it. Otherwise,you just end up feeling worse about it than you should. It also aired on NBC during it's darkest days in the late 70's.
Despite the pitfalls of it's era,it's dumb fun. Voice overs,somewhat stiff actors,bad costumes (not the band) and all. 5 stars as I said,it's good for a laugh...intentional or not. (end) -
Anchor6929 October 1998This movie sucks so bad it is great. With the added bonus that it is also almost a "Greatest Hits" collection. When you are throwing a party, just throw this in the VCR and if you can play it several times. People will love it for several reasons, mostly the music. But you can also make fun of the acting, the special effects, and the thing I love the most the back ground music. When the flying monkeys are going around the roller coaster, I could swear that in the back ground music is someone saying, "Walk a chicken". Anyway, I highly advise anyone to pick it up.
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cheewawa-121 February 2002Now fair is fair, I'm a Big Kiss fan, this was great on tv in 78. And it's still fun to watch just to see how young they were and the "Scooby-Doo" music really adds to the humour of the picture. I didn't take this one too seriously then and I don't now. You think this is bad? Well The Beatles did a worse film called "Magical Mystery Tour". Now that's a bad flick.
The acting on all sides is way over the top, they were musicians and not actors. Even the vets are over doing it. It's a comic book with live action. The only thing missing is the occasional "Booms" or "Pows" in big print on the screen like the Batman series.
With Hanna-Barbara at the controls, we're lucky more cartoon music didn't work it's way into the backround.
The band looks great, sleek and in top shape. They look healthy. And they look to be enjoying themselves. There aren't too many weak scenes in the movie, everyone did a pretty good job acting for all the preporation they had, which wasn't much. It's pure bubble-gum and that's all it was meant to be.
I saw this on that fateful sunday night in 78. I hadn't seen it for a few years, then I noticed it was available on VHS as an import from Japan. That was in 88. I sent away for it and got an english speaking version with japanese sub-titles. Now that makes watching this movie even weirder than usual. I've had collectors offer me $500. for this rare version of the movie. It goes up in price every year and I keep hanging on to it. That's one good thing I can say about this film. The day I sell it, it'll be a sad day.
If you read the comics that came out with the band in them back then, you got this movie right away. If you weren't a fan you didn't. Either way they're just human, and they learned their lesson. They got better at acting, ever see the episode of "Millenium" that they appear in? That was pretty good.
I am waiting for the DVD to come out. I want some behind the scenes stuff too. I recommend it to anyone who wants to have a B-movie night with some friends. It'll keep your attention just to see what happens next, the younger fans who have never seen it before will get a kick out of it.
One little note: I remember Ace Frehley saying in the rock mags of the day, he did all his own stunts in the movie. I believed him then. I was twelve when it came out. Now I know better. Ace can't walk a straight line much less do backflips in those boots. But he does have some great lines in the movie. I thank you. Ciao -
vwolak7 May 2003If you are looking for monstrous special effects (even by 1970's standards), this is not the film for you...
If you are a KISS fan, it is definitely worth a watching. Especially if you are a classic KISS fan.
Brief synopsis: KISS is about to play for an amusement park. The brains behind this park (Abner Deveraux played by Anthony Zerbe) grows resentful that a rock-n-roll band is overshadowing the technical expertise that he created at this park. He vows all-out war against the band using his creations to attack the band members. And their secret talisman which gives them powers.
BTW, Gene Simmons does most of his own stunts, probably preparing himself for a future theatrical career (which he did, in the 1980's). Peter Criss's lines are dubbed in by a voice guy from Hanna Barbera. Strange how Peter Criss sounds the same as Dirk Daring from G-Force.
Anthony Zerbe does a great job in acting as the villain in this one. His best IMHO is in North and South as General Grant.
Ok, this is not an epic adventure that got critical acclaim, yet after a few beers, it is good entertainment. -
Kneumsi16 January 2001There's little to redeem this film about Kiss fighting Anthony Zerbe and his evil robot monkeys. As a Kiss fan, I can't even recommend it as a greatest hits package as all the songs are truncated and cut in length. While the "Hotter than Hell" spoof known as "Rip and destroy" has some great comic value the rest of the film falters in the "for laughs only" realm as you just plain feel bad for the super stars landing themselves in a TURKEY like this one!
Let's just be glad that THE WHO never decided to do a TV movie for NBC! I shudder to think on it! -
Lace_Neil_Singer6 December 2006If you mean to watch this movie as a serious film, you will be sadly disappointed. This film is awful; the acting is bad, the plot is full of holes and the script is laughable. However, somehow it manages to become so bad, it's funny. The first time I watched this, I was just rocking with laughter during the entire movie. The way that Peter's voice is dubbed, the horribly bad acting by the band, the way they seem to be reading idiot boards... I'm a fan, don't take me wrong, but this movie was so not the best career move they could have taken.
To watch this movie, get some beers in and treat it purely as a comedy. Laugh at the way that this mad professor is unable to make realistic looking gorilla and Frankenstein's monster robots, but somehow manages to make a full set of perfect Kiss ones. Giggle at the special effects, especially that weird reverb effect for Gene's voice. And finally enjoy the unintentional comedy that this movie is full of.
Just what is the ending supposed to mean, anyway? I still haven't figured that out. Also, we see Sam walking thru the park and nothing at all has gone wrong... yet, he somehow decides that something is wrong and he has to check it out, leaving his poor long suffering girlfriend alone to wonder exactly why she's with him if this is his idea of a date. And a pretty girl not allowed backstage at a Kiss concert? Never gonna happen. -
reymunpadilla12 August 2023Every rock group or performer seems to try their hand at films. Kiss turned out one of the worst films of all time. Worse than Zeppelin's Song Remains the Same. Worse than the Stones's Let's Spend the Night Together. Even worse than Mariah's Glitter. Yes, THAT bad.
It really is a Plan Nine level of awfulness, everything about the film the worst it could possibly be.
Bad unintentionally funny dialog? Yes.
Embarrassment for all involved? Yes.
Sucking otherwise good actors like Zerbe into this? Yes.
Z grade special FX? Yes.
Plot, action, and storyline making zero sense? Yes.
Small town middle school level acting skill from the newcomers? Even though one of them, Simmons, mostly just growls. Yes.
Even the biggest fans of the group only watch it to laugh at how bad it is. You will too. It's as funny as Plan Nine or Trolls 2. -
apeman-116 February 2005I have seen bad movies. I have seen actors refuse to promote movies. I have never seen actors...and I use that term loosely with KISS here...refuse to allow their films to be released on video or DVD. Despite all the outcries, the guys of KISS will not sign the rights to allow this to be re-released on DVD because they know it is THAT bad. We tried to do a review of this on our radio show. No one could stomach watching it for more than 10 minutes without laughing or being sick, and THAT is bad! Blatant bad editing, terrible overdubs of audio...and forget any realistic or tangible acting. Gene Simmons went on to have a fair acting career, and has impressed me on occasion. But just like Jim Carrey never ever mentions Once Bitten in his credits...Simmons denies this movie exists, and I can't blame him. If you're feeling sick or just ate something bad, WATCH THIS FILM! It will make you empty the content of your stomach, either laughing or crying.
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EasternZZ21 July 2019Kiss' best stuff is their early stuff, but when this movie came out Kiss had moved away from being a band and more of a business. The story is really silly (even the band mates are embarrassed by this thing), and the acting is so bad that it is really funny.
Anyways, it is a good "bad" movie, and it is a bad "good" movie. -
RealLiveClaude25 June 2016Though the members of the group despised being in this movie (produced by the same guys who did Yogi Bear, The Flintstones...and Scooby Doo !), forget the cheesiness, the some-what bad dialogue, this is a comic book movie here. And a way to see the band KISS in its heyday as a truly original rock band, complete with masks and apparel. And yes, even Gene throws its tongue out ! Shout it out loud, don't take this movie seriously. Light entertainment and rock music. This wasn't meant to be a masterpiece and this is a movie worth the curiosity. Watch it for KISS.
'Nuff said ! -
heartburnkid3 June 2003Any bad movie afficionado NEEDS to see this one. It's absolutely incredible in the depths of its stench, in a "so bad, it's good" kind of way.
It's a shame MST3K died before they could do this stinker. -
Solnichka3 January 2005Yes, this film (and I use that word loosely) is total cheese. But it's fun. The acting is horrible, the plot is a joke, and the scenery is antiquated. Yet it still has its appeal. Why? Perhaps because it's a time capsule from an earlier era, but also because it's innocent attempt to cash in on the band's popularity without thought or reason to quality. It's a reminder of the solo albums each band member released in the late 1970s: shameless market saturation.
A few standout scenes: the band getting "interrogated" at the pool by the cops, any scene with Chopper and his gang, all the live concert performances, all scenes with the band's talisman, the "Beth" performance. I could go on, but ... -
capone66621 September 2015Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park
The reason robots cannot replace rock-stars is because they would short-circuit from all the booze they'd have to consume.
Mind you, the musical machines in this fantasy manage to make it on stage.
When funding for the automatons he maintains around Magic Mountain is funnelled into a KISS concert instead, an imbalanced inventor (Anthony Zerbe) unleashes his anger on the amusement park in the form of a robotic Gene Simmons (Gene Simmons) that rampages the grounds.
He later replaces the rest of the super-powered band: the optic-blasting Starchild (Paul Stanley), the teleporting Space Ace (Ace Frehley) and the spring-heeled Catman (Peter Criss), with android doubles designed to brainwash KISS fans.
Produced by Hanna-Barbera and aired on NBC as a movie, this campy cult classic makes the campy character designs of KISS seem even more cartoonish.
Besides, I don't think a robot could be as arrogant as Gene Simmons without imploding.
Yellow Light
vidiotreviews.blogspot.ca -
I'm not sure why this film was made and I'm even less sure why I sat through this mess.
KISS goes to a theme park grand opening to give a concert and soon find themselves trying to defeat a mad scientist who for some reason has a lab at the theme park where he experiments at turning people into robots.KISS battles the madman using special powers that they have.
So much is bad about this film it almost isn't worth talking about.The acting is terrible.Not a single member of KISS can act a lick and Gene Simmons was even worse at it then than he is now ,if you can imagine that.The special effects are bad even for the 1970's when this dog was made.The writing is awful and delivered with the emotion that only those reading from cue cards can deliver. The plot is just plain silly.Even the songs are bland-none of the great sex soaked songs KISS are known for are in this movie.The whole movie feels like a bad Saturday morning cartoon show for kids who are about 9 years old.That age group certainly isn't KISS' fan base.Why make a movie for them? Who knows.
Now admittedly I'm not a hardcore KISS fan,just a casual one,but I can't imagine even hardcore fans thinking this mess is even mildly good.
This film is bad and not in the "it's so bad ,it's good" kind of way either. -
Blitz-522 January 1999With tunes like "I Stole Your Love" and "Shout It Out Loud". This movie leaves no stone unturned for Kiss fans. It's so period, so dated, yet completely fun (especially if you're a nostalgia freak). Yet another one of those films where technically the acting stinks, the script is lame and the set is an amusement park but you just have to watch it once or twice or again and again. Choice is yours! (but I'd check it out:) As a Kiss fan I have no choice but to stick it a 10.