{"id":117190,"date":"2020-11-30T09:00:06","date_gmt":"2020-11-30T09:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/?p=117190"},"modified":"2020-12-03T15:05:20","modified_gmt":"2020-12-03T15:05:20","slug":"the-ringmaster-cirque-du-freak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/cinema\/the-ringmaster-cirque-du-freak\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ringmaster: Cirque du freak"},"content":{"rendered":"

Danish horror The Ringmaster<\/strong> <\/em>sets up a familiar scene: Two women (Karin Michelsen and Anne Bergfeld) working a late shift in a remote gas station. Sure enough, cue creepy customers, a good-for-nothing boyfriend, and eventually the realisation that someone has been watching them the whole time\u2026<\/p>\n

We\u2019re sure you\u2019ve heard it all before but though The Ringmaster<\/strong> <\/em>does play on plenty of recognisable tropes, it has a few flourishes of its own to keep things feeling different.<\/p>\n

Alternating between the gas station and a torture chamber, The Ringmaster<\/strong><\/em> plays on its obvious plot \u2013 we know where the women will end up, but it still amps up the tension by leading viewers on a twisty path to get there. However, when the inevitable happens and the two find themselves at the mercy of the ringmaster himself (Damon Younger, doing a decent job of getting under the skin) for the amusement of an online audience, things start to get a little more by-the-torture-porn-numbers.<\/p>\n

Director S\u00f8ren Juul Petersen adds a few interesting notes to The Ringmaster<\/strong><\/em> (originally called Finale<\/strong><\/em>), invoking classic cinematic tropes with a warning at the beginning of the film, and the odd Eighties slasher vibe during the gas station scenes. Also, when the movie starts to inevitably eek into Saw<\/strong><\/em><\/a> and Hostel<\/strong><\/em> territory, there are a few intriguing additions including a comments section where internet trolls do their nasty thing.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s at this point where you\u2019d hope those compelling additions will lead you somewhere new\u2026 but they don\u2019t and the last third of the film feels a bit too much like its Noughties inspirations, focussing on the violence rather than the deeper meanings hinted at earlier.<\/p>\n

Though The Ringmaster<\/strong> <\/em>feels familiar, the unique elements – including an eerily friendly (and at times, wryly funny) voiceover promising violence, silent observers wearing creepy white masks and an underlying idea of the dangers of constant surveillance – are just about enough to keep audiences interested.<\/p>\n

The Ringmaster will be available on DVD<\/a> and Digital Download from 30th November and in UK Cinemas from 2nd December.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n