Event Report: ALLELUIA! THE DEVIL’S CARNIVAL

The night seems dead. Driving down 38th Street at a quarter to ten on a Sunday night, most of the houses are dark. A few pulse with the televised glow of Sunday Night Football or perhaps Fear The Walking Dead. For the most part, though, the Minneapolis neighborhood has seemingly gone to sleep. But up ahead at 42nd Avenue, a bright beacon of light splashes across the street. The Riverview Theater’s marquee juts out to greet passersby, and turning the corner proves that the night is in fact alive with saints, sinners, and everyone in between. Alleluia! The Devil's Carnival has come to town.

A horror comedy musical from director Darren Lynn Bousman and writer/actor Terrance Zdunich, Alleluia! The Devil's Carnival has headed north from its recent stint in Chicago to sink its claws in Minneapolis for the evening. It’s been over three years since Satan set up shop at the Riverview for the first Devil’s Carnival film, and fans have flocked to the theatre for the long-awaited follow-up.

It’s as if Halloween has come early, the sidewalk packed with people eagerly awaiting the opening of Hell’s gates. Near the front of the line is Lucifer, his red, white, and black makeup strikingly similar to Zdunich’s appearance in the film. Other sets of horns dot the crowd as well, faithful members of the carnival ready for the night’s festivities to begin as the Hobo Clown strolls down the sidewalk handing out pins. A palpable energy pulsates from the gathered group. It’s a damn fine feeling that only gets better when the doors open and everyone grabs a seat in the cavernous confines of the auditorium.

After everyone settles into their seats, the lights surrounding the seats dim, and the ones trained on the wooden platform in front of the screen intensify. Nathanael England and Remedy Ridiculosa take the stage, bringing an intense first act of the evening to the forefront. Staple gun in hand and several playing cards clamped between her lips, Remedy walks around Nathanael, who reaches his right forearm out imploringly. Remedy slaps a card down on the offered limb, presses the gun against its glossy surface, and pulls the trigger, marrying plastic and flesh. She makes the same unusual alliance on his other arm and—much to the delight of the crowd—his forehead.

Next come the pins, which Nathanael plucks from a skull head and presses through the skin on his arms—in one side and out the other. Red strings dangle from the pinheads, marking painful new additions to his attire. Nathanael’s last needle insertion takes place on his face, finding a home in the flesh on either side of his lips. Before he and Remedy take their bows in front of a fulfilled audience, Nathanael pulls out the pins and snatches the cards from his skin with impressive ease.

Next up for the evening’s entertainment is the headliner itself: the screening of Alleluia! The Devil's Carnival. Zdunich comes onstage to thunderous applause, briefly introducing the film and then leading the crowd in the “I promise not to be a douchebag” oath before the lights dim and the reels roll. It is around that time, nearing midnight on a Sunday in Minneapolis, that the crowd is sent to Hell… and Heaven.

Alleluia! The Devil's Carnival begins not long after the first one ended. An impending war between Heaven and Hell approaches, with Lucifer (Zdunich) sending an abundance of souls to Heaven in order to upset God (Paul Sorvino). While the first film gave viewers a thorough tour of Hell’s carnival, this sequel spends much of its time in Heaven, which can be a more demented and disturbing place than its basement counterpart. For in Heaven, your appearance must be kept up, or you’ll pay the painful price.

Composed by Zdunich and Saar Hendelman, the sequel’s score offers plenty of toe-tapping scenes soaked with a brassy sound. This is 1930s big band with a twisted modern edge of unease. Intermingled with cocktail lounge noir numbers, the larger-than-life songs cement themselves in the psyche and push the narrative forward with a frightful flourish.

Following the film’s ominous conclusion, Zdunich takes the stage once again and discusses the long journey of Alleluia! The Devil's Carnival to the big screen. Zdunich stresses that making independent films is rewarding yet hard work, and thanks the fans for being the true driving force that propels projects like this one forward. Before the evening ends, Zdunich reveals the trailer for his new project, American Murder Song, another collaboration with Hendelman that looks to offer fans another macabre musical fix.

Around a quarter after one in the morning, the show comes to a close and the members of Heaven and Hell walk out into the night. Akin to a massive version of The Midnight Society from Are You Afraid of the Dark?, the scary stories have been told and it’s now time to dump the bucket of sand on the fire. But you can bet that when Zdunich and company come back to town, the loyal fans of the carnival will gather once again to raise a little Hell.