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''Alleluia! The Devil's Carnival'' (stylized onscreen as ''The Devil's Carnival: Alleluia!'') is a 2015 American
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...
directed by
Darren Lynn Bousman Darren Lynn Bousman (; born January 11, 1979) is an American film director and screenwriter, best known for his work in horror films. He has directed four of the ''Saw (franchise), Saw'' films: ''Saw II'', ''Saw III'', ''Saw IV'', and ''Spiral ( ...
and written by Terrance Zdunich. It is a direct sequel to Bousman's 2012 film '' The Devil's Carnival''. Production commenced in August 2014 and the film was released on August 11, 2015 by Cleopatra Films.


Plot

Lucifer conducts a train full of condemned souls, including Ms. Merrywood, back up to Heaven ("Shovel and Bone"). In Heaven, God discusses the crisis with his top dog, The Agent. The Agent and The Translators, officers in Heaven's police force, interrogate Merrywood. In Hell, the Ticket-Keeper warns Lucifer that the carnies are not prepared for a war with Heaven, but Lucifer dismisses him to entertain a cloaked figure. Lucifer opens his book of Aesop’s Fables and begins reading "The Filly and The Lapdog." In flashback, a new crop of Applicants arrive in Heaven, including best friends June and Cora. They are welcomed into Heaven and are offered a tour of the premises ("All Aboard (Everybody's Doing The Ark)"). June steals a Number 1 armband from The Designer, who keeps the Number 7s working in a windowless design shop ("Only By Design"). June convinces Cora to explore Heaven with her, only for the two to be arrested and interrogated by The Translators ("Good Little Dictation Machines"). The Agent intervenes; immediately, there is mutual attraction between him and June, which gets him negative press from The Watchword. God orders The Agent to seduce June to expose her
heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Heresy in Christian ...
. The Agent brings June to a bar where he sings "Down at the Midnight Rectory". God arrives and serenades one of his girlfriends ("Cloud Serenade"). The Agent and June's relationship continues under the watchful eye of The Watchword ("The Watchword’s Hour"), who later warns Cora that her lesbian attraction to June is illegal in Heaven. Later, June steals the forbidden Book of the Knowledge of Life and Death, confident that The Agent's clout will protect her, but sets off an alarm in doing so. She is beaten by The Translators and tossed down an elevator shaft leading to Hell while The Agent watches and doesn't intervene. Meanwhile, The Librarian instructs Cora and the other Applicants to denounce June and spend the rest of the night re-shelving Heaven's library ("Hitting on All Sevens"). June arrives at the Carnival (which is notably smaller and weaker than it is in the previous film). She flees from The Fool and finds The Twin, who challenges her to a game, shapeshifting into Cora, The Agent, and June herself as the game progresses ("Fair Game"). Upon losing, June wanders into the midway and finds Lucifer. She inspires him to turn the Carnival into something that can challenge Heaven, and he helps her transform into The Painted Doll ("After the Fall"). In the present, Ticket-Keeper rebuffs several plans to attack Heaven from the carnies. The cloaked figure is revealed to be Painted Doll, who will play a role in Lucifer’s war with Heaven. Ticket-Keeper confronts Lucifer, offering to sacrifice himself for the cause, but Lucifer refuses. Meanwhile, in Heaven, God dispatches The Agent to face Lucifer and quell the uprising in Hell, giving him a book containing the story "The Filly and the Lapdog". God puts on a show for the denizens of Heaven ("Bells of the Black Sunday"). Meanwhile, The Agent arrives in Hell and finds Painted Doll, and is horrified by her disfigured appearance. She briefly seduces him before openly taunting him in front of the other carnies ("Hoof and Lap/The Devil’s Carnival"). Lucifer prepares for battle by applying war makeup. God stands in front of a microphone in an empty room, as his servants arm themselves for war. In Heaven, a bruised, beaten Merrywood transforms, revealing that it has been The Twin all along. The Twin then poses as the Agent returning from his mission. In a post-credits sequence, The Twin as The Agent serenades God ("Songs of Old"), leaving the future uncertain.


Cast

*
Paul Sorvino Paul Anthony Sorvino (, ; April 13, 1939 – July 25, 2022) was an American actor. He often portrayed authority figures on both the criminal and the law enforcement sides of the law. Sorvino was particularly known for his roles as Lucchese cri ...
as
God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
* Terrance Zdunich as
Lucifer The most common meaning for Lucifer in English is as a name for the Devil in Christian theology. He appeared in the King James Version of the Bible in Isaiah and before that in the Vulgate (the late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bib ...
*
Emilie Autumn Emilie Autumn Liddell (born September 22, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter, poet, author, and violinist. Autumn's musical style is described by her as "Fairy Pop", "Fantasy Rock" or "Victoriandustrial". It is influenced by glam rock and ...
as June / The Painted Doll * Marc Senter as The Scorpion * Adam Pascal as The Agent *
Dayton Callie Dayton Callie (born 1946) is an American actor, best known for playing Charlie Utter on HBO's '' Deadwood'', Police Chief Wayne Unser on ''Sons of Anarchy'', and Jeremiah Otto on AMC's ''Fear the Walking Dead''. He has also voiced Whitaker ...
as The Ticket Keeper *
David Hasselhoff David Michael Hasselhoff (born July 17, 1952), nicknamed "The Hoff", is an American actor, singer, and television personality. He has set a Guinness World Record as the most watched man on TV. Hasselhoff first gained recognition on the soap ...
as The Designer *
Tech N9ne Aaron Dontez Yates (born November 8, 1971), better known by his stage name Tech N9ne (pronounced "tech nine"), is an American rapper and singer. In 1999, he and business partner Travis O'Guin founded the record label Strange Music. He has sold ...
as The Librarian *
Briana Evigan Briana Evigan (born October 23, 1986) is an American actress and dancer best known for her lead roles as Andrea "Andie" West in the dance film '' Step Up 2: The Streets'' (2008) and its sequel '' Step Up: All In'' (2014), and Ms. Kathleen Merrywo ...
as Ms. Kathleen Merrywood *
Bill Moseley William Moseley (born November 11, 1951) is an American actor, primarily known for his performances in horror films. His best-known roles include Chop Top in '' The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2'' (1986), Otis B. Driftwood in Rob Zombie's ''Firefly ...
as The Magician *
Nivek Ogre Kevin Graham Ogilvie (born December 5, 1962), known professionally as Nivek Ogre, is a Canadian musician, performance artist and actor, best known for his work with the industrial music group Skinny Puppy, which he co-founded with cEvin Key. Si ...
as The Twin *
Barry Bostwick Barry Knapp Bostwick (born February 24, 1945) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Brad Majors in '' The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975) and Mayor Randall Winston in the sitcom '' Spin City'' (1996–2002). Bostwick has also ...
as The Watchword * Ted Neeley as The Publicist * Lyndon Smith as Cora *
J. LaRose J. Adam Larose is a Navajo people, Navajo actor. J. Adam LaRose is a Chicago-born actor of Navajo descent whose career spans from 1998 to the present. Throughout his career, LaRose has frequently collaborated with renowned director Darren Lynn ...
as The Major * Heidi Shepherd as Twist / The Rosy Bayonettes *
Brea Grant Brea Grant is an American actress, writer, and director. She played the character of Daphne Millbrook in the NBC television series '' Heroes''. Early life Brea Grant was born and raised in Marshall, Texas. She earned bachelor's and master's de ...
as Click / The Rosy Bayonettes *
Carla Harvey Carla Harvey is an American musician, best known as a former co-vocalist of the metal band Butcher Babies. She landed her first job in Hollywood as an entertainment reporter for the Playboy Channel, and appeared on many popular network TV sho ...
as Lock / The Rosy Bayonettes * Kristina Klebe as Geraldine / His Lady of Virtue * Alisa Burket as Virginia / His Lady of Virtue * Francesca Vannucci as Pearl / His Lady of Virtue *
Jimmy Urine James Euringer (born September 7, 1969), better known as Jimmy Urine, is an American musician. He is the lead singer, programmer, and primary songwriter of the electropunk band Mindless Self Indulgence, which he co-founded in 1997. Early life Ja ...
as Translator Bentz * Chantal Claret as Translator Batez *
Danny Worsnop Danny Robert Worsnop (born 4 September 1990) is an English singer most prominently known as the lead vocalist of rock bands Asking Alexandria and We Are Harlot. He has worked with several artists including I See Stars, Papa Roach, With One Last ...
as The Smith *
Barry Dennen Barry Dennen (February 22, 1938 – September 26, 2017) was an American actor and writer. He is best known for playing Pontius Pilate on the original 1970 recording of ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' as well as the subsequent 1971 stage musical and 1 ...
as Heaven's Denizen. Dennen went uncredited for his role and it marked his final film appearance before his death in September 2017.


Soundtrack

# "Shovel and Bone" - Lucifer, The Twin (as Ms. Merrywood), and Lost Souls # "All Aboard (Everybody's Doing the Ark)" - The Publicist and His Ladies of Virtue # "Only by Design" - The Designer and Fillies # "Good Little Dictation Machines" - Translator Bentz and Translator Batez # "Down at the Midnight Rectory" † - The Agent, The Publicist, and His Ladies of Virtue # "Cloud Serenade" † - God # "The Watchword's Hour" - The Watchword # "Hitting on All Sevens" - The Librarian, Cora and Applicants # "Fair Game" - The Twin (As himself, Cora, The Agent, and June) # "After the Fall" - Lucifer # "Bells of the Black Sunday" - God, Cora, and His Ladies of Virtue (except Geraldine) # "Hoof and Lap / The Devil's Carnival" - The Painted Doll, The Agent, and The Rosy Bayonettes # "Songs of Old" ‡ - The Twin (As The Agent) # "Alleluia" § - Heaven


Production

Most of the original cast from the first film are returning, with Zdunich and Sorvino reprising their roles of Lucifer and God. New cast members include
Barry Bostwick Barry Knapp Bostwick (born February 24, 1945) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Brad Majors in '' The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975) and Mayor Randall Winston in the sitcom '' Spin City'' (1996–2002). Bostwick has also ...
, Ted Neeley, Adam Pascal,
Tech N9ne Aaron Dontez Yates (born November 8, 1971), better known by his stage name Tech N9ne (pronounced "tech nine"), is an American rapper and singer. In 1999, he and business partner Travis O'Guin founded the record label Strange Music. He has sold ...
,
Jimmy Urine James Euringer (born September 7, 1969), better known as Jimmy Urine, is an American musician. He is the lead singer, programmer, and primary songwriter of the electropunk band Mindless Self Indulgence, which he co-founded in 1997. Early life Ja ...
, Chantal Claret, and
David Hasselhoff David Michael Hasselhoff (born July 17, 1952), nicknamed "The Hoff", is an American actor, singer, and television personality. He has set a Guinness World Record as the most watched man on TV. Hasselhoff first gained recognition on the soap ...
. Whereas ''The Devil's Carnival'' took place in
Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...
, ''Alleluia'' focuses on
Heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...
. In describing it, writer Zdunich stated that "Heaven in particular is a very different aesthetic than hell...think
Golden Age of Hollywood Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome, Stroud#Golden Val ...
. You have fancy suits and everything is tailored, an air that everything is perfect and glamorous, but meanwhile in the backdrop of that era you also have the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
." Zdunich went on to say that the style would be "
Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American actor often referred to as the "King of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". He appeared in more than 60 Film, motion pictures across a variety of Film genre, genres dur ...
on acid." Bousman described the film as " ullingback the curtain on Heaven... and in 'The Devil's Carnival,' God and his angels are a whole lot darker than Lucifer and his carnies."


Filming

A fifteen-day shoot was planned, but due to financial constraints this was reduced to fourteen days, concluding on September 2, 2014.


Release

The official teaser trailer for ''Alleluia!'' came out on November 6, 2014, with the film due for a Summer 2015 release. As with its predecessor, ''Alleluia!'' was screened via a 'Road Tour' across the US. The film premiered in Los Angeles on August 11, 2015 and the road tour kicked off two weeks later on August 26, 2015 in Tucson, Arizona. The tour ran until October 18, ending with an encore screening in Los Angeles. The tour was troubled, suffering legal and financial issues as well as what Zdunich described as "illogical tour routing, poor ground management and worse communication". The issues led to two shows being cancelled, and the end of the franchise. The film's soundtrack was made available for purchase digitally from iTunes and physically from Cleopatra Records on August 7, 2015. According to the director at a road tour Q&A, the film is scheduled for a Blu-ray release on Christmas Day, with preorders available on Black Friday. The film was ultimately released in March 2016 as a Blu-ray and DVD combo pack, which was limited to 6,660 copies, similar to the home media release for '' The Devil's Carnival''. The Blu-ray set also included a lyric booklet, a certificate of authenticity, and came packaged in a nylon drawstring bag.


Reception

Reception for ''Alleluia! The Devil's Carnival'' has been positive. It holds a 100% positive rating on
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, based on six critic reviews.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alleluia The Devil's Carnival 2015 films 2010s English-language films 2010s supernatural horror films American supernatural horror films American musical films Circus films Demons in film Films directed by Darren Lynn Bousman Films about God Musical horror films American sequel films The Devil in film 2010s American films English-language musical films 2015 musical films