Three beautiful young women are bound for Las Vegas to become showgirls. It’s not long before their car breaks down, stranding them in the middle of the Nevada desert. After spending the night in their car, a man named Andre (Andrew Prine, Grizzly, Simon, King of the Witches) offers them a lift to his place and a tow truck. But the girls quickly learn there’s more to Andre than meets the eye and they’re soon taken prisoner, joining a slew of other women. Andre fancies himself a ringleader and these girls are trained and whipped like circus animals. Meanwhile, Andre’s daddy is a hideous mutant locked in an outhouse shed, and one of his captives reminds Andre of his dead mommy. Escape seems hopeless at first, but when the pretty girls don’t show up for their gig, their agent, Derek Moore (Jazz DJ Legend Chuck Niles) starts looking for them. This cult horror film was directed by the great Alan Rudolph (Choose Me, Trouble in Mind, The Moderns).

For thoughts on Terror Circus, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/f6KQXYwpn7Q?t=1120]

Video Quality

Terror Circus comes to Blu-Ray from Kino Classics and Code Red with a digital AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1 from what appears to be an older master that has areas where it could be improved. The presentation is a bit weak throughout the runtime with image stability and delineation being a little shabby. Instances of print damage pop up pretty consistently, and overall clarity and detail is lacking by a large margin. This transfer maintains the natural film grain of the presentation, but some of it appears a bit clumpy. The picture has a general softness, but colors are well saturated in a visually pleasing way. Skin tones seem natural with a semblance of facial features noticeable in closeup. Black levels falter a bit when it comes to crush and artifacts. This is far from unwatchable, but the material could be a lot better if given a fresh scan.

Audio Quality

This new Blu-Ray comes with a lossless DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix in English that captures the intention of the film well enough. Dialogue is one of the stronger elements of this one, coming through clearly without being stepped on by the music or sound effects. The environmental effects are delineated satisfactorily such as the wind cutting through the desert and screams. Music can occasionally struggle with fidelity, but it is not a huge issue. The track is not without some amount of age related wear and tear and distortion. This track is a more pleasing experience than the video side of things, but it still feels like it could be improved. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided on this disc.

Special Features

Katarina’s Bucket List Mode: A four-minute introduction from Katarina’s Nightmare Theater which gives you a taste of some of the craziness that is in store in the film.

Barn Again! Returning to Terror Circus: A 25-minute featurette in which Bill Norton Olsen conducts interviews with Associate Producer Marvin Almeas, Costume Designer Allan A. Apone, Actress Jennifer Ashley and Special Makeup/Effects Creators Byrd Holland and Douglas J. White which provides some fun insights into the production including how certain special effects were achieved, memories for the set and more.

Final Thoughts

Terror Circus is a decently entertaining semi-exploitation film which never quite makes the case that it is some undiscovered classic. The basic mechanics of the plot are solid enough, but the story never goes anywhere groundbreaking or creative. You might have a decent time while you are watching, but it is the type of fun which evaporates pretty swiftly after the credits have finished rolling. Kino Classics and Code Red have released a new Blu-Ray featuring a passable A/V presentation and a few special features. If you happen to be a fan of this film, this release is a decent investment overall.

Terror Circus is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Kino Classics and Code Red have supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.