''Side Sho'' is a 2007

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

directed by

Michael D'Anna Michael D'Anna (born February 16, 1972, Nashville, Tennessee, United States) is an American film director, best known for his work in horror films. Biography D'Anna began his filmmaking career in the early 1990s editing commercials and doc ...

. The film was shot in and around

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

, and won the awards for Best Feature Film and Best Original Score at the 2007 Terror Film Festival. It was released on DVD July 29, 2008 by

Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...

Entertainment.

Premise

A suburban family on vacation in the backwoods of Florida venture off the main highway in search of historic roadside attractions, but find much more than they bargained for, including a forgotten tourist attraction that houses a dark secret.

Production

''Side Sho'' was inspired by writer Frank Fox's experiences visiting odd

roadside attraction A roadside attraction is a feature along the side of a road meant to attract tourists. In general, these are places one might stop on the way to somewhere, rather than actually being a destination. They are frequently advertised with billboards. T ...

s and

carny Carny, also spelled carnie, is an informal term used in North America for a traveling carnival employee, and the language they use, particularly when the employee operates a game ("joint"), food stand ("grab", "popper" or "floss wagon"), or ride ...

exhibits as a child. Director Michael D'Anna took inspiration from classic horror films of the 1970s, such as

Tobe Hooper Willard Tobe Hooper (; January 25, 1943 – August 26, 2017) was an American director, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work in the horror film, horror genre. The British Film Institute cited Hooper as one of the most influenti ...

's ''

Eaten Alive ''Eaten Alive'' (known under various alternate titles, including ''Death Trap'', ''Horror Hotel'', and ''Starlight Slaughter'', and stylized on the poster as ''Eaten Alive!'') is a 1976 American horror film directed by Tobe Hooper, and written ...

'' (1977),

Wes Craven Wesley Earl Craven (August 2, 1939 – August 30, 2015) was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and editor. Craven has commonly been recognized as one of the greatest masters of the horror genre due to the cultural imp ...

's original ''

The Hills Have Eyes ''The Hills Have Eyes'' is an American horror franchise that consists of four horror films, as well as a graphic novel and merchandise. The first film was released in 1977, '' The Hills Have Eyes''; the series was rebooted in a 2006 remake. T ...

'' (1977), and the

southern gothic Southern Gothic is an artistic subgenre of fiction, country music, film and television that are heavily influenced by Gothic elements and the American South. Common themes of Southern Gothic include storytelling of deeply flawed, disturbing or ...

films of S. F. Brownrigg. Several reviewers have pointed out the plot similarities with

Rob Zombie Rob Zombie (born Robert Bartleh Cummings; January 12, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and voice actor. His music and lyrics are notable for their horror and sci-fi themes, and his live shows have be ...

's ''

House of 1000 Corpses ''House of 1000 Corpses'' is a 2003 American black comedy horror film written, co-scored, and directed by Rob Zombie in his directorial debut, and the first film in the ''Firefly'' film series. It stars Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Sheri Moon, Ka ...

'' (2003), but the director had not seen Zombie's film until he was already well into production. The low budget production was fraught with problems, including the sudden loss of scheduled filming locations,

special effects Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual wor ...

that refused to work properly, equipment malfunctions, and a rushed shooting schedule. Nevertheless, the film was completed on time and budget, in time for its July, 2007 premiere at the historic

Belcourt Theater The Belcourt Theatre is a nonprofit film center located in Nashville's Hillsboro Village district. History The theater was opened in 1925 as the Hillsboro Theatre by M.A. Lightman Sr. of Malco Theatres and his father Joseph Lightman. It was a s ...

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. Many of the trials and tribulations of the films' production are related by director D'Anna and star John David (J.D.) Hart on the DVD commentary track. It was released on DVD by Lionsgate in July 2008 with an audio commentary featuring the director and star, a making-of

featurette In the American film industry, a featurette is a kind of film that is shorter than a full-length feature, but longer than a short film. The term may refer to either of two types of content: a shorter film or a companion film. Medium-length film ...

, a

blooper A blooper is a short clip from a film or video production, usually a deleted scene, containing a mistake made by a member of the cast or crew. It also refers to an error made during a live radio or TV broadcast or news report, usually in terms o ...

reel, and many other extras. ''Side Sho'' was released without an MPAA rating.

Reception

''Side Sho'' received mixed reviews from critics. While many viewer reactions were negative, reviews from publications associated with the horror genre were considerably more favorable. Horror website

Dread Central Dread Central is an American website founded in 2006 that is dedicated to horror news, interviews, and reviews. It covers horror films, comics, novels, and toys. Dread Central has won the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for Best Website f ...

commented that the film ''"isn't one of those movies you should skip given the chance to see it. It may have an audience out there, but for some it may be a excessive exercise in 'been there, done that'."''

Bloody Disgusting Bloody Disgusting is an American multi-media company, which began as a horror genre-focused news site/website specializing in information services that covered various horror medias, including: film, television, video games, comics, and music. ...

, Film Apocalypse, and Horror Junk, however, all gave the film positive notices.

Fangoria ''Fangoria'' is an internationally distributed American horror film fan magazine, in publication since 1979. It is published four times a year by Fangoria Publishing, LLC and is edited by Phil Nobile Jr. The magazine was originally released i ...

magazine also gave the film a complimentary review.

References

External links

* * {{AllRovi movie, 451518, Side Sho 2007 films 2007 horror films 2000s English-language films