Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park
| Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park | |
|---|---|
Cover of the film's 1988 VHS release
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| Written by | Jan-Michael Sherman Don Buday |
| Directed by | Gordon Hessler |
| Starring |
Kiss Anthony Zerbe Deborah Ryan |
| Music by | Hoyt Curtin |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Joseph Barbera |
| Producer(s) | Terry Morse, Jr. |
| Cinematography | Robert Caramico |
| Editor(s) | Peter E. Berger |
| Running time | 96 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Hanna-Barbera KISS/Aucoin Productions |
| Budget | $3 million (US) |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | October 28, 1978 |
Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park (also known as Attack of the Phantoms in Europe and Kiss Phantoms in Italy) is a 1978 made-for-television musical-fantasy film starring American hard rock band Kiss and produced by the animation studio of Hanna-Barbera Productions. The film's plot revolves around Kiss, who use their superpowers to battle an evil inventor (Abner Devereaux, played by Anthony Zerbe) and to save a California amusement park from destruction.
NBC aired the film at the height of Kiss' popularity in the United States. Due to the film's poor acting and semi-comedic script, most Kiss fans disliked the film. Despite the film's poor quality, it has attained cult film status. The members of Kiss themselves despised the film for making them appear buffoonish. For years after its airing, no one who worked for the group was permitted to mention the film in their presence.
The film opens at Magic Mountain, where Melissa (Deborah Ryan) and her boyfriend Sam (Terry Lester) are enjoying a day at the amusement park. Sam, a park employee, disappears early in the film while investigating the laboratory of Abner Devereaux, who is the park's head engineer and the creator of a series of lifelike cybernetic creatures on display throughout the park. It is subsequently revealed that Sam has been transformed by Devereaux into a mindless cyborg through the use of a tiny mind-control device attached to Sam's neck.
Devereaux's increasingly erratic behavior is a cause of concern for Calvin Richards (Carmine Caridi), the owner of the amusement park. Faced with a budget crunch, Richards decides to channel money away from Devereaux's projects in order to pay for a Kiss concert. Richards explains to Devereaux that the concert will generate much-needed revenue, but Devereaux is livid. Later, three punks (dressed like members of a biker gang) sabotage one of the rides, placing a group of riders in danger. Richards blames Devereaux for the incident and fires him. Devereaux swears revenge upon Richards, the park, and Kiss, all of whom he blames for his misfortune.
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Wikipedia