Review for Edgar Wallace Presents: Circus of Fear

‘Circus of Fear’ is by no means a great movie. In fact, in many respects it’s a bad movie. But it does have enough redeeming features to ensure that it remains a cult curio.


On the plus side, it has the luscious look and feel of a classic mid-60’s ITC series. It features cast members Christopher Lee and Klaus Kinski (Dracula meets Nosferatu), the wonderful Cecil Parker and sexy Suzy Kendall. It has dwarves and circus acts like knife-throwers and trapeze artists as well as wild animals.


But it also has a confusing, convoluted plot (despite being an adaptation of an Edgar Wallace story); a curiously dis-connected feel throughout and, bewilderingly, it covers up the face of its biggest star with a balaclava for the bulk of the movie. Very odd!
The film is perhaps better known as ‘Psycho-Circus’ which was its title stateside. As a multi-national production there are some decidedly ‘dubbed’ looking moments which merely add to the sense of disconnect. Not in other-worldly, way-off-beam kind of a way (like a Jean Rollin movie) either.


The film opens with great promise with a superb robbery sequence which includes some great sequences on Tower Bridge. All looks very promising indeed in a tightly directed piece which sets the stage for what looks like a superb 60’s heist movie. And then it all seems to go downhill a bit. 


After an exciting motorway chase scene, the gang manage to get some of the spoils of the heist hidden at a circus. But this ain’t no Billy Smarts. It’s more like the kind of circus you would expect to find in an episode of ‘Twin Peaks’ replete with blackmailing dwarf (Skip Martin), a balaclava wearing lion tamer (Lee) and a georgeous blonde (Kendall). Oh – and a mysterious chain smoking German (Kinski). Then people start getting murdered with the weapon of choice being circus throwing knives.



So from exciting caper movie to a whodunit in two uneasy steps, Lee is utterly wasted in his role only revealing himself in the third reel, despite glaring out from the wrong side of a balaclava / bag for much of the previous two reels. Scotland Yard’s Inspector Elliott poses as a photographer to get access to the circus to figure out the mystery- which I won’t spoil here. 


The transfer is top notch and you get two versions of the movie – short and full length, I guess the shorter one representing the theatrical release. I only watched the full length version but maybe I’d have been better sticking to the shorter one. Someday I’ll take a look.


You get an alternate German ending (again I won’t spoil it for you), UK and overseas trailers, an image gallery and some publicity materials as PDF’s. 


Though this won’t make anyone’s top ten releases this year, it is, nonetheless, a fun one that, despite its flaws, will hopefully still bring you some kind of warped retro pleasure.