Excellent but underrated film

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

After recently watching two movies with a run time of 60 minutes,I decided to check for what other flicks I have waiting to view. Picking up the film after reading an outline that made it sound like a proto- Final Destination,I got on the roller coaster.The plot:Waving goodbye to her husband as he sets out to work at the local amusement park, Sheila Brady gets visions of a roller coaster at the amusement park burning down. Going to the park,Brady finds her warnings to get ignored. As Brady begins getting recurring,strange things start taking place at the park. View on the film:Taking three days/three attempts to shoot,(a real 80-year-old roller coaster at Ocean View was actually destroyed) director E.W. Swackhamer & cinematographer Travers Hill actually get a fair bit of bang for their TV movie bucks,with Swackhamer gliding the camera along the burning roller coaster,and looking down on the ground covered in unlucky punters.Made for Playboy TV, the screenplay by John Furia and Barry Oringer avoids any raunchy action or Horror thrills from the "vision", for a tame Drama/Thriller tale,where Brady's concerns are lightly brushed aside. Giving the TV flick a shot of glamour, cute Diana Canova, (who is joined by a likable Martin Landau as Tom Flood)gives Brady a wide-eyed terror of life on a roller coaster.

In 1906, Sam Jackson's father opened Ocean View Amusement Park in Norfolk, Va. Years later, Sam can no longer afford to run it himself and he has had to sell out to a corporation that intends to use the park as a centerpiece for its Paradise City development. Sam, a widower with three children, is in charge for the most part, but the corporation (represented by Tom Flood) has the final say.Shortly before the big July 4 celebration, a hurricane is headed for Norfolk. Will the park survive? That's not really the most important question. Although the park appears to be in good shape, it is apparently possessed. Weird things are happening.Sheila Brady, whose husband Phil works at the park (though he doesn't exactly have an amusement park personality), is having nightmares and visions of the park being destroyed in a series of explosions. No one listens to her because she is just a crazy pregnant woman. Or so her husband believes. And a thorough inspection shows the park to be in perfect shape--though we keep seeing a close-up of the one problem no one knows about that could cause Sheila's visions to become a reality. Sheila does seek the advice of a professional knowledgeable in these matters.Billy is a U. S. Navy sailor who wants to lose his virginity. Jenny is the cotton candy girl at the park who wishes she were pretty like her sister. Paula is a former park employee who does weather research for the U. S. Navy.This was not just a bad horror movie, though this theme kept coming up. The romances made the movie somewhat more pleasant and even provided comedy. The anticipation of a possible disaster added suspense, though the park's "demon" gave the movie a little more edge and suggested it could be scary. If you like the classic horror movies, though, don't get your hopes up.Not all the acting was bad, though considering the cast, I would have expected much better. Mel Stewart gave one of the best performances as a park employee, mainly because his character thought most of the white people were racist, and he occasionally provided comedy relief by acting like he was the slave obeying Massa. A woman essentially playing Susan Sarandon's "Bull Durham" role, whose name I didn't catch, also impressed. The university researcher who examined Sheila was convincing enough. Diana Canova as Sheila, on the other hand--if she was trying to come across as a bad actress, she succeeded. I was actually hoping this woman would never act again. But I have heard of her. So maybe, just maybe, she was going overboard on purpose.The climactic event was quite well done, and those who know the park's true story would understand why. I guess it was a pleasure to watch, except when one considers the obvious reasons why it wouldn't be. After all, some major characters could have been seriously hurt or worse.This was actually okay.

I live on Oceanview unfortunately! I'm not a crack head or a dreg, it's just the only place thats affordable to live in the area. I agree with you, I have read the history of Oceanview and the destruction of the park was a big class boo boo for Norfolk.....I would love to see the movie any idea where i could get a copy in the area? What was Norfolk thinking about at the time....we're suppose to have a few hero's who's bringing changes to the area ....Where are they ? Maybe they need to come down here and live for a few weeks and see the prostitutes and drug deals and knifing that happen and thats just near 11th bay street. not to mention the gang houses here. i thought you was suppose to clean out the bad from the area not the good people, Wake Up Norfolk!

The Death of Oceanview Park fits the part for a TV Movie trying to be mildly scary. Actually it more accurately fits the 1970s idea of a silly TV trying to be mildly scary. The movie never really ties itself together and gives the impression that it was written and/or pieced together on a rainy Sunday afternoon. It has several paranormal phenomena that serve as the scary throw-ins, but they never resolve themselves or show how they actually fit in to the movie's events. The acting appears serious, almost too serious, but this only makes the movie that much sillier. Although this movie is bad, it's a great movie for a few laughs and a look into 1970s "made for TV" filmography. Beware of the roving sand bump!