hbomax

Ed: I saw a guy come down the Alpine Slide and keep the stick full forward (fast!) all the way to the bottom. There were tires fastened at the end of the slide as bumpers and he hit the tire full speed, and did a front flip, landed on his feet on the deck. He definitely did it on purpose, and executed it perfectly. He still got ejected from the park though...

SETH: The most "fun" rides were probably Colorado River Ride and Alpine Slide. I did both, though I was super young and so only did the kiddie track for the Alpine Slide. The "expert" track terrified me (rightfully so). Seeing the wrecked carts line the track as you took the ski lift up--and then the bloody warning signs at the top--you knew it was for real.

SETH: To me, the movie is largely about how nostalgia can be used to mask trauma or horror. It wouldn't have been enough to simply do a Serial-style deconstruction of this place. We wanted to put you in the position of a 1980s teenager excited to attend Action Park. We wanted people to understand the appeal of it before the darker truth is revealed because that's why Action Park is worthy of study and conversation: Because it was dangerous AND appealing. That's why it feels relevant today, when people willfully put themselves in dangerous situations for fun or some misguided concept of "freedom." The movie is about understanding why people do that—then and perhaps now.

In addition, Action Park has largely become something people laugh about. A myth and a legend. We needed to make that clear to people who may not be familiar with AP, before pulling the curtain back. This is how Gen-X kids grew up and how they look back at their childhoods. They experienced messed up and dangerous things that they look back at with a shake of their head and a smile. Because, honestly, what else can you do? Laughter is what happens when your brain is short-circuited and no other response will work. It's not laughter because it's good or funny. It's laughter in the same way a caveman might laugh after narrowly escaping a saber-tooth tiger.

SETH: Alpine Slide. Though some of the old rides are still there! The park is now called Mountain Creek and is a lovely way to spend an afternoon. If you're interested in Action Park history/lore, it's amazing to go on Colorado River Ride (though now you have to wear a full lacrosse-style face mask to avoid smashing your face), Surf Hill (the huge jump is no longer there), the Wave Pool (no longer nearly as insane/murky), or the Cliff Dives (the higher cliff point is now closed). The current management is top-notch. Really a great place.

SETH: I don't think we implied he was a good man at all. Jessi (who said that stuff) knew Gene for many years and she told us point blank: "If you only include me saying bad things about him, you are being deceptive in your film because my relationship with him was more complex than that." She even says in the movie: "I'm not standing before you saying he was a good, benevelent man" just that he was a man capable of goodness. The movie is Socratic in nature. We aren't telling you what to think: Just guiding you to the edge for you to make the final leap yourself. I can understand that being frustrating for a viewer who feels like they were led all the way to a certain conclusion and not handed that as an easy out.

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(Also, please don't mistake what people we interviewed said as being the POV of the filmmakers. To us, this was largely a movie about the people of Vernon and what they believed and experienced. Many characters in the movie have differing takes on things and may even contradict each other. That's very much the point.)