**_Direct-to-video carnival horror is worth checking out_** Five teens visit a traveling carnival full of freaks in greater Los Angeles, but make the mistake of offending the ringmaster (Phil Fondacaro). Will any of them make it out? “SideShow” (2000) comes in the tradition of "The Funhouse" from 19 years earlier, as well as the long amusemen…

There are certainly some tropes on display in this movie, but tropes are tropes because they work, and they work in this movie too. The characters are relatable enough to be engaging, and the tension is therefore a bit more interesting than if they were just random strangers subjected to scary things. The ringmaster is of course the highlight of th…