On October 28, 1978, the movie KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park appeared on NBC. By the time this show aired, KISS had moved from being a successful, edgy rock band with their Alive! and Destroyer albums to pop culture icons who sold a variety of merchandise like Halloween costumes, action figures and comic books that had their blood added to the ink. They were developing a more kid-friendly image while the lyrics of their songs still had more adult themes. By the time this TV movie was released they had released a total of 6 studio albums, 2 two-disc live albums, 4 solo albums and a two-disc “Greatest Hits” album. I was still a fan although my interest was waning.
I was hoping for a movie that would emphasize the cool personas from their early albums. What we saw was something that came across more like cartoon characters. This should not have been a surprise since the movie was co-produced by Hanna-Barbara, the cartoon company that made all kinds of cartoons from The Flintstones to Scooby Doo, Where Are You. So, it should come as no surprise that the story of this show comes across like an extended episode of Scooby Doo in a haunted theme park, made longer with concert footage. At the time of its release, this was a big disappointment to KISS fans. It seemed like the ultimate sell-out although that wouldn’t happen until about a year later with their Dynasty album, which included pop and disco songs like I Was Made For Lovin’ You. In the years since then, it has become a cult favorite primarily due to the wooden performances by the members of the band and the Scooby Doo feel for the story line. It’s not as fun to watch as their performance in The Paul Lynde Halloween Special but worth checking out.
