2020 Directed by Jake Williams
Bright Sun Films' Jake Williams makes his feature debut with this documentary about the infamous Six Flags New Orleans, which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina, and has become a holy grail of sorts for urban exploration.
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so you’re telling me they built a new orleans-themed theme park in the already new orleans-themed new orleans
I’ve seen urban explorers slink around the abandoned Six Flags New Orleans in YouTube videos previously and found the location eerie and fascinating. This documentary fills in some of the history of the park and why the best option currently from a financial standpoint is to just continue to let it rot.
Adequate but (understandably) small in scope and a little off on pacing for such a short film. A means to an end to get you up to speed on the situation, but only facts will remain in my brain after a few months, not feelings.
Bit of a nothing documentary here I must say. It kinda makes out there’s some big scandal or something but there isn’t, it just never really got to anything that interesting. So the park closed down after Hurricane Katrina? Alright, ok. It was fine, some nice footage and I loved the jazzy music but overall, average at best.
I decided to buy this documentary both because I'm a huge fan of Bright Sun Films and because I'm a hardcore roller coaster enthusiast. I have had a huge interest in Jazzland/Six Flags New Orleans in the past and I couldn't pass this up when I found out it was being made.
Closed for Storm is an expertly made documentary with absolutely stunning drone footage of the abandoned park and the surrounding area. The cinematography is on point and the interview segments are very well done. I greatly enjoyed the storytelling of how the park was designed, built, operated and ultimately destroyed, and the historical footage provides a glimpse of the past and complements the interviews perfectly. Once we get…
I like the history behind abandoned places. So sad to see them in its disintegrated state but at one point it once shined.
I was surprised that Six Flaggs accommodated their employees after the incident.
🎢
I’ve been a big fan of Bright Sun Productions for years & to finally see him put out a full length documentary.. ugh proud. This was SO fascinating! I live two hours from New Orleans and pass by the abandoned Jazzland every time I head there!
It’s so sad to see the city of New Orleans squandering that land when it could be so much. I know the constant threat of hurricanes is definitely not ideal.. but that’s the deal with the whole city and people still visit and live there! I just think it’d be awesome to have any kind of entertainment venue open up there for the people of Nola if not anything else.
Well done, Jake! 👏🏼🎢
it’s interesting i guess but oh my god i hate when people are looking through abandoned areas and they’re like “ohMY GOODDD OLD FLYERSSS” like what you’ve never seen old shit? you’ve never seen a bunch of garbage before?
I write this as not only a film reviewer, and a documentary buff (two of the worst kinds of people) but as a theme park enthusiast (the third worst kind of person) and at the end of it all I just had to wonder to myself “why make this?”. The story of this park is such well tread ground that there’s nothing this documentary can add to the story, beyond that I can say, again as a theme park enthusiast that the story of Six Flags New Orleans is easily the least interesting story that came out of the horror of Hurricane Katrina.
The events of Katrina are so oft overlooked as is the human cost of the flooding and…
This was so absolutely fascinating. The fact that everything is still completely frozen in time from that last day?? Wild. I think my perception of it may be very warped because I love watching documentaries about anything abandoned, but oh well.
I’ve followed Jake Williams and his YouTube channel for the past few years and as a fan this documentary has been a long time coming.
Honestly I wasn’t super invested. Topics like Six Flags New Orleans are much more interesting in his usual <20min YouTube video format. A lot of parts felt very dragged out, especially with all the mind-numbingly boring city council jargon. What I did really love was how the doc captured the bittersweet nostalgia surrounding the once-was amusement park. Lots of great sequences using archival VHS tapes paired with a powerful score by Matthew Jordan Leeds.
Happy to support one of my favorite YouTubers and I’d love to see Jake make more feature length documentaries in the future!
i'm from new orleans and a childhood friend of mine actually produced this movie. unfortunately i'm not sure they entirely stuck the landing on this documentary. closed for the storm plays out like an oral history of Jazzland - the who, what, when, where, why - of how this notorious them park came to rise and fall. and perhaps what it could be in the future. it rolls along a fairly rote pace, with standard talking heads, heavy reliance of archival and drone footage, and a tawdry story structure, serving mainly as a visual wikipedia article.
BUT i think in steadier, more creative hands (*gasp* not a YouTuber), there could've been interesting film here about what it means for society to abandon a landmark, the nature of corporate failure and its effects on the individual, and just a generally more explorative, boots on the ground, visual journey through the theme park.
Sadly, this was better suited for a YouTube video.
The story of the park itself is very interesting & the shots of what the park looks like now are really a sight to see. But overall it drags on a little too long, even at only 77 minutes.
