Someone is making a documentary about NJ’s infamous Action Park, called ‘the world’s most dangerous amusement park’
The recently released trailer for the documentary, Class Action Park, gives a glimpse of the forthcoming film, which features interviews with celebrities who attended the park, like Jackass star Johnny Knoxville and late night host Jimmy Kimmel, as well as vintage news and promotional footage.
A new documentary will take a closer look at Vernon, New Jersey’s infamous Action Park, which has been referred to as “the world’s most dangerous amusement park.”
The recently released trailer for the documentary, Class Action Park, gives a glimpse of the forthcoming film, which features interviews with celebrities who attended the park, like Jackass star Johnny Knoxville and late night host Jimmy Kimmel, as well as vintage news and promotional footage. Filmmakers Chris Charles Scott and Seth Porges, who produced the film, previously released a short titled The Most Insane Amusement Park Ever, which also focused on the park, in 2013.
First opened in 1978, Action Park operated for nearly two decades, closing in 1996 following numerous injuries to patrons, as well as several lawsuits and six confirmed deaths, NJ.com reports. The park, started by owner Eugene Mulvihill, developed a reputation for its chaotic approach to amusement, which included a looping waterslide, a concrete sledding track, and a liberal policy toward alcohol.
“If you lived through Action Park, you lived through an event in your life that changed how you felt about fun,” a voiceover says in the Class Action Park trailer. “If you’ve never heard of Action Park, it’s an impossible myth your friends are making up and exaggerating — but it was true.”
As the trailer shows, Action Park became the stuff of legend among New Jersey area youth. Comedian Chris Gethard puts it succinctly in the trailer, saying “We would try to die for fun” at the park.
“Everybody almost died there,” Gethard says in the clip. Previously, Gethard described Action Park as a “true rite of passage for any New Jersey kid” in a 2005 issue of Weird NJ magazine.
While Class Action Park may be the first full-length documentary about Action Park, the park previously inspired a fictional take on its history dubbed Action Point. Starring Knoxville, that film was released last year.
No release date has yet been announced for Class Action Park. However, a website for the doc indicates that it is “coming soon.”