Dead End: Paranormal Park is full of lovely themes about accepting yourself and living authentically and Pauline is the complete antithesis of that. We see her utter disregard for the lives of others, the lengths Pauline will go to for her own success, the last remnants of her victims psyche stuck on loop like bad animatronics in the in-between space, and eventually in the complete takeover of Norma when she offers herself as a host in a last-ditch attempt to stop Pauline. The horror of her actions come less from what we see and more from the implications of it. Pauline is obsessed with herself and her own fame an obsession that goes far beyond building an egotistical monument to her own success. Each attraction is themed after one of her films, each park announcement is narrated by her, and the park is stocked with multiple impersonators to reenact her most iconic roles. Her ego is apparent through the nature of the park itself: a tribute to herself and her career. Yet her exacting control over the park takes her perfect persona past the point of pretension, and instead it compounds her persona into something sinister. To the world, she presents the face of an untouchable starlet, somehow maintaining her perfect looks and impeccable career for decades. We’re left with only a flier declaring her missing ominously tacked on top of other missing person’s posters.Īs we see more of the park and Pauline herself, we begin to witness the inconsistencies between her public persona and the person who operates Phoenix Parks. As she enters the hall of mirrors a distorted, ghostly apparition of a similar appearance strikes out at the impersonator, and she’s gone. An impersonator dressed as Pauline is chased through the halls of the Dead End haunted house attraction at Phoenix Parks. Pauline is a suspect from the first scene of the show. As the show unravels we see just how far Pauline has gone to secure her fame and the horrors she’s committed to maintain it. There are plenty of strange and terrifying aspects of Phoenix Parks, and they all lead back to Pauline. Something is clearly amiss, but it's only as Norma and Barney learn more about the park and Pauline herself that they start to understand what's so off-putting about Phoenix Parks. Her control and influence over the park is absolute and from the catchphrase she gives the staff, “If you see anything strange, keep it to yourself, sugar” we see how simply and effectively she asserts that power. Pauline is a near mythic figure in Dead End. For most of the show we only see Pauline on screens, billboards, or as her voice gives disembodied commands over the park. She’s an extremely successful actress and entrepreneur who opened Phoenix Parks to further capitalize on her immense success. Her drag queen inspired look and quirky New York accent give her a deceptively kind and glamorous appearance but they also help to impart a sense that her persona is a performance. Pauline Phoenix is the kind of saccharine sweet, perfectly styled person that immediately sets you on edge.
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