You don’t happen to have any extra tent stakes do you? This has got to be one of the dumbest pick up lines in a movie ever conceived. Carver is a film that is what I would like to call the poor man’s Hostel mixed with a bit of Texas Chainsaw Massacre re-make. However I think it’s far more violent and graphic than the likes of either of those films, and that’s what makes the movie less effective for me and had me shaking my head.
Carver has your basic horror plot folks. A bunch of college aged kids on vacation decide to go camping in the woods somewhere, while a ruthless killer captures and tortures them to death one by one. In detail; A bunch of college age kids stop at a roadside bar/restaurant and are asked by the manager if they can go up to his shed in the woods to take care of a few things for him because he can’t do it for some reason. He agrees to give them some cash and feed them, and take care of their first night of drinks on their first night of vacation. They can’t refuse the offer, so they agree to help out. While in the shed, they come across a projector and decide to watch some films. The films however are explicit and graphic murders of campers in the woods. They put it off as some bad homemade horror films. that is until they find out that night, that they themselves are being filmed and that some crazy ass fat boy in the woods wants to kill them all.
The script for this film has no substance at all. In fact the whole idea behind this movie is very unoriginal. The plot is your basic torture horror flick and offers no real message within it’s plot that reflects anything within today’s society. The dialogue is pretty bad, some of the lines in the script I couldn’t help but laugh at and it really took away from the overall shrieks and scares this film so desperately tries to get out of it’s audience.
On another note, for an independent feature the acting and directing are actually some what decent. The majority of the cast in this film actually did well with the material they were presented. They primarily did well when it came to the more calmer scenes that involved more of a some what important conversation if that’s what you want to call it. When it came to acting scared or fighting for their lives I really didn’t buy the majority of the performances as well, but some of the cast did do better than others. This of course goes hand in hand with the directing, which is not half bad either. Director Franklin Guerrero Jr. does have a great eye for the camera and is a pretty decent editor as well, and unlike most independent films he at least is able to deliver a film that is bearable to watch.
The films production value is actually pretty decent as well. While it still looks like a low budget film, it at least was shot at locations that seem logical for the script and even the sets were dressed up pretty well. I felt the lighting for the film could of been better though, as there are some scenes that looked over lit, and this personally took away from the overall feel of the film in terms of scares. The special make-up effect and the little CGI that the film has are actually very good. There are some scenes that involve very difficult effects and they were pulled off pretty good in this film.
Now here are my major pet peeves with this film. It’s far from original. I know most horror films aren’t original, but at least some of them try to be. This movie stole shots from so many great horror films I lost count of the amount of films I was able to call. To name a few you’ll see obvious shots from the likes of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Hostel and even the teaser trailer from the Hills Have Eyes Part 2. The film does have a lot of original kill scenes, I give it credit on that; but on it’s overall originality, I can’t. Another thing that really took the overall scare factor away from me is that the killer looked like an overweight version of Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars Episode 1. He wore that funny looking pod racing helmet on his head and I’m sorry folks but that’s all I though of. Darth Vader’s illegitimate brother.
Overall, I’ve never been one for these torture flicks, and as some of you know I prefer my horror to have a bit more substance and suspense, than I do gore. I mean do we really need to see some guy get a toilet full of shit dumped on him and then watch his balls in graphic detailed be squeezed with a pair of vice grips? I personally didn’t need to see it. However if your one of those horror fans that needs to see everything in graphic detail and that’s your forte, than Carver is right up your ally, if your like me and prefer the less is more method than you’ll probably be just as grossed out as I was. It’s a very brutal and graphic film, far more than some of the popular torture films like Saw and Hostel. It also has one hell of a climatic ending that rivals that of the likes as well.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
