Product Details

• Actors: Lou Diamond Phillips
• Directors: Sheldon Wilson
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Genius Products
• DVD Release Date: March 23, 2010
• Run Time: 87 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B002K0WBVE
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #105,315 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Carny: Maneater Series" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Studio: Genius Products Inc Release Date: 11/24/2009

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Want some more peas Chief Diamond Phillips?, July 26, 2010

By 

Sid the Elf (North Pole) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Carny: Maneater Series (DVD)

Nothing better on a rainy Sunday afternoon then checking out a sub-par B horror flick centered around some Garden State folk lure. While trying to make an informed B decision we read up about Carny which is based on the Jersey Devil. After reading the premise and seeing Lou Diamond Phillips was running the show we figured..sure why not? We haven't done a creature feature in a while anyway. Have to say this one was pretty decent in a hilarious B horror kind of way. In no way could this film possible scare you, unless you've got some kind of mental issue, but it will leave you entertained with some low budget computer generated creature goodness.

Lou Diamond Phillips plays the town police Chief, Chief Diamond Phillips as he prepares for a freakshow circus to set up shop. Now the local folk aren't very pleased with thought of these wierdos coming through and protest to Chief Diamond Phillips their discontent. See it's a very old school religious area removed from most of normal civilization and they don't want the freaks and their damn video machines ruining the towns stale charm. Despite their warning Chief decides to let the show go down eventually leading to the main attraction escape. Problem here is the main event happens to be a vicious hungry creature called the Jersey Devil. Once this thing gets loose all these Southern Jersey hicks start getting ripped apart limb from limb. Their only hope lies in their fearless chief to bring an end to the nightmare. Thankfully Lou is a third cousin to Apache so naturally in the end he takes care of business.

Carny turned out to deliver exactly what it expected...well I'm not used to that but that's fine. Lou did his typical low budget acting which isn't good but certainly not bad, just good enough to keep getting booked in straight to video/t.v releases. The true star was the Jersey Devil followed closely by the sideshow boss that looked like Louie Anderson. We'd be willing to bet it was Louie Anderson if were weren't convinced he lost his life battling Santa over the crab leg tray tongs at Chini buffet. The computer generated Jersey Devil was certainly hilarious and awesome at the same time so we can safely recommend this one for the right viewer. In no way will you be scared, but wouldn't think you'd be expecting that from a Syfy channel straight to t.v release anyway.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Jersey Devil, March 11, 2010

By 

Micheal Hunt (Hellbourne) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Carny: Maneater Series (DVD)

Carny is a film about a traveling side-show that comes to Sheriff Lou Diamond Phillipp's town. The owner of the freak-show purchases a rare beast that he has no idea what it is, but assures himself it will make him a fortune. It turns out what the beast is the Jersey Devil, or so they claim, looks more like a bat to me. Things go bad for the side-show and town when good ole J.D escapes and rips the town a new one.

The film contains the typical small-town red-neck community with the only brains in town being souley owned by the Sheriff. Everyone else takes there orders from the Pastor of the town who warns the people that the devil is amongst them. Then the typical things in this kind of a movie take place.

Overall, it's watchable, but don't expect any scares or gores, as it's one of those low budget mad-for-television things Phillips is now known for. It may be a bit of a pop-corn flick, but don't spend more on renting this thing the price of the pop-corn itself, if you wait for this to be shown on TV again, you won't kick yourself about it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Devil of a good time, July 26, 2010

By 

Michael J. Tresca "Talien" (Fairfield, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Carny: Maneater Series (DVD)

Continuing my streak of subjecting myself to every monster movie ever shown on the Syfy channel, I came across Carny. I've had some pretty disturbing experiences from both sides of the "freak" world - I've worked with disabled people who were hurt and frustrated by the prejudices against them and I've had a showdown with a carnie (it ended well, I got my money back). So I always approach "freakshow" movies with some trepidation, fearing that the monster will be an exploitation of a person with a legitimate disability. I needn't have worried. Carny is only peripherally about the carnival.

What Carny really is about is the Jersey Devil. But then, the title of "Jersey" or "Devil" probably wouldn't have been nearly as enticing. The movie's namesake is actually Cap (Alan C. Peterson), the carnival owner. And it becomes clear in the first few minutes that Carny was named after a monster after all. Cap is as sleazy as they come, ruthlessly sacrificing whoever gets in his path to make a quick buck off of the Jersey Devil.

When the Jersey Devil eventually makes its debut, it's a pleasant CG surprise. The beast looks like drawings of the Jersey Devil - and could, if you squint your eyes, be a fill-in for the Amazing Bat Boy. The Jersey Devil interacts appropriately with its environment and its attacks are mostly off camera. Instead we only see the thing's handiwork - faceless corpses and bits of bodies. Director Sheldon Wilsdon knows precisely where to spend his limited budget.

Two other forces opposed the carnies: Sheriff Atlas (Lou Diamond Phillips) and Preacher Owen (Vlasta Vrana). Atlas just wants to keep the peace, but Owen believes the carnies and their devil are Satan's-spawn that must be destroyed. When the beast kills Owen's son he goes on a berserk rampage, stirring up the locals to kill the Jersey Devil and burn down the carnival.

What's refreshing about Carny is its tight focus. This is as much a film about the evil men do -- for the love of God or money -- as it is about the beast itself. There's no unnecessary romance, no sci-fi weaponry, no "monstercam." This is about killing a monster on the loose, both the physical beast and the evil that lurks in men's hearts.

There are plenty of logic holes that, because the movie clicks by so quickly, are easily forgivable. The preacher's plotline is not elegantly integrated into the plot; Atlas attempts to handle a series of homicide that have clearly ranged beyond his control and experience; and Carny's ending is far too abrupt. But if you're looking for a monster movie about the Jersey Devil, and there aren't many, Carny is a devil of a good time.