Customer Reviews

Carver- UNRATED

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The torture sub-genre of horror is all the rage, thanks to all the Saw's and Hostel's and the like that seem to pop up every month or two. What makes these films good as opposed to jsut exercises in brutality is whether or not they provide the scares that they should. Carver is one of these, and the fact that it pays some good homage to Texas Chainsaw Massacre in the process makes it worth checking out. The familiar storyline involves a group of young people on a road trip that make a wrong turn, and soon enough are hunted, tortured, and murdered by a sadistic, backwoods family. Yeah, Carver isn't original in the least, but it provides enough scares, shocks, and some blood curdling gore (including a scene involving a pair of pliers that will make you squirm) to satisfy fans of low budget horror. Carver isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but if torture horror is your thing, you could do a lot worse than what you get here.

If you are a fan of horror movies, esp movies like Hostel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Saw...you would enjoy this. There are several scenes that made me drop my jaw and turn away. And for the men, the outhouse scene is one of the worst things I ever saw! I cringed and I am not even a man. Very interesting flick. Not for the squeamish.

Well, this one was a surpise. Except for the stupid song that keeps haunting me, I was really impressed with this movie. Some of the scenes will stay with you for days after seeing it. The plot was a little diferent than your typical "stranded teens" in a remote location and the Carver family puts on a good first outing. After finding out that this was filmed in Virginia I have been trying to find out where it was shot. I live in Richmond. So, if you like extreme gore with some of the torture aspects that's so popular these days then I THINK YOU WILL ENJOY THIS. As for a rent or buy it deal.... that's up to you. I purchased it from Amazon and have been very happy I did.

As I read through the reviews, I was shocked at the number of people who disliked this film. It had me wondering, 'did we all watch the same film'. I realized that at least one person didn't. This person said it was about a pumpkin carver who wears a jack-o'-lantern (sorry, it was "jackal lantern") as a mask killing a bunch of teenagers. That is so far from the truth. There were no pumpkins involved in this film, nor anything else Halloweenish. Well, everyone has their own personal opinion. And now for mine: Actually, I thought this was one of the best slasher films I've ever seen. I'm not going to give a rundown of the plot. I'm just going to tell you what I loved about it. There was nothing about this film I didn't like. I loved the realistic gritty camera work, which almost made it seem like documentary footage. The music was also extremely eerie and disconcerting. There wasn't a lot of predictability here. In typical slasher films, the lead actress is always left alone after everyone else gets slaughtered, and must fight the killer single-handedly, and almost always succeeds. After which, she sometimes discovers a wounded survivor, and everyone's all smiles. Then something happens to make you jump (usually it's the killer popping up, not dead after all). This is not your typical slasher film. It's VERY brutal. It goes for your throat. It challenges you to not look away. I was very happily surprised by all this. I didn't know anything about this film before I watched it. There was an uncomfortable creepiness that could be felt from beginning to end. The choice of actors and the acting was top-notch, as was the direction and the cinematography. The killer was very scary, and very human (nothing supernatural here), and it was all filmed beautifully. The suspense was almost unbearable at times (maybe that was because I was watching it alone in the dark). Fans of blood and gore shouldn't be disappointed. The special effects were amazingly realistic, with outstanding scenes of torture and death (the outhouse pliers scene being the most cringe worthy. I dare any man to not look away during that scene). It's all very horrific. I really loved the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" feel of it (I'm talking about the original, not the inferior remake). It's almost paying homage to it. I also noticed a bit of an "Evil Dead" influence. There's actually one scene where the younger brother character is in the 'barn of horrors' maze carrying an ax (I think it was an ax, but don't quote me on it), and he jerks at a sound. It's straight out of "The Evil Dead", with dripping ceiling pipes and all. It was great. People say that the plot is unoriginal, but then there's really no originality in films these days when you think about it. Everything's a remake or a sequel, or a sequel to a remake!. If you want true originality, you should watch some underground Art House films, and keep a very open mind while doing so. Just something to think about. It seems to me that this film was not intended to be all that original. It's more like a tribute to the old great slasher films of the '70s and '80s, giving nods to some truly amazing classic horror films, and adding the great special effects of today. I think it ranks right up there with some of the best (but then I really love horror films). Just don't expect the big Hollywood treatment. This isn't a big Hollywood film. It's amazing what can be done with a lower budget and a talented crew. It's also very scary, and quite unsettling. As far as the 'Based on a True Story' inclusion goes, any true film fan knows you're supposed to watch the credits till the end of the film, and actually read them. You'd realize that the story is completely fictional. You should also know that a lot of horror films use 'Based on a True Story' as a tag line to make people feel even creepier about what they're seeing. I'm not the least bit offended by this. It definitely worked on me. It's also often used when the film is actually very, very loosely based on an actual event. I think this film will eventually gain cult status, and have a large underground following. Well, you never know, we'll see. Bottom line is, if you're not a fan of gory horror films, it would be best if you avoided this film. For the rest of you, I highly recommend it. Maybe I'm not a big tough guy, but this film left me feeling very uncomfortable, and more than a little freaked out. I had to immediately turn on the lights when it ended. But hey, I live alone in an old dark house. I know, it's just an excuse. Maybe I'm just a wuss.

What would the world be like without over the top splatter fests? I personally don't want to find out. I'm always on the lookout for weird and disturbing slasher flicks and Carver did not disappoint. It's your basic kids in the wood getting hacked up by the locals, sure, but it's got a little something more to it. It's a bit smarter than the average micro-budget horror film. The gore FX were truly cringe-worthy, and there was some real suspense in moments. It also had a heightened style through most of it that you don't get in a lot of these straight to DVD jobs.

All that said... it's got its flaws. Plenty of them really, from a few technical aspects to some hit or miss acting. However, I think its good points were enough to outweigh most of these, and I quite enjoyed it overall. Definitely worth a look.

This movie has the craziest scariest gore scene i've ever seen!!!! You can see it in full un-neutered glory on the Unrated edition Carver or semi-neutered Rated edition Carver! Either way it will make everyone, especially the male audience members, cringe. I'll say one thing pliers and genitals do not mix well together.

While the plot for Carver might not be terribly original, I must say that this little gem surprised the hell out of me. It's incredibly well shot and generates a true sense of suspense and dread from beginning to end. The acting? Again, it surprised the hell out of me in a very good way. All performances were spot-on which is usally not this case in a low budget slasher film. In addition, the backwoods locations were just awesome and really added to the appeal. Crumbling outhouses, barns and even the woods themselves are used very smartly and effectively. The effects were definitely gruesome and well done. Don't believe the other review here that says this movie is only about the gore because it isn't. Any self-respecting horror fan should check this sucker out. And for the record, no, I am not the writer/director of this film nor do I know anyone associated with this film.

Carver wasn't a bad film at all but there's really nothing here that would differentiate it from the hundreds of countless slasher films already out on DVD. Admittedly, the premise of a killer making home videos for his snuff collection is interesting but the killer himself is...well...a complete oaf. I'm sure that was the point, to show that he's not entirely capable of killing all those people on his own, but c'mon, he makes Ethan Suplee's character Randy Hickey from My Name is Earl look like Einstein.

Anyhow, the acting really wasn't bad; it was a step up from the performances in Guerrero Jr.'s last film, The 8th Plague. That doesn't mean they were amazing or anything but they were adequate. The gore on the other hand kicked all sorts of backside and really rocked my box. It was everything you could ask for in a slasher flick. Hell, they even threw some nudity in for good measure! Yup, it would appear that they remembered everything that makes a great horror film except one thing...a solid story.

Carver is 100% bad horror-by-the-numbers. While the kills were fun and brutal, the film itself was dreadfully tedious and unoriginal. There's very little tension generated here because the characters are all a bit hard to like and the killer is impossible to take seriously. By the time the film really gets rolling you're really on hanging in there for more gore and THE INFAMOUS TESTICLE SCENE. Now don't get me wrong, the "sack scene" was truly impressive but if that's all you have to go on then you didn't craft a well thought out horror film but rather a fetish flick for the goremongers.

By the way...BASED ON TRUE EVENTS? *sigh* Lame.

on a blackboard, is how some of the scenes make me feel in this film. Awesome horror. It's up there with Hostel. Saw, Texas Chainsaw. Lot of blood, lot of torture. And for a extra treat there are some nice scenes of actress Kristyn Green. Don't say no to this DVD.

Carver (Franklin Guerrero Jr., 2008)

I can make you one guarantee about the weird, weird experience that is Carver: once you have seen it, you will never be able to hear "Turkey in the Straw" again without imagining blood, gore, and widespread death. Which can be very interesting if your neighborhood's ice cream truck plays it incessantly. It's a silly little movie, and it's got more than its share of flaws, but it brings the gore in a memorable enough setting that, like me, you may be willing to forgive the film for a lot.

Plot: nothing out of the ordinary. Two couples head off to the country to do a bit of camping. When they get to the campsite, they find another lass there who's waiting for her friend, who went out that morning and never came back. (Thanks to the opening scene, we know she won't be.) The batch of young-and-beautifuls is subject to the attentions, and predations, of the local serial killer, and the remaining folks need to figure out how to escape the area without getting chopped into pickled pigs' feet to serve the local bar patrons.

No, the plot's nothing new. Most of the acting is mediocre, and some of it is downright awful. The camerawork seems a little shaky at times, though this does look like a bigger-budget production than I expected. In other words, it doesn't sound like a great deal to get excited about. Guerrero, however, is willing to do all sorts of interesting things one doesn't see in your usual slasher film. (Imagine getting brained with a toilet. A full toilet.) The resultant gore scenes make for a mix of horror and humor that is, if not unique, at least so far beyond convention that Carver succeeds in doing something American gore films haven't done for a while now (save the redoubtable Deadgirl), and that is shock the audience. From that standpoint, I'd have to call it a success, though a mediocre one. Still, if you're a gorehound, it's a must-see. ** ½