Tags:
Film: Carved
Year: 2024
Director: Justin Harding
Writers: Justin Harding and Cheryl Meyer
Starring: Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Wyatt Lindner and Corey Fogelmanis
Review:
This was a film that started late-night programming on day 3 of Nightmares Film Festival. The information that I looked up ahead of time looked interesting here. I got to see this for the Eastern US premiere of the film. I should also point out that this one is out on Hulu as well.
Synopsis: a group of survivors find themselves trapped in a historical reenactment village on Halloween, where they must unite to battle a sentient, vengeful pumpkin.
I am going to preface this by saying that at the time of writing, I wasn’t sure of character names due to not having a cast list. What I can say is that we start in the middle of what is happening. There is a reporter named AJ (Elvis Nolasco) who is trying to get out of a room he’s hiding in. There is something with tentacles killing people. We then go into the past, I believe 8 hours, to see what led us there.
Now this festival is put on by a local corporation. The CEO is Bill (DJ Qualls). He’s upset with AJ who keeps turning the questions he asks to attendees back to the chemical spill that this company caused. We then go about meeting people who are attending. Welsey (Jackson Kelly) and Clint (Matthew Cardarople) run a corn themed food truck. Earl (Chris Elliott) also helps there.
Later that night there is a play put on by director Kira (Peyton Elizabeth Lee). Her brother is there as well, Trevor (Wyatt Lindner). She is also helped by Barb (Carla Jimenez) and her boyfriend stars in it, Cody (Corey Fogelmanis). They have a falling out when Kira learns that he auditioned for a show in New York and is leaving. Kira wanted to go with him, but she is raising her brother as her parents were killed in the chemical spill. Also in the play is Shane (Jonah Lees) and Maddie (Sasha Mason), who Trevor has a crush on.
Clint finds a deformed pumpkin that he puts in the truck. He brings it to the festival. There is a pumpkin carving contest in which Wesley, Trevor, Maddie, Kevin (Marc Sully Saint-Fleur) as well as others are a part of it. This turns into a nightmare though. The deformed pumpkin is alive. It has tentacles that it uses to kill those around it. It is now a fight for survival to get away from this farm before it is too late. There is also the concern that what happens if this monstrous pumpkin gets out as well.
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that this is oddly another comedy/horror film that worked for me. I love the creature feature aspect along with the environmental concern angle. There’s even this idea of capitalism and how we let those in charge off the hook when they do little nice things to help. It makes for a fun romp.
Now I will then shift to say that this is oddly a slasher film as well. Not traditional since our killer is a mutated pumpkin. There are elements here though that are found in slashers that are more traditional and as a horror fan, I can appreciate that. This creature uses its tentacles to wield knives, amongst other weapons. How the characters fight back is fun. This might not have the most complex story, but it works in the framework of what we need.
Then there is also the social commentary here. This is in your face, but I don’t think in a negative way. It is because of how abrasive AJ is in asking his questions. This in turn makes Bill and Kevin need to follow him. They interrupt any time there is something that could hurt the company. I do appreciate using this concept. It is something that is quite relevant today. This is still a silly creature feature, which makes sense to alleviate the seriousness of the commentary.
Since this is a slasher of sorts, what usually makes these work for me are do we have good kills or characters? I’d start with the former. This does need CGI to make things work. For the most part, I’d say that it is fine. There were times that it took me out of it though as well. When they went practical, they were good. The blood and gore we got was solid. I do appreciate it when those are used well. The cinematography and the framing also help there. They can hide the seams when needed. I’ll also say that the soundtrack worked for what was needed in building the atmosphere.
Let’s then go to the other side of the equation. The acting isn’t great, but it works for a movie like this. I’d say that Lee and Lindner were good as our two leads. I feel bad for the former but we see growth which is what we need. Fogelmanis was good as her boyfriend who has a secret that is going to hurt her when it gets revealed. Lees was fine as our jerk character. I do like Mason as the know-it-all role. Nolasco, Qualls, Elliott, Kelly, Cardarople, Jimenz and Saint-Fleur were good in their supporting roles. They all help bring their quirky characters to life.
In conclusion, this is a fun little supernatural, kind of slasher film. We have a solid premise about a chemical spill that creates this killer pumpkin. There are fun situations that arise from that concept that made me chuckle. I think we have a solid cast of characters that are distinct enough. This is well made with the practical effects, cinematography and framing leading the way there. There is even social commentary to help explain what is happening here. This isn’t great, but I had fun with this one. If you like comedy/horror that goes into the absurd, give this a watch.
My Rating: 7 out of 10