Carver

Brutal. Scary. Filled with tension.

I rarely use those words to describe a movie, especially one that's Straight-to-Video, but they're fitting here. I rented the Unrated *grisly edition* from Netflix. Boy was I in for a surprise.

The premise is rather typical: A group of campers meets up with some nasty company in the woods. But it's the movie's delivery that's not so typical. This film was extremely gruesome. Some of the violence was so realistic and so graphic, that I had to turn my head away from the screen at times. I'm not really a huge fan of scenes of torture, but if they're well done, I can appreciate them. I think the level of brutality in Carver blows both Hostel films away by far.

The dialog was snappy and fresh. The acting was passable. I did however, think the cheap/grainy camera used to film the movie was a bit of a distraction. It looked really cheap. This movie could have been excellent on a bigger budget.

If you like movies like Wolf Creek, Hostel, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, or Wrong Turn -- and if you can appreciate independent horror made on a low budget -- you'll really love this.

Apart from in horror movies, is there EVER a willingness for teens to go on camping trips, in the middle of nowhere, these days? Because if there is, I'm not hearing about it. Nor do I see the appeal. You're submitting yourself to perhaps the most miserable vacation ever, with no modern amenities nearby other than a pub run by a weirdo who has a retarded serial killer as his assistant. Madness.

On arriving, our intrepid group discover a room filled with what they think are fake, old snuff movies. Anyone watching these horrific films on a projector for a few minutes would be able to tell you they're the Real McCoy. But being slasher flick teens, they discount all warnings... And end up paying for it in dismembering and torture. Serves them right for choosing The Great Boring Outdoors, when Florida was calling...

Carver is by no means a great film... In fact, it's almost as far from that status as is possible. But you HAVE to admire a movie which goes as far with it's gore as it does here... To the point where you're almost willing to discount the complete lack of plot or common sense of any of the characters (One of the girls traipses around outside AT NIGHT in literally, just her underwear to find her boyfriend. Seriously.) to revel in all the carnage.

ALMOST. But not quite. Still, as the old 'backhanded compliment' goes: I've seen worse... 4/10

After watching the 8th plague, and being slightly disappointed I knew he was capable of more, fairly unique ending compared to other STV horrors, and a slightly fragmented but good story.

Carver however was a masterpiece in STV Horror. This film brings some of the most savage, gut wrenching brutality I've seen in a film. The brutality is up there with Audition, and it shames both Hostel films.

The tension is thick almost straight away, the industrial, metal grinding music is enough to make some people cringe alone, in it's entirety it's creative, strong disturbing and nasty.

after watching this, and comparing it's standards to the 8th plague I can safely say he's getting better with every movie he makes. Keep an eye on this Director.

This type of movies is getting old, I mean real old. Every movie is the same, they don't even add new things, it's just the same recipe over and over.

This one is no exception, the movie is bad, the plot is the same, the actors are bad, the image is bad. The only thing positive in this movie is that is violent, everything else is bad.

And is it my imagination or the kids in this movie are getting dumber (if that was possible)?

Have you seen Texas Chainsaw Massacre? House of 1000 Corpses? The Devil's Rejects? The Hills Have Eyes? etc etc? Then don't watch this one, it's the same.

If you haven't seen any of the above, pick one of them so you don't have to watch this one.

Decent gore hampered by an unoriginal, over-done, seen it all before, becoming quite redundant, for the love of God... Story.

This is a real shame, because I truly enjoyed everything else about "Carver". It's shot well, the acting is solid and for the most part it is a strong contender to be a stand out horror film. But, instead follows the same olé' boring formulas of a thousand other (better) movies. Director Franklin Guerrero has the eye to make a real name for himself in the business, but first he must trust his "Own" abilities and stop trying to remake other peoples work. And as far as the whole "Based on a true story" (Crap) is concerned, it's just that, and no-one is buying it anymore so you can leave it off the packaging. I look forward to seeing what Mr. Guerrero can do with a story that he writes himself, and not after watching "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" followed by "The Hills Have Eyes" as a double feature with "Hostel" and then going to his neighbor's house to watch "Vacancy" and "Wrong Turn"....

Originality is a key element in this genre... Try it, you might be surprised.