Carnivorous

I don't know how you can have such a combination of bad without supreme effort. The acting is not just nonexistent....it is like it is intentionally over the top terrible. The direction is terrible. The dialogue is terrible. It was either shut it off or start cutting myself to ease the agony.

I watched this "film" last night by accident after a friend received it in the post from his monthly subscription DVD provider service. My friend denied all responsibility after we watched this turgid and vacuous waste of light, denying that he had ever added it to his want list at all - perhaps the people at LoveFilm (other DVD provider services are available) regularly send this film out for a laugh just to irritate people. This incidentally, is the only reason I can think of for anyone to be involved in the making and distribution of this genuinely appalling eye irritant of an atrocity - they must just want to cause as much misery and unhappiness in the world as possible. Well - they're getting there.

For something distributed by Shoreline Entertainment, unfortunately, Carnivorous is one of the best.

Granted, its main accomplishment is generating apathy; that's because what little substance this film has is repetitive and before long, you'll probably stop caring. Still better than what you normally find amongst Shoreline's library. Essentially, people trapped within a CGI castle battle CGI monsters.

Characters contribute little before the script begins killing them off. Occasionally, still photography of the dead people appears. Why is unknown.

The pacing is pretty fast. For what it's worth. Granted, before long the actors' interaction with creatures and corridors is something the audience should adjust to. For what that's worth. Carnivorous may be somewhat watchable as a timewaster, but that's about it.

The only problem thing is before this movie ends, you'll probably have stopped paying attention, thus negating the negatives and, um... positives(?) of Carnivorous.

Carnivorous certainly isn't the best movie by any stretch of the imagination, but it's SUPER-LOW IMDb score definitely makes it seem worse than it really is. Yes, the film is shot almost entirely in green screen with the actors added into artificial backgrounds. This effect is awkward at the immediate beginning, but once you get used to it, it isn't really that bad. There are a couple of scenes throughout the movie where I thought, "Woah, that actually looks really cool!" In particular there is a floating drawbridge scene that stands out (you will know it when you see it). Also, the acting isn't the greatest, but when you are filming an ULTRA-LOW BUDGET movie in WISCONSIN of all places (and I can say that because I live 20 minutes from the border), I don't expect Oscar quality performances.

Anyway, the movie was never BORING, which is my definition of a bad movie. A movie can be as cheesy and goofy and have all the bad special effects it wants to, but as long as it ENTERTAINS me for an hour and a half, I don't consider it a failure. Carnivorous entertained me immensely for its entire running time....I was SUPER tired when I started watching it, and was sure I would fall asleep...but I didn't.... and I wouldn't even mind watching it again. I'm very curious to see what the director Drew Maxwell is working on next!

Brett Heitkam rainyday4357@yahoo.com

Not to be confused with Lockjaw: Rise of the Kulev Serpent, a mess of a film that got renamed Carnivorous. This Carnivorous that underwent a name change to Hell's Labrynth is a much better movie, if only by default as Lockjaw was utterly atrocious. Don't delude yourself into thinking that this badly acted horror/fantasy/video game escape from hell film that's sadly overly reliant on CGI is any good as it's barely passable entertainment, just that it's better than the worst killer snake movie ever made. Of course I may be biased as I absolutely disdain CGI and prefer more traditional practical special effects. So feel free to take that into account.