Carver

This film has a number of similarities with The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, plus some of the more gruesome elements of Saw and Hostel.

A group of people in their twenties are on a camping holiday in the American backwoods.

They agree to do some work for somebody and find a few reels of film and a projector in a barn.

They watch the films, which feature some disturbing images from what they assume are home-made horror movies.

The films look pretty realistic for home-made horror movies.

Nearby lives a large, demented, psychopath who happens to appear in the aforementioned films.

Need I say more?

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.

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.

Im not gonna leave a massive comment about this as im not sure how yet, this is my first ever comment on a title... this film, which i did enjoy for the most part, is an excercise in filming torture graphically, if you have a weak stomach i cant say i recommend it but if you like extreme violence and have a perverse liking for watching others in agony then this might just be your thing!!! the acting is a little weak, the story is as usual very loosely "based on a true story" the maniac is pretty good and believable and the violence is extreme,the scene in the outhouse still haunts me-is that a spoiler? if you liked hostel then you'll probably like this i guess

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.