Wednesday 19 October 2011

DVD review: Carver (Video 2008)


Franklin Guerrero Junior´s  Carver is a film with a LOT of gore and a LOT of blood with a simple plot where brothers Pete (Matt Carmody) and Brian (Neil Kubath) meet up with other friends Zack, (Jonathan Rockett) and Rachel (Kristyn Green) to go on a camping trip together. They then run into Kate (Ursula Taherian) also out camping, who is concerned for her missing friend. The group agrees to do a favor for a local man by the name Bobby Shaw (Erik Fones), in exchange for their kindness, he allows them a free party night in his tavern. The group finds a seemingly abandoned house, there they find a few reels of 8 mm film and a projector. They watch the films, which feature disturbing images of people being killed, at first they think the films are fake but they will soon realize that they are home made snuff films... After that things take a turn for the worse..
The story is a bit rehashed and somewhat predictable but it´s well made with good pace and decent direction. The special fx are very good considering the budget. The acting is perhaps uneven at times but is above average and better than expected. And on the plus side the actors looks like real people and not like models which is always nice. 
Comparisons with the Hollywood produced Hostel movies are inevitable and in my opinion the level of brutality in Carver blows Hostel & Hostel II away. In this flick the deaths are extremely graphic and brutal. 

Beware that there is a edited version with cuts sustained to receive an R rating, if you are interested in this flick you must find the Unrated *grisly edition* edition.

Rating: 5 out of 7. Just like most horror movies, this flick is unrealistic in many ways but it´s well done, disturbing and entertaining.  All in all I like this movie, it´s above average and it gets bonus points for the above-average gruesomeness on display. And let´s be frank the main reason to watch this movie is for the gore and there is plenty of it. So if you're not a fan of excessive gore, you probably won't appreciate this film. I'll keeping an eye on Franklin Guerrero Jr.. He's got potential.

/JL

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