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Carver (2006) DVD Review
Carver (2006) DVD Credits:
Carver (2006) Directed by:
Franklin Guerrero
Carver (2006) Written by:
Franklin Guerrero
Carver (2006) Cast:
Matt Carmody, Kristyn Green, Neil Kubath, Ursula Taherian, Jonathan Rockett, Erik Fones
Carver (2006) Released by:
Not available at this time
Region:
1
Carver (2006) DVD Release Date:
4th March 2008
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Carver (2006) Synopsis:

Carver tells the real life tale of five friends on a short camping trip in the mountain town of Halcyon Ridge who take a small detour to an abandoned stockyard owned by the Carver family. They stuble upon an amateur horror film set in the stockyard. As they explore their eerie surroundings, they discover the truth behind the film and the Carver family. They begin to open doors that should never have been opened. Soon, it becomes a matter of life imtating art and art imitating death.

Carver (2006) DVD Review:

The tag line on the back of the Butcher DVD case claims, “See what everyone is calling the most horrific scene in horror film history! It’s a real ball-cruncher that is guaranteed to make everyone cringe!” First of all, “real ball-cruncher” is as on the nose as you can get and it should be taken very literally. I wouldn’t so much call it horrific as it is gross though. On the DVD commentary, writer/director Franklin Guerrero Jr. claims that horror filmmakers are always pressed to up the ante in their films, and while the “ball-cruncher” scene in this film may be memorable, it’s about the only thing this film has going for it.

Carver is a gruesome slasher horror film of the “homicidal hick” variety. In the film, a non-descript group of teenagers are on a road trip through the backcountry when they make a short pit stop at a rundown café and end up running for their lives through the woods. Sound familiar? See every other horror film ever made to find out why.

The film actually starts off promisingly, as initially it is only a pair of brothers who are on the road trip together. As they travel in their car they have brotherly squabbles that seem relatively down to earth. I actually can’t remember any horror films that are about brothers, so Carver gets points for trying a new angle. However, things quickly change, as it turns out the brothers are actually on their way to meet two friends of theirs that are a party going couple. From that point on it’s goodbye interesting character relationships and hello horror film clichés.

My biggest problem with Carver is its approach to horror. Oftentimes it simply goes too far by taking any fun out of the proceedings and ending up being just plain disgusting. Take the aforementioned “ball cruncher” scene for example. As if the squishing of a man’s testicles by way of a wrench weren’t bad enough, the killer catches the poor guy while he’s using the john, knocks him off the toilet, lifts the toilet, pours the man’s feces on his own face, and then breaks the man’s leg by dropping the toilet onto it. I’m sorry for being explicit, but it’s those types of moments in Carver that go too far, even for a horror movie. There is no lightheartedness in scenes like that, only disgusting depravity and mean-spiritedness.

When the filmmakers of Carver aren’t trying to gross out the audience as much as possible, some of the horror sequences are actually rather well executed. Tension is well established, lighting is appropriately gloomy, and the killer is unstoppably menacing. Even when these scenes are well done though, they’re still nothing horror fans haven’t seen dozens of times before, so they don’t help the film all that much in the long run.

The special features on the DVD are much more entertaining than the film itself. The two audio commentaries are actually worth listening to, even for those who didn’t like the film. The first one is an informative listen, whereas the second one is a crack-up, as the participants are downing whiskey throughout, so things get more and more comical as the commentary progresses. A fluffy behind-the-scenes documentary and a theatrical trailer are the only other things you’ll find, so the commentaries are the meat of the extras.

I don’t mind when horror films are derivative, as long as they’re still entertaining. Nor do I mind when they try new things in an effort to be original. However, I’d much rather see a director use his creative abilities as a filmmaker to strive for something new, rather than copping out and trying to be as disgusting as possible. Writer/director Franklin Guerrero Jr. does provide a few entertaining set pieces in the film, but unfortunately he goes for one too many gross out moments for this film to really be recommendable. If my description earlier in the review appeals to you for some reason, by all means give Carver a look. Otherwise, save yourself the projectile vomiting and see another movie.

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Carver (2006) DVD review written by: Anthony Berk

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