Written and Directed by Mickey Keating
Cast: Ashley Bell, Pat Healy, James Landry Hébert, Michael Villar, Alan Ruck, Larry Fessenden
Soundtrack: Giona Ostinelli
There is perhaps no finer divide in the world of creative arts than the line between paying homage and ripping off.
I’m not a horror expert, so I don’t know every source Mickey Keating pulled from, but I know “You’re gonna be okay!” from ‘Reservoir Dogs’ when I see it.
All that aside, and as topical as the issue of plagiarism is at the moment, my issues with ‘Carnage Park’ are much more fundamental. This movie managed to annoy me, win me over, then put me off again in the span of less than ninety minutes.
What turned me off initially is the fact that there’s one of those title cards in the introduction that says, “This is a true story; the names have been changed to protect the innocent,” or something to that effect, but you know it’s total crap (and they didn’t even use any such “inspired by true events” in the marketing, so why bother?). Then, the very first scene of the movie gives away the identity of the killer, so there’s no tension in that aspect. And, finally, we get to the Tarantino non-linear rip-off section. Not a promising start.
But, as I said, the movie won me over somewhat in the middle. For one thing, it didn’t play out exactly like I thought it would, so I give it credit for being at least a little bit unpredictable, and there is a good bit of tension in Vivian (Ashley Bell) trying to escape from this terrible situation she’s in. I actually think she gives an intense and believable performance as a victim of horrific circumstance, and I also like Pat Healy as a simultaneously off-beat and straight-laced villain. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention James Landry Hébert as “Scorpion Joe”; he adds a good bit of flair in a movie that could use more of it.
What turns me off in the end is that the movie is really well photographed until it isn’t. For the vast majority of the runtime, we’re treated to nice wide shots of the California landscape, but the end of the film takes us into the dark underground, which is superfluous because we know how things are going to end at that point anyway and we don’t need to be here, and, frankly, it’s just annoying to look at, like shaky-cam in the dark; I was more than ready to leave at that point.
So, look, generally speaking, I can’t recommend ‘Carnage Park’. If you’re a big time horror fan, you might get something out of it, but, don’t have high expectations. I certainly was expecting better.
Rating: ★★½