“Carnifex” (2022) [Cinequest]

by Joseph Perry and Mike Imboden

In our “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict” film reviews, Joseph and Mike give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. For this installment, it’s Carnifex by Sean Lahiff and Dancing Road Productions, courtesy of the 2023 Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival.

Synopsis

Filmmaker Bailey (Alexandra Park) travels to a remote area of the Australian outback with biologists Grace (Sisi Stringer) and Ben (Harry Greenwood) as the latter pair attempt to track and record animal movement after the 2019 bushfires there. As night falls, the well-equipped trio discover a new terrifying species, which is now intent on tracking and hunting them.

The Good

Joseph: Carnifex looks terrific, with gorgeous shots of the Outback courtesy of cinematographer Kieran Fowler. The acting is highly impressive and believable, and all three characters are likable, so it’s easy to root for them when things start going south for the trio. Shanti Gudgeon’s screenplay is smart and plays off the Australian folklore of drop bears — fierce little creatures that target tourists for meals — while delivering a thoughtful take on the damage done by recent brush fires. Lahiff does a superb job at the helm, giving the proceedings time to breathe and letting viewers learn about the characters and the problems caused by the fires before ratcheting up the suspense quite nicely.

Mike: First and foremost - and this is a bit odd to say about a horror/monster movie - this thing is gorgeous. Kieran Fowler’s cinematography shows the lush beauty of the forest and the creatures that live in it with shots that look like they were pulled straight from a top-shelf documentary.

The film itself starts with a bit of food-chain foreshadowing before we meet our trio of protagonists, filmmaker Bailey along with wildlife conservation biologists Grace and Ben, who are all played quite well by Park, Stringer, and Greenwood with all three bring their characters to life with great chemistry and delivering Gudgeon’s scripted dialogue quite believably. Like many filmmakers, Lahiff has a some social commentary to add to thing, but unlike many first time directors, it’s not layered on too thick, giving you just enough to show which way he leans but giving you plenty of room to make up your own mind.

The Bad

Joseph: One of the main reasons whether people fully enjoy a creature feature is the monster design. Carnifex offers a beast that is less intimidating looking than many, and although I would not qualify it as bad looking, it just isn’t very menacing in appearance — although it is certainly capable of doing the damage creature-feature aficionados hope to see. Otherwise, I have no qualms or quibbles with the film.

Mike: The first two acts are a little slow, but that is offset by the fact that right around the time you would start looking at your watch you already like the three characters so much that you are fully invested in seeing what happens to them. That doesn’t really count as a “bad” aspect, so instead we’ll mention the creature. I don’t want to spoil anything beyond the fact that there IS indeed a creature causing all of the trouble, but I also can’t ignore the fact that its design is NOT all that monstrous. I’m not saying Carnifex isn’t scary - the creature's ability to stalk and kill its prey creates some tension-filled scenes, but it also looks fairly cuddly (if you can get past the velociraptor-esque claws on its feet, that is).

The Verdict

Joseph: Carnifex is one of the finer creature features in recent memory. It addresses important ecological issues without soapboxing, provides a good deal of suspense, and boasts top-notch direction, writing, and performances. Monster movie fans and cryptozoology aficionados will find plenty to enjoy here.

Mike: Carnifex is an exceptional film. Sure, it has a couple of rough spots, but even those are offset by a great script and stellar acting. And yes, the monster himself isn’t the scariest beast you’ll see on film, but when you factor in the clever connection to a little cryptozoological folklore you can understand why it’s not. Of course, looks can be deceiving and that is certainly the case here.

There’s some good tension to keep the viewer on the edge of their seat, mostly coming from something that reminded me a lot of the scene in Aliens where the blips on the proximity scanner get closer and closer.

The film also does a good job of shining a light on why conservation of the forests and wildlife is important without coming across as preachy or as if you were being admonished for looking sideways at a koala.

If you like cryptids, monsters, animals gone wild, or just horror flicks in general, you should put this on your watchlist.

Carnifex, from Dancing Road Productions, screens as part of Cinequest, which runs August 15–30, 2023 in San Jose, California. For more information, visit https://cinequest.org/.

Carnifex