"Carved" (2024) [Nightmares Film Festival]


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 Justin Harding’s Carved.


Synopsis
When a heartbroken teenage playwright (Peyton Elizabeth Lee), her younger brother (Wyatt Lindner), and a disparate group of survivors become trapped in a historical reenactment village on Halloween night, they must band together to survive a relentless assault by a sentient and vengeful pumpkin.


The Good
Joseph: As corny at times as it is cool at others, as outrageous at times as it is serious at others, and as funny at times as it is poignant at others, Carved takes the absurdity of a sentient killer pumpkin bent on revenge and delivers the gruesome goods. Highly impressive practical effects and solid CGI effects provide plenty of head-lobbing, body-impaling kills. Peyton Elizabeth Lee gives a standout performance as a young woman who is the sole caretaker of her young teen brother, the love interest of a boyfriend about to suddenly leave their small town for Broadway, and a budding playwright and director — not to mention the town’s best hope for ridding the place of the aforementioned marauding pumpkin.

Mike: Starting in media res, Carved quickly sets the tone for what follows with just enough of a glimpse of the ‘vengeful pumpkin’ to want to see more, a fact that doesn’t take long as the film wastes no time in introducing us to everyone and setting things up in a very brisk first and second acts. The practical effects used to bring the killer pumpkin to life are quite well done, giving him a beastly visage along with long (and strong) tendrils that double as hands and feet, depending on if he’s doing some killing or skittering after his prey.
The plot itself is one with plenty of familiar tropes and elements that work well with the outlandish elements of a psychotic pumpkin.


The Bad
Joseph: The Corn Wagon, which plays an important role in Carved, shouldn’t be driven faster than 30 miles per hour, and some parts of the film feel much slower than that food truck’s pace. The different tones that I mentioned above work well at times but are also a detriment at others. I would imagine that it’s hard to make a story about a sentient killer pumpkin 100% serious, but it felt like the filmmakers were resistant to leaning heavier on the humor. Carved also follows several beats that will be quite familiar to fright-fare fanatics, including such chestnuts as the “We thought you were dead!” miracle comeback and stoner characters providing attempts at humor that fall flat. 

Mike: Carved puts all of its eggs in a long third act basket which tends to require a lot of pit stops along the way.  While there is nothing show-stopping (in a bad way), events still ramp up and down at a regular pace which makes it feel much longer than it is, a fact I found out when I made the mistake of looking at my watch and seeing there was still a third of the movie to go. There’s also not a lot to write home about in the acting department which is a bit ironic in that a couple of the characters are supposed to BE actors. In the end, the film’s biggest flaw is that it suffers from a bit of an identity crisis, not knowing if it should play things straight or rely on satirical moments with occasional moments of straight up humor (although I suppose when one is dealing with a sentient and vengeful pumpkin, some satire would be required).


The Verdict
Joseph: Overall, Carved is a pretty fun creature feature that makes it a solid choice for some grue-with-guffaws Halloween entertainment. Let the gory gourd times roll!

Mike:  Despite some pacing issues in an extra-elongated third act, Carved is a fairly entertaining piece of Halloween-set cinema with some very well done practical effects that are only slightly affected by some brief moments of sketchy CGI.  While viewers should enjoy the film well enough, I feel like there could have been something a bit more here if they’d either leaned heavily into the camp or totally avoided humor altogether.


Carved
, a Hulu Original, screens as part of this year’s Nightmares Film Festival, which runs October 17–24. For more information, visit https://nightmaresfest.com/2024-attend-the-festival/


Carved
Directed By: Justin Harding
Written By: Justin Harding, Cheryl Meyer
Starring: Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Wyatt Lindner, DJ Qualls, Chris Elliott, Corey Fogelmanis
Run Time: 1h 34m
Rating: NR
Release Date: October 21, 2024




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