my thoughts on.... 'Carnage Park' (2016)

As with all of my reviews of films for The Creepercast, I fully recommend that you check each and every one of them out. I am one man and this is my opinion. I've seen plenty of movies that received reviews that were the complete opposite of how I saw the film. These writers, directors, producers and actors all put a lot of time and love into these projects. They deserve to be seen and appreciated for what they are. Everyone has a dream and I fully support the people that take the time to make theirs a reality. With that being said....
Every once in a while, you'll see a trailer for a film that gets you excited to be a horror nerd. Something that speaks to some primal part of your psyche. It doesn't happen very often, but when it does, it's like trying to wait for Christmas Day for that particular film to come out. For me, 'Carnage Park' was one of those films. I'd never even heard of it, before the trailer came up in my Facebook feed. I wasn't even sure what it was, at first. All I knew was that it sounded interesting and Pat Healy's face was telling me to watch it. After 2 and a half minutes, I was sold. It looked like a cross between 'The Hills Have Eyes' and 'House of 1000 Corpses', in all the right ways. After only having to wait about 2 weeks, it has officially been released in a limited theatrical run and on VOD. Last night, I had the chance to see if it lived up to my initial hype or not.

'Carnage Park' is directed by Mickey Keating who's got several films under his belt including 'Pod' and 'Darling', both featuring a new favorite of mine, Lauren Ashley Carter. It stars the lovely, Ashley Bell, who hit the ground running with 'The Last Exorcism' and stole the show in 'The Day'. It also features Pat Healy, who brings his 'A' game to every role he takes on. As well as, Alan Ruck ('Ferris Bueller's Day Off') and the horror mainstay, Larry Fessenden. The film takes place in 1978 and opens in the desert with some old school spaghetti western theme music and a very grindhouse style logo and feel. Right away, it felt like 'Carnage Park' might be a little something different. We're introduced to two bank robbers who are on the run with a hostage in their trunk. We also meet Wyatt, a gas mask wearing, rifle toting madman who's taken a giant plot of land and turned it into his own murderous playground. He proceeds to shoot and kill one of the robbers, which leads to the hostage attempting to escape. Soon, Wyatt is hunting them both. The sheriff shows up to investigate and we learn that he's Wyatt's brother. It's never clear if he realizes what Wyatt is up too, but it appears that he knows more than he's letting on. From there, things become a cat and mouse game, as the hostage, sheriff and Wyatt are all trying to escape with their lives.
Despite it's very simple premise and story line, 'Carnage Park' actually has a lot going for it. Mickey Keating creates a simple, kinetic thriller that grabs you from the opening sequence and holds on to you tightly until the film reaches it's ultimate climax. It does become a bit uneven at times, but it's never for very long. I think a large reason for this is because all of the actors are committed to their roles and it shows through in their performances. Pat Healy plays a great psychopath. Ashley Bell is a very strong 'final girl' and Alan Ruck is perfectly cast as the even tempered sheriff. There's really not a lot of complaints I have about the film. Ultimately, the question still remains, did it live up to the hype that the trailer created? In the end, I don't think it fully paid off the movie going experience it promised. It was still leaps and bounds ahead of a lot of the other similar films that are being made right now. However, it just felt a bit rushed and a little bit too sparse. Perhaps that's what Mr. Keating was going for? Maybe it was budgetary? Maybe he wanted to keep it simple and pure, so as not to muddy the waters too much. It was still a solid effort and shows a lot of promise of what's to come from him as a film maker. It also continues on the, already, well established reputations that the lead actors all have. They came into 'Carnage Park' with the intention of giving it their all, and they did just that.

My final thoughts? The ending did stand out from the rest of the film. With the way Mickey Keating shot the chase scene in the abandonded mines, you almost felt as though you were the one being chased. It was very unnerving and accomplished a level of discomfort that most directors only dream of. On paper, the way it was done, shouldn't have worked as well as it did. I'm not sure exactly what it was about it, but you'll have to see it for yourself to understand. After all of the things I've already said, I honestly believe that this one may have a bit more of a long term life, as a cult favorite. As I've sat with it a couple of days now, the imagery and characters created have continued to stick out in my head. I keep remembering certain scenes and emotions created from the film. That's the sign of something more than just a one off, watch it and forget it, kind of movie. I'm happy to give it a solid 3 out of 5 star review, with the potential for more, after it's aged a few years. Give this one a day in court, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. It's almost everything you want in this kind of horror film, with a few hiccups here and there, but all of them are forgivable and cured with a glass of water.

If you like this one, check out: 'House of 1000 Corpses', 'The Hills Have Eyes' (2006) and 'The Day' (2011)