IFC Midnight delivers the worst horror movie of 2016.
Let's get one thing straight. A cool name does not make a good movie.
Carnage Park is a strange little piece of eccentric horror that hinges on a cast of strange characters and dimly written dark humor. Using the standard trope of a female holding her own against a crazed male killer, this movie does nothing we haven't seen before. Said girl runs from place to place trying to avoid being killed while the crazed killer instigates a game of blood soaked cat and mouse. Boring.
As an IFC Midnight release, Carnage Park is a lower budget indie flick that doesn't fall too far from the tree of their other releases. At the core, this is survivalist horror that's high on brutal deaths, a strictly conformist story, and semi-eclectic portrayals by Alan Ruck, Pat Healy, and Ashley Bell. All three do their damnedest to play through the material they're given. Yet, there's just not enough for them to work with. Recycling ideas from far greater movies, Carnage Park is not something you should pay to see. Despite the fair casting job, this is a Netflix watch at best.
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| Let me put you out of your misery. |
Mixing desert themes of The Hills Have Eyes, the survival tones of the '80s flick Fortress, and a tinted grindhouse feel, this is a mostly lacking baseline horror flick that wants to be way cooler than it actually is. With an undefined antagonist that's given no backstory and a female lead that has nothing to chew on content wise, Carnage Park is boredom defined. Starting off strong with a couple vicious kills, the movie quickly becomes a redundant time suck about a chick walking around the desert avoiding her would be killer. Sound familiar? There is nothing original or compelling about this movie. It's a self deprecating menu of stolen genre ideas mixed into a verifiably stagnant piece of predictable plot points and obvious kills.
Honest, this seems like amateur film hour with a director that just so happened to snag a couple good actors. Do yourself a favor invest in watching Green Room or something that pushes the envelope. Carnage Park is horrendous. I'd rather sit through The Green Inferno ten times than ever watch this dreck again.
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Score
-CG