So much average

Purely Joyful Movie!

From my favorite movies..

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

CARNAGE PARK is a very boring addition to the low budget 'survival horror' genre. It's a film that was made on the cheap in the desert, shot through with an orange filter that makes the production uniformly boring. The acting is nothing to write home about and there are no sympathetic characters here. A woman is held hostage by a couple of bank robbers, but the trio end up in the desert where they face something even worse: an armoured sniper who kills anyone who dares enter his domain. Law enforcement officials are also involved. I found the pared-down narrative structure repetitive while the gore effects are juvenile rather than shocking, and the film as a whole bored me.

'Carnage Park' starts out a very different film to the one it finishes as. It starts out trying to be overly stylish with slow-motion shots, flashbacks, over the top characters and music blaring over the top of scenes. All things you'd commonly see in Quentin Tarantino films, the only difference is that he has the ability to pull them off. So the film wasn't off to a great start. I've scene directors attempt to replicate his style before, usually for the entire duration of a film, and it is simply unbearable. Luckily for 'Carnage Park' it gives up on that pretty quickly and settles into a fun little film. I think the element of using a sniper as the killer in films is under utilised in Hollywood films. It really is a creepy little device. You can never be entirely comfortable (or at all for that matter) when there is a sniper around. You are simply there one moment, gone the next. There's a bit of a 'The Hill Have Eyes' feel to this one, only with a slightly more realistic villain. Every scene is intense and a lot of them would fit nicely into any modern horror film. There's actually a lot to like here and if people push through the first 15 minutes or so I think they'll find they're quite enjoying themselves.

I was hoping for more with Keating, moving forward from his first few lukewarm offerings.I was not only let down, I was shaking my head at this one. I'm concerned his directing style needs some editing, and I'm not talking about his film. Everything about this film is a "distracting" quality.The god awful Seepia, the terrible editing, the lack of tension, the music. Trying to remember where I'd seen just about every moment in this film before became the distraction, because not only does he lack execution across the board, (we're talking a mish-mash of unoriginal concepts and ideas) he flounders at story telling and making you want to watch. Keating may play the role of a "horror director", but he seems not well steeped in atmospheres or creating a level of dread that quite possibly, all the terrible films he lifted from, did. (in most cases). The concept of a B-movie horror film isn't even prevalent.I gave it a 2, and not sure why? Someone put a bug in his ear, that he has talent and should keep making films. That someone needs a 3am wake up call.

Carnage Park is one of those thrillers that will probably disgust the regular audience, but will leave horror buffs completely unbothered. As soon as this film started I knew it was one of the good ones. This movie is balls to the wall suspense.The crazy flashing images were just a plus. Ashley Bell is a fantastic actress, Im not one to study movement or expressions but she really shined through in a movie that really just is a typical game of Cat & Mouse. The formula has been done before, but it works for me because of its stylish feel. I appreciate some of the shots of the film, such as a ditch being in the middle of our focus from birds eye view, and our main actress walking around it. The acting from the others are a bit cringe worthy but despite them the suspense and tension still never wears off. I went into this with high expectations (expecting a popcorn type of thriller of course,) and for the most part it was worth while. Check it out when it comes to Redbox or possibly Netflix.