Carnies and Promise: A Movie Review

Director: Brian Corder.

Writers: Brian Corder, Ron Leming, and John B. Nash.

Carnies is a film from first time director and website owner Brian Corder (Shockya). His first feature film was completed early in 2009 and Carnies is now being distributed by R Squared Films, with a premiere at the Week of Terror in Cupertino, California. The film will then have various theatrical engagements before a DVD release later this year. This is independent filmmaking; viewers need to go in to the film thinking as much. The budget just is not there for a big production, so Carnies focuses on a simple stories, with the performances doing their best to sell a 1930s Great Depression era.

The film follows a family of Carnies on the road throughout the western states with a stop in Bakersfield, California. Here, strange events begin to unfold as a midget mysteriously hangs himself, the primate of Borneo bites off the heads of roosters, and one man seems to like his collection of snakes a little too much. But not all the strangeness comes from the oddities at the carnival. A gypsy seems to have a dark connection to the underworld, as she commands her minion to murder those in the show. You see, demons from hades, hell, or the abyss need more souls and the carnies seem to be barely adequate targets. Enter in a loose band of heroes and the film ends with some well written drama.

There is intrigue in Corder's writing, but some of the initial scenes seem slightly drawn out or unexciting. The production team is building characters; yet, some of the dialogue is hard to hear as the soundtrack floats in and out. Characters are quickly introduced like the Professor (Lee Perkins) only to be swiftly outroduced in the same scene. Developing characters and providing action in cinema is a difficult balancing act and the writers are showing some definite promise. However, some of the scenes seem just one step short of exceptional.

Sideshow World says of the film's performances: "the only freaks I saw in this movie was the over acting of most of the performers." The fake accents e.g. Italian, Eastern European are a little overdone and only Chris Staviski as Virgil shows any confidence in character, while Perri Nemiroff at Little Miss Critical disagrees "Carnies comes across much like Staviski’s performance, amateurish." However, most horror fans will find one of the characters to connect to and this indie film is a sure footed outing from director Corder and writers Ron Leming, and John B. Nash. And as one fellow watcher commented: "this is disturbing" (Anonymous).

More info' on the film can be found at the websites below and those familiar with indie films will likely enjoy the film. Realistic expectations are required for viewing Carnies, but there are no large drawbacks to the feature e.g. dubbing, poor lighting etc. There seems to be some quality issues in the soundtrack, but these are easily adjusted for. Have a read of all the coverage for Carnies below.

Editing/continuity/treatment: 8 (one minor error in continuity involving an exit from a tent where the lights are off and mysteriously turn on, very minor, length seems a little short, under ninety minutes).
Acting/believability/interpretation: 6 (a weak spot here with multiple characters overacting, underacting, or using too much melodrama, actors seems to be interpreting the material appropriately).
Directing/control of scene/techniques: 6 (first try, but there are no interesting camera techniques used other than a choreographed opening scene involving the exit of several carnival watchers and a zoom in of a background character).

Overall: 6.75 out of 10.

Carnies at the Week of Terror:

Carnies at Blue Light Cinemas

An interview with Brian Corder about the film:

Corder Interview at Zombos Closet

Carnies reviewed at Sideshow World:

Carnies Reviewed at Side Show World

A balanced review of the film at Little Miss Critical:

Carnies Reviewed at LMC

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Posted in: 2010,brian corder,carnies,crew,horror,john b. nash,lee perkins,movie review,review,ron leming,thriller