Carved (2024)
A Killer Pumpkin?!
Yes, that’s right – a killer pumpkin. A vengeful sentient pumpkin who can think, see, and hear. A pumpkin who uses its vines to rip people apart like the tentacles of a Lovecraftian monster.
It was inevitable, wasn’t it? Somebody was going to do it. Hell, this isn’t even the first movie about murderous fruit. Remember Attack of the Killer Tomatoes? And before anyone yells at me, yes pumpkins are fruits, NOT vegetables.
Carved, which is set in a rural village in 1993, stars Peyton Elizabeth Lee as Kira, an orphaned teen playwright who is trying to raise her younger brother, Trevor (Wyatt Lindner) on her own. She is aghast when her boyfriend Cody (Corey Fogelmanis) tells her that he is moving to New York City to star in a Broadway play. Meanwhile, Trevor has a massive crush on his sister’s flute-playing friend, Maddie (Sasha Mason).
Kira and Cody argue about his plans, but they are forced to put their differences aside when faced by the unprecedented pumpkin threat. Their relationship is eventually resolved in a way that you probably won’t expect. It’s one of a few ways that Carved is different from the average slasher movie.
But back to that maniacal pumpkin. The monster is mostly portrayed with practical effects, but there is some CGI as well. I wish they had gone 100% practical. This is a retro slasher set in ’93. It doesn’t need fancy computer effects. Plus, the CGI isn’t very good. This movie didn’t have the budget for great CGI and it shows.
Silly, gory, and surprisingly sweet
Carved is loaded with over the top gore. Horror comedies are often light on the bloodshed, but not this time. This is one pissed off pumpkin! Dismemberments, disembowelments, and stabbings abound. My favorite kill is when he decapitates a guy and turns his head into a human jack-o-lantern. Poetic justice, I suppose, for all those poor pumpkins that were gutted.
This movie’s characters aren’t as shallow as one would expect in a cheap slasher. Kira, a rare example of an Asian final girl in an American slasher film, makes for a fairly compelling heroine. She has good chemistry with Lindner. Their older sister/younger brother relationship feels genuine. Justin Harding, who both wrote and directed, put in the effort to give his characters some depth.
Peyton Elizabeth Lee takes her role seriously without going over the top. It’s easy to resort to cartoonish overacting in a movie like this, or, even worse, to behave like a jaded hipster who is above the material. She finds the right balance. Lindner is fun as a naïve, good-natured kid whose lovestruck obsession with Maddie gives Carved some of its funniest material.
Rating
Carved is a rollicking romp that is innovative enough to distinguish itself from the legions of other Halloween-themed slasher movies. It’s not particularly intelligent, and it certainly isn’t scary, but its amusing characters and unique villain make it a potential cult classic.
Rating from 1 (avoid at all costs) to 10 (masterpiece): 7
