Carny (2009)

Small town sheriff Lou Diamond Phillips (as Atlas) has his hands full when a circus arrives. The main attraction is "The Jersey Devil" stolen by carnival manager A.C. Peterson (as "Cap" Caprini) in the opening minutes. Citizens are excited about seeing the animal and other freaky looking people. We're told the people of Reliance have never seen anything like them before. The most normal appearing member of the troupe is psychic Simone-Elise Girard (as Samara). She predicts doom and tries to explain "Jersey Devil" origins. For some reason, Ms. Girard feels "safe" with her boss, who is arguably more wicked than his monster...God-fearing pastor Vlasta Vrana (as Owen) believes the circus will bring sin to the community and starts to campaign against "God's abomination." Ironically, his juvenile delinquent son Matt Murray (as Taylor) triggers the rampage of "Jersey Devil". The flying terror is supposed to be heavily sedated, but seems incredibly alert. The beast is called a "freak of nature" and resembles a gargoyle. It appears to be intelligent - and it's more thoughtfully constructed than the story. The supernatural and Christian religion may have some connection. Maybe the creature is just mad. The gargoyle and Kyle Gatehouse (as Jesse) are nicely done.**** Carny (4/25/09) Sheldon Wilson ~ Lou Diamond Phillips, Alan C. Peterson, Simone-Elise Girard, Vlasta Vrana

Doesn't anyone read anymore? The creature, setting, and story line were lifted whole cloth from F. Paul Wilson's "Repairman Jack" series. The creature is called a "rakosh", a demon from Indian mythology. Read the Wilson story (it's available on a free download from the Guttenberg Project) Then re-watch the movie. When plots and other things are lifted from other sources and no credit is given, it's very irritating, if not downright dishonest. Imagine if someone made a film about a scientist who tried to animate a dead monster that he stitched together from stolen body parts, and tried to pass it off as an original plot. If the screenwriter had Wilson's permission, then why not list it in the credits? Shame on you SyFy.

Typical SyFy Channel crap, with one difference: some character development. Lou D.Philips plays a small-town sheriff who goes on the hunt for a winged creature that has escaped from a traveling carnival. The beast makes mincemeat of everyone in its path, and is your typical CGI creation. Ah, but the carny owner (Peterson) is an extremely nasty and hideous-looking fellow who doesn't hesitate to kill anyone who gets in his path either. He imbues his character with a sort of Sidney Greenstreet sense of menace. And the local minister (didn't catch the actor's name) is hellbent on shutting down the carnival, even if it means burning it to the ground with all the carny folks inside their tents. In his own way, the minister is as bad as the ruthless carny owner. Both actors rise above their material. Sadly, Philips does not. He gives the same wooden, mail-it-in performance he gave in BATS (where he also played a small-town sheriff), with no indication he has learned anything new about acting in the interim. He needs a strong director, and he does not have one here. He simply is the one "name" actor in this low-budget Canadian quickie. Truth is, I only watched this quasi-turkey because of him. The ending is so poorly staged and filmed, you may be left wondering what the heck in fact happened.

When side-show circus owned by Cap (A.C. Peterson) arrives in Reliance, the greedy owner kills the driver that brings the new attraction – the Jersey Devil – and his henchman dumps the severed body in the woods and the trunk in the muddy lake. The local sheriff Atlas (Lou Diamond Phillips) checks the permits of the carnival under the protests of the deranged pastor Owen (Vlasta Vrana) that does not want the abominations in the small town. In the opening show, the Jersey Devil escapes and attacks the audience, killing Owen's son. Atlas organizes a hunting party to kill the monster, while Cap and his partner try to capture it alive to sell to a wealthy investor. Meanwhile Owen rises up the locals against the monster and the performers of the freak show with tragic consequences. "Carny" is really a terrible movie. The story and the screenplay are awful, with a ridiculous conclusion; the development of the one- dimensional characters is shallow, even for the lead ones; and the Jersey Devil and the special effects are very poor. The acting is affected by the script and the silly lines and the poor actors and actresses unfortunately can not do better than they do. I like B-movies but this one sucks. My vote is three.Title (Brazil): "Carnívoro" ("Carnivore")