Carny

Was a fair movie, i mean nothing really irritated or annoyed me but the creature was a poor excuse for a devil. The best devil is the one from the movie "the Barrens" you will want to look into that. This was one of the better Maneatser movies in the series though it doesn't beat Grizzly Rage or the tiger one with Busey.

Though somewhat rushed to conclusion, what precedes it is good. Good flying monster, good story, good character development, and good location photography. Lou Diamond Phillips is totally acceptable as the small town sheriff, and the evil carny owner is well played by Alan C. Peterson. There are some unexpected twists, and some pretty good jump scares. "Carny" is superior to two other "Jersey Devil" movies, "The 13th Child Legend of the Jersey Devil" (2003), which is terrible, and the somewhat interesting "The Last Broadcast" (2006). Thus, this is flat out the best "Jersey Devil" movie out there. ................... - MERK

I was actually pleasantly surprised watching Carny. It does have its problems, but for me is one of the more tolerable SyFy channel movies. It does have some beautiful-looking and atmospheric sets and lighting, giving an appropriate nightmarish feeling, good make-up, a surprisingly well-designed and menacing monster, credible performances and a score that doesn't feel at that generic and also fits with the film's tone. Of course it has its problems, the quality of the story and writing are actually vast improvements to previous and succeeding efforts but they are not perfect still. The story has a good if not groundbreaking(though it didn't need to be) concept and is actually mostly interesting, well-paced and with some scenes that are quite nail-biting. Where it is let down though is in the escape of the monster, which I also feel could've been introduced later and with more suspense, and an ending that feels rushed that contrived. The script is not as clichéd or as cheesy thankfully as most of SyFy's resume, but still could have done with more flow in terms of structure. The characters are not as irritating as before or since, however are an uneven mix, the leads are likable and have some depth but most of the supporting roles are rather shallow and not developed as well. The camera work does suffer also from some choppy editing and numerous instances where it zooms in and out which often gave it a rather overly claustrophobic sensation watching Carny. Overall, not perfect but tolerable, with even its flaws having been done worse elsewhere. 5/10 Bethany Cox

In Carny Lou Diamond Phillips is cast as the police chief of Reliance, New York a small town in the most rural part of upstate New York where the big event of the year is about to take place, a carnival has come to town. Not just any carnival, but one specializing in some of the rejects from the Creator/Deity work table. In this film's makers must have been inspired by Todd Browning's classic film, Freaks.

Would that this film was anywhere close to being as good as Freaks, but it sadly isn't. The biggest attraction in the show is some kind of gargoyle like creature billed as the New Jersey Devil. When it gets loose and starts terrorizing the area, Lou as the sheriff takes it upon himself to organize a hunting party.

This is where it really gets ridiculous. When he was a smalltown Texas sheriff in Bats at least he called in some help. Why he didn't in Carny is totally beyond me.

The film was shot in and around Ottawa to simulate the rural atmosphere of upstate New York which is not as rural as when Jimmy Stewart made upstate New York's fictional Bedford Falls famous. The rest of the cast is made up of Canadian players.

Of course getting this gargoyle proves to be a rough go for Lou and his posse of hunters who are used to more docile creatures like deer. I tell you this, George Bailey would have known when he was overmatched and would have sent for help should the gargoyle ever be threatening Bedford Falls. There's also a side story about a crazy preacher wanting to see the carnival destroyed before he even knew about the gargoyle.

Carny is one big mess of a film. Hopefully Lou Diamond Phillips got to get in some rural pursuits while making this feast for his next Thanksgiving table.

I was pleasantly surprised by this Sci-Fi Channel entry. There were some credible makeup and physical effects, a number of competent actors supporting a script that avoided many of the more common clichés for what has become its own genre, the Sci-Fi Channel monster flick usually produced in Canada.

Lou Diamond Phillips stars, cast yet again as a small town sheriff battling things that fly and/or creep whilst chewing scenery, secondary characters and extras at will. It isn't BATS, but its not a crap fest either. Another treat -- the music did not appear to be library music but supported the scenes rather well. A genuine jump inducer in the 2nd act and some graphic gore and another jump in the 3rd made this a "7" in my book.

Oh yeah, and a minimum of shaky camera work and random zooming in and out. Bless the D of P for not inflicting that on the audience.