Carnifex

I enjoyed this movie, even though eventually it seems like it falls flat.

First of all, I enjoyed the scenery, forest trip, campfire, nature views, light conversations - I liked that part, it seemed happy and easy, and entertaining to me.

I liked the actors and the characters, they played well.

The suspense build up was good, felt some "Predator" vibes there, you know, at some point the pressure grew like characters were being stalked and in danger, while being unaware of it. That was executed well as per my opinion.

The ending is really when the movie should've risen to its peak, but instead it fallen flat. Some bad decisions have been made during this movie creation, I guess. So, characters suddenly became silly even though as biologists they should've probably known better how to act around predators and kept safe.

Moreover, as the creature is in the center of this movie, it should've been well written and thought throw, etc.

But instead, we get this creature with overall bad design. I'm not talking about the CGI (although they were pretty lackluster in half of the scenes), but mostly its behavior, motivation and history. There is no justification in movie itself about how this could've all be possible.

So, yes, I enjoyed this one.

Still, I was a bit disappointed, because I really saw the potential for it to be so much better in the end with just a little more work.

Carnifex is a fun little horror movie set in the Aussie bush with an energetic cast, evocative score, and gorgeous scenery. Add a cute dog, a bit of humour, and a deadly beast out for blood, and you've got all the key ingredients of the genre. What makes it distinctive is its creature - one I've never seen in a film before!

The start is slow; just stuff your face with popcorn and get through it and then enjoy the ride when it takes off.

Don't let mmsucks's review, suggesting this movie has ripped off Michael J. Hellscream's novel of the same name, put you off - that book and this movie share a generic horror plot that we've all seen and read a thousand times before, with the same title and creature. That's pretty common in film, especially of this genre. And it isn't a bad thing! Let it go, mate!

Neither awfully bad nor fantastically good, Carnifex has the misfortune of being okay at best. That said, it is largely unmemorable when compared to other, similar films (Animal, Sasquatch, Exists, Bear Country), some of which may be more worthy of your time.

Grounding itself in a real-world tragedy (the 2020 bushfires that engulfed much of Australia), two biologists; Grace (Sisi Stringer) and Ben (Harry Greenwood), accompany a director, Bailey (Alexandra Park) into the bush, with the intention of raising awareness about endangered fauna.

Little do they realise, human interference has forced the Carnifex - a supposedly long-extinct animal - to move closer to civilization in search of food, with the three travelers wandering into its territory.

It should be said the film's locations look superb - the Australian wilderness looking especially beautiful. This tranquillity, along with the revelation that most Australian animals are nocturnal, means the film's first half, most of which is set during the day, does little to create tension or ambiance; two things almost entirely absent from the movie.

The film's editorial decisions - like cutting between two characters, revealing an almost mirror image of their conflict, is effective. Though characters are provided some minor development, at least to the extent we feel confident in their professionalism, they also suffer the brain-dead disease many in horror movies do.

The worst example of this is when an ultra-violet camera is used; one person is covering another, to make sure the creature is not around, and after using the camera for a second, they decide that using their eyes, in the pitch blackness of the night, is the better option.

Another major issue with the film is the monster itself. On one hand, I'll give credit to the filmmakers for creating something that not only looks quite amazing, but also appears like it could genuinely be part of the Australian ecosystem. That said, we never see the Carnifex until the last few minutes, and by that moment, it is too little too late.

Despite seeing a couple glimpses of shadow and silhouette during the introduction and the second act, it is difficult to create stakes when we don't know what we're meant to be afraid of. Many may recall the 'bigger boat' scene in Jaws, which happened around the movie's half-way mark; I think Carnifex needed something similar, because it is impossible to fear something that may be little bigger than a squirrel. It is not helped that the creature has a habit of changing its vocals on a whim, reducing its authenticity.

As a film that addresses the state of the Australian environment, Carnifex may be seen as a half decent project - however, a horror movie, this is surely not. Carnifex isn't so bad that it should remain extinct; but it is also unable to compete with other films that can genuinely make us afraid of entering the woods.

I liked this old fashioned horror film, that reminds me the seventies, eighties very easily. It's never boring, using though the same methods for scaring the audiences, so many clichés, but we are in a horror film, not a comedy,and the director took no risks in trying something different. It's spooky and that's all. The producers were sure to obtain what they wanted, to receive money from their investments, and the best receipe is not to take risks and give the audiences what they want. They want sh...give em sh...They want predictable plots, give em predictable plots and that's it. Formatted tastes from the audiences and fomatted results on screen. The audiences will provoke the collapse of creativity. That makes me puke, sorry.... I am in such distress.

Australia has 2 kinds of horror: that which involves mostly torture on screen, and the creature type.

Now I have to say, as much as I dislike the torture/gore genres, I absolutely love monster movies. So here is where Australia, land of plenty, shines. They brought us good such productions ever since Razorback (1984) and continued doing so with, Rogue, Black Water and now Carnifex. I think of all these mentioned, Carnifex had the smallest budget, and you can see that here, but other than that, I have to give it credit.

It got itself some nice views, good actors that delivered, one different monster than what I've seen before, all wrapped in a little in the back forest horror that worked quite nicely for what it is.

Thus I shall recommend this one, because horror isn't just mainstream, it's also productions like this one, delivered from passion, that maybe doesn't make the biggest splash, but it's still a nice way of spending 90 minutes.

All in all, definitely recommended for creature movie fans, it works quite viewed late at night. Cheers!