Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!
Plot Summary: After accidentally killing his sister's boyfriend the previous Halloween, a mentally unstable man finds himself at a party tormented by a mysterious killer.
Review: Not sure why they spell carver with a "K," but if you think this is "Mortal Kombat" that's your business. Most of the reviews I read were tearing this movie to shreds, but I didn't think it was all that bad. With a little polish, a few actor replacements, and more deaths, this could have been a cool film. In fact, if it weren't for the incoherent, yet predictable, ending, I would have gladly recommended this as a "Halloween" alternative. Sure, it has a lot of problems, and it's certainly no "Trick 'r Treat," but it is mildly entertaining in the right aspects while trying to build up a decent mystery; there was even a slight twist I didn't think they'd go with to which I must give extra credit. However, I have to mention the mindless confidence that they thought this would get a sequel. Never assume too much, people. There were multiple plot tangents introduced unnecessarily that indicated a possible sequel, and that's downright moronic in a situation like this. Or did they seriously think those loose ends added to the story?
So one Halloween, a guy named Jonathan is hanging out at home with his sister when her annoying boyfriend stops by; I cannot emphasize the levels of annoyance emanating from this piece of shit. The sister goes to get ready for their date, I guess, and the boyfriend appears to leave. Through shenanigans, the boyfriend sneaks back into the house to scare the sister until she cries out for help. Thinking the boyfriend is an intruder, Jonathan (thankfully) kills that idiot which, in turn, completely fucks up his mind. Then we skip to the following year as Jonathan and the sister are going to a Halloween party in the middle of oblivion. Johnny is clearly still unhinged from the incident, but the sister wants him to move on and intends to set him up on a date with Minka Kelly, playing a character named Tammy. Now, this isn't going to make sense, but hear me out for a second. Although Ms. Kelly isn't looking quite as sexy as in other films, she pulls off this dorky, girl next door vibe that suits her well and actually makes her appear more attractive; she even has a quirky personality and geeky voice. Hey, it works for me at least.
We are introduced to a lot of characters at once, which is a bit overwhelming, but they are mostly background fodder as opposed to the fuck up presented in "Hallow's Eve." The only important characters are some old man that claims to own the farm where this party is taking place and Tammy. Even though there is lame drama with Tammy's ex-boyfriend, that guy is barely in the movie. I think they did go about this in the wrong manner, but I suppose they were trying to offer up red herrings as to who the killer would be. But come on, it was really obvious who the killer would turn out to be. Anyway, Jonathan and Tammy hit it off well enough despite things moving too fast. Over the course of the night, there are stupid games and shit as people begin to be picked off. Unfortunately, the film introduced significantly more character than they killed, and that is a horror no-no. They also spread the deaths out too far when a bunch should have happened in succession toward the climax. Regardless, the deaths were interesting with the faces of the victims being carved up like pumpkins.
In between kills, we see Jonathan having visions along with antics from that old man I mentioned who tells the audience sheer nonsense. He speaks about pumpkin carving like it's some ancient art that no one appreciates. Dude, this isn't the secret to building the pyramids here...it's fucking pumpkins! Nice attempt at being Crazy Ralph's long lost cousin though. The old man mentions vague knowledge about Jonathan and that there's evil in him and whatever--bullshit about the carver legacy. This fact is coupled with Jonathan mentioning a mystery surrounding his father's disappearance. Look, sequel-baiting is never a good thing--especially in a movie that was arguably lucky enough to get a direct to DVD release.
As the night progresses, Johnny loses more of his marbles as people start to notice other characters disappearing. With the group splitting up idiotically, a Jar Jar level character is mercifully killed off in a ridiculous manner as well as that dumb ex-boyfriend. In that surprise twist I was talking about, they kill off Tammy. I know, I can't believe it! That kind of character always survives, or maybe dies in the final zinger, but not before the end. I have to give the film kudos for a ballsy and unexpected move like that. Plus, her face gets carved into a jack-o-lantern and it looks cool. The sister stumbles onto this scenario as we are led to believe the killer is the old man. Jonathan shows up, thinks the old man is possessed by the spirit of the sister's boyfriend, and kills the old man. This aspect is really confusing, but it should be abundantly clear that all the seemingly supernatural moments are in Johnny's head. In the end, Johnny finally snaps and you realize he was the killer all along. Gee...really?! My problem with a blatantly obvious killer is you have to properly do something to change the audience's mind or leave them alone as a red herring. "Scream" is one of the few slashers to do this correctly.
As you can probably tell, this film is a mixed bag for the most part. I completely understand why others trashed the quality of the film, but they don't know what true shit looks like. Yes, the acting is shaky (even from Ms. Kelly), the characters can be annoying as fuck, the body count is way too low, and the ending practically ruins the film. Not going to disagree with that. But there are positive things to consider. The pumpkin farm provided an appropriate setting, the carved faces on the victims was an interesting concept, and the sudden death of Tammy was a nice touch. Not to mention, there were quality babes besides Ms. Kelly. Although, this film probably would have benefited from pandering fan service; and don't think I didn't notice you, little kitten and girl scout cookie! To sum it up: this film isn't as bad as others make it out to be, but it's still not that good. But hey, when you trick or treat, not everyone is going to give out candy--sometimes you get a penny or an expired coupon for ice cream. Just roll with it.
Notable Moment: While it is fascinating to see a guy piss on his own decapitated head, I think I'm going to go with the two kids dressed up as Agents J and K from "Men in Black." That scene was great.
Final Rating: 5.5/10
Ms. Kelly...a little pumpkin herself:
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