VOD Review: Carnage Park (2016)

"A better than average Grindhouse throwback."

(aka The Ballad of Scorpion Joe.)
Release Date: July 1st.
Country: USA.
Rating: NR.
Written by: Mickey Keating.
Directed by: Mickey Keating.
Starring: Ashley Bell, Pat Healy, James Landry Herbert, and Alan Ruck.

Carnage Park is a movie that could have been easily dismissible as a style-over-substance sort of thing (and maybe it still is) were it not guided by the unique voice of Mickey Keating. With Ritual, POD, Darling, and now Carnage Park, the writer director has not only shown that he has something different to say (and show) with his movies, but he's gotten better at doing it with each outing.
 

After Scorpion Joe and his partner Weefus (or something like that) botch a bank robbery, they hightail it to the desert with a hostage in tow; the sweet, vulnerable Vivian. All Vivian wanted was to try and save her Daddy's farm with a quick loan (which the bank quickly put the kibosh on), but instead she gets kidnapped by two half-assed criminals. Things just never seem to go right for her.

THERE'S SOMEONE BLEEDING TO DEATH IN THE BACKSEAT.

To make matters worse, they've botched the escape without knowing it too, as they end up on a remote stretch of land nicknamed "Carnage Park" which is essentially a killing ground for an unbalanced sniper named Wyatt. Wyatt kills passers-by for fun, because the scorching desert sun has done something to his brain, and he's bored living all alone way out in the middle of nowhere.

HE'S NOT A SMART MAN, BUT HE KNOWS WHAT MURDER IS.

So with the bank leaving her Daddy to hang out to dry; a couple of jerks kidnapping her; and then another creepy asshole trying to kill her, Vivian kinda snaps and decides that if she's going down, she's going down fighting. So she does. Fight, that is.

AND AS IT TURNS OUT, SHE'S PRETTY GOOD AT FIGHTING.

Carnage Park started off rocky for us, as it felt like a 70's Grindhouse Throwback that tried to be a bit too Tarantino for our tastes. To be quite honest with you, the only one who can do Tarantino is Tarantino, and even his movies feel like he's trying to do him sometimes. The cheap imitators are usually just painful to watch.

Once it got going though, and got past the quirky characters trying to deliver memorable, over-nuanced lines, Carnage Park turned into a lean, mean Backwoods Survival flick. This movie plays like part Reservoir Dogs, and part any other Backwoods Horror flick (Hills Have Eyes, Wrong Turn), with a liberal dose of Wolf Creek thrown in for good measure. The ending also reminded us a lot of Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. There clearly are a lot of other films that have influenced writer/director Mickey Keating in the making of this one, and the melding of styles makes it feel like a new twist on a familiar tale, at the very least.

Ashley Bell, who has made quite a nice career for herself by starring in smaller, more Indie genre flicks, makes for a capable heroine in this one. She goes from vulnerable to fierce with ease, and she's really a better actress than some of her "not so good" movies would lead you to believe. Pat Healy is one of our faves, and he also knocks it out of the park here. I think I prefer him playing the good guy, but he plays bad in a very convincing manner. 

IS SHE TRYING TO CHLOROFORM HERSELF?

There's a decent amount of gore in Carnage Park, including, but not limited to: bear trap violence; gun violence; and seeping gut wounds.

OUCH.

Nope. Ashely Bell don't play that.

SHE COULD THOUGH. SHE TOTALLY COULD.

Mickey Keating is a unique voice in a Genre that needs them, and he should be headed for big things.

ASHELY BELL HAS A UNIQUE VOICE TOO, WHICH SHE USUALLY USES TO  SCREAM. 

Carnage Park is a throwback Grindhouse flick that boasts two great lead performances, an ample amount of gritty violence, an effective visual style, and all kinds of tension. It's also very quirky and nuanced, so if Tarantino-esque movies annoy you, this one may not be for you.

If you like quirky and different though, this one is well worth a rental.

C+

Carnage Park is available on VOD, and in limited theaters now.

Ashley Bell is lovely, and she always delivers the goods.