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.

Very few characters and we never see the creature. Australian movies usually always suck and this lives up to that norm. For a better movie see Razorback (1984). I enjoyed how they were going through the Aussie bush. I enjoyed how it was very Aussie in doing so. It would have been far better if they added a third act which included discovering a new species. Instead it just sort of meanders along into an unsatisfying ending. Pretty much not worth your trouble unless you identify with walking through the Australian bush. It was nice to see some animals. If you like to visit Australia and it's wildlife parks you might like some elements of this film. It was ok but nothing to write home about if you're on holiday in Australia. Nice on skip.

How this excuse of a sci-fi horror movie has a rating anywhere above a 2 is mind baffling. The only reason I kept watching past the halfway point was to hopefully get the satisfaction of watching these monumentally annoying characters getting killed or at least seriously maimed for my viewing pleasure. This pathetic waste of time movie broke my cardinal sin: JUMP SCARES. You know, when I watch a horror movie, I want to be terrified - not given a heart attack from copout jump scares. Jump scares are the last ditch effort to try and salvage a useless, terrible horror movie actually have some sort of fear and horror so they can pass it off as a horror movie. The characters are beyond annoying, and I've never seen so much mindless dross. Hopefully the producers lost their ass with this production and are now relegated to living in a trailer park.

They say no good movies are made in Australia by Australians anymore. This didn't help that argument! At all! In any way! Shape or form!!! As with every Aussie film made in the last ten years, that hasnt had an award winner in the front seat, this feels like a school project film. All the usual suspects are here. The script full of plot forcing sentences, that would never actually be said. The actors that didn't bother to explore what their characters jobs actually entail. The camera work that someone desperately tried to show some skill with but the editor didn't really know how to use. The music that sounds like a stock music rip off of something from a better movie they tried emulating. I could have written this review without even seeing a second of this film. It's like every other trashy Aussie horror snore-fest AND THE BIGGEST SIN! The thing that never ever, EVER! Should be left out of a creature feature...Not a single puppet, prop or even a piece of carpet to be used as a practical physical set piece for the creature... NOTHING!!!! Just bad CGI modeling and animation from whatever Cert IV multimedia student happens to know someone on crew. As a side note, the nepotism in the reviews around this film is insane! "As good as Wolf creek." "...a groundbreaking piece of Australian cinema" Oh my merciful Jessepe! They could at least give their friends and relatives a cheat sheet on how not to make it obvious. I'm surprised they didn't put up a Sundance logo and remove a single leaf off the wreath to avoid being sued! Also, Sisi Stringer, hang it up love. If you can't keep a series about a vampire high-school afloat it might be time to see Neighbours is back yet. God why did this film make me so mad!? Is it because of all the government grants handed out to Aussie filmmakers (see: Camera owner) I need a sandwich or something. Oh the colour grading was actually amazing!!! Really good work. Don't pay to see this film! And if you did, join the law suit of the guy who's book they might have actually ripped, also called Carnifex (2015) . But don't bother because that's actually worse than the film but that's a goodreads review for later.

For fans of Creature Features or a decent horror flick,this is a must. With assured direction,a fantastic use of location(night and day), seriously good cinematography,sound and perfectly adequate special FX,coupled with enjoyable characters to spend your time with,it all adds up to one great low budget but terrifically tense film. It takes its time to build it's thrills but that's what makes it so worthwhile. The creature is original,and because of that your left wondering what on earth it is. Yes it follows tropes too,but there's nothing wrong with that with so much skill displayed. Cool film.

I will say that I found the cover for the 2022 horror movie "Carnifex" interesting enough to pick it up. And with "Carnifex" being a horror movie that I had not already seen, nor even heard about, of course I opted to watch it. The storyline in the movie, as written by Shanti Gudgeon, definitely had potential. However, the movie was just too slow paced and ineffective. It was clear that writer Shanti Gudgeon and director Sean Lahiff were aiming at tension and atmosphere, more than they opted for a traditional gore horror movie. It didn't really play out all that well in my book, especially because you have to wait 56 minutes before you get a glimpse of the creature. And by that time it was just too little, too late, especially since the movie ran at 93 minutes in total. "Carnifex" is a slow paced movie with a narrative that actually doesn't offer all that much to the audience. But if you consider watching three people walking around in the wilderness, looking at camera traps exciting, then you are definitely in for a treat. I was expecting a tad more than just that, so I found "Carnifex" to be somewhat of a swing and a miss. And with nearly 1 hour into the movie before things start to happen, I have to say that my patience and interest in the movie was fast waning. This is a movie with a very small cast ensemble, so there was an additional amount of pressure on the performances delivered by Harry Greenwood, Alexandra Park and Sisi Stringer. They actually fared well enough, taking into consideration the lack of a properly engaging script and storyline. Visually then "Carnifex" was okay. I mean, you don't get to see anything interesting before 56 minutes into the foray. And with less than a couple of minutes, perhaps 2 or 3, of screentime, then it made for a rather dull creature feature. Sure, the atmosphere and tension in the movie was good, but the narrative was just too mundane and slow paced to keep things interesting. My rating of "Carnifex" lands on a very generous four out of ten stars.

Harry Greenwood is Australia's best kept secret. So is South Australia's film making creative genius. Australia needs more Carnifex. Not since Wolf Creek have we seen something so dramatically different and interesting in Australian film that makes you demand more like this. The landscape in the film is the main character. The Finchers esque Reznor sound perfectly accompanies Kieran's majestic cinematography and Sean's direction. Sisi and Alexandra are fantastic. Not to forget Darren, Brendan and Holly. It was a total pleasure to watch this film on the big screen - it needs to be seen on the big screen to fully appreciate the extent of the film making process. Congratulations to all involved.

It's a fun movie in my book & well worth a watch. If you go camping in the Aussie bush, who knows what those noises at night are? Typically Australian & without the mega budget, the magnificent landscapes are the backdrop (ala The Hunter) for a well done take on an Australian myth, legend or maybe reality. Even we don't know for sure. The actors fit the bill well, as far as they know they're just normal people doing a normal job. It's not a blood & gore fest, more like a suspense WTF is that type movie. I'm very impressed given it was filmed a few Km's from home (I know most of the locations) and it's a big screen movie.

Magandang pelikula!

Very few characters and we never see the creature. Australian movies usually always suck and this lives up to that norm. For a better movie see Razorback (1984). I enjoyed how they were going through the Aussie bush. I enjoyed how it was very Aussie in doing so. It would have been far better if they added a third act which included discovering a new species. Instead it just sort of meanders along into an unsatisfying ending. Pretty much not worth your trouble unless you identify with walking through the Australian bush. It was nice to see some animals. If you like to visit Australia and it's wildlife parks you might like some elements of this film. It was ok but nothing to write home about if you're on holiday in Australia. Nice on skip.