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Overall Rating : 3.5/10
Directed By : Fabian Forte
Federico Bezenzette
Guido Krilovetski
Alexia Zamparo
Mara Said
Supplied By : Universal Buzz
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : Jan. 17, 2007
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| PLOT Two friends Eduardo and Patricio go out for a bite to eat and get more than they bargained for when they encounter a pair of enticing women, Marcel and Maria on the street. But these women are not what they seem. |
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| THE REVIEW In this Horror tale from Argentina, we are told a story about to friends whom go eat for a bite to eat, but yet they end up getting more than they expected or were looking for. One night Patricio joins classmate Eduardo at his place to complete a project, in between breaks, Patricio suggest they go get some pizza. On the way there the two gentlemen hopelessly get lost, that is when they come across two very seductive women. In the matter of minutes into the conversation the women ask the two if they'd like to join them at their house for what seems to be a night of fun - Patricio is all for it, however Eduardo is not, and would rather get home to finish the project. With a little persuading by Patricio, Eduardo agrees to join and they head to the nearby residence of the ladies'. The night begins with a lot of talking and lengthy discussions among them history - but it isn't long until things get heated sexually within the group, but it is here when the mysterious women get that much more mysterious. it seems that during the intimacy they become uncontrollable, it turns out the women are vampires, who shamelessly wander the streets at night picking up unsuspecting men, whom have no idea about their intentions - unfortunately tonight friends Patricio and Eduardo are caught in Marcel and Maria's nightly game of thirst and feast! When asked to review CARNAL, I had never heard of it, but was told that it initially aired via multiple webisodes and that it was shot in sequence over a six day period.(something not done on a regular basis) The story that is presented in CARNAL is none too original, in fact we have seen this in various reincarnations over the years, but I really liked the way the whole scenario was presented here by director Fabian Forte. One thing that is always a problem in low budget horror is that more times than not, the films' predictability levels are high, but with CARNAL, the fact that the women were who they were well concealed, until they went in for the attack(at least to me). it really keeps you guess just what they are up to. But unfortunately, for all that I did enjoy about CARNAL, there is that much more in which I did not. The film shot on handheld came, has well....the handheld look, hues are often out of contrast, and sometimes the picture's exposure is so over lit that at time's makes it difficult to see an actor's face/or faces. Another thing is that yeah, shooting in sequence is revolutionary, but it seems as if it an also heard the film. The story is here, but it seems like something is missing, for instance a relative back-story would've been nice to have, as us the viewers have no idea of were these vicious and cannibalistic vamps came from and what their motives are - sure it's nice to have 2 women whom eat and devour men in your film, but to me, everything should have a purpose...should it not? More complaints from me are along the same lines, it's said Patricio and Eduardo are classmates....but the question being, where, what class....etc.(to me this angle was poorly developed)....and lastly Marcel and Maria have an over-weight man that they hold hostage in their basement and seemingly feed him flesh(from what I gathered). where did he come from and why is he there. Just for the record, there are two options as far as audio goes, the original Spanish track with english subs or an English dubbed version - well not in the mood to read today I chose the former, but now I wish I had not - honestly speaking the dubbing here is terrible, and possesses none of the film's raw emotion, which in the end, more than likely hurt my overall impression of the film. |
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| GORE
METER 1.5/10 The most memorable thing as far gore comes by why of the removal of one's organs, although some of it is shown, most of it is suggestive. |
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| MUSICAL
SCORE 4/10 The overall score for the film worked well I thought, it was done in a rather simplistic John Carpenter sort of way.... |
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM Overall, to me, CARNAL is a film that has a great story, and a few choice moments but as a whole the entertainment was just not that consistent enough in order for me to score it any higher.... |
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