Carver



"Screaming only excites him."

Carver is a 2008 Slasher Film, a hybrid of Hillbilly Horrors and Torture Porn.

Set to go off to university soon, Pete Hoskin decides to drag his younger brother, Bryan, off to the secluded wilderness of Halcyon Ridge for some sibling bonding (no, not in that way). Joining the two are Pete's immature friend Zack, and his flighty girlfriend Rachel, much to Bryan's annoyance. Meeting up in a roadside store called the QG, the group are approached by the proprietor, a friendly old chap named Billy Hall Carver, who offers them a night of free drinks if they can get some supplies for him from the storage cabin near their campsite; he can't do it himself due his bum leg and his obese, troublesome, manchild relative and only help, Bobby Shaw, being given a talking to by Sheriff Jack Quixley, you see.

Agreeing to the deal, the group set up their site, and after meeting a fellow camper named Kate (who is out on her annual camping trip with her friend Gina, who seems to have vanished) head up to the cabin. Deciding to have a look around while gathering the QG's needed wares, our characters discover a hidden cache of film reels, one of which they play on an old projector. Lighthearted riffing turns to unease when the amateurish slasher film the reel contains becomes a little bit too graphic, depicting the disturbingly realistic mutilation and murder of campers and hikers in a forest very similar to the one they are in.

Quickly putting the reels back and leaving after hearing someone approach, everyone (except worrywart Bryan) decides to put the disturbing film behind them, and after dropping off Billy Hall's stuff, get into party mode with their limitless supply of booze, though shit hits the fan when Zack gets into a fight and heads to an outhouse to clean up. While wiping off the blood and taking a dump, Zack is castrated and captured by Bobby Shaw, the slasher movie's killer and creator, who has big plans for Zack's friends, the unknowing stars of his next big picture.

I'm ready for my close up, Mr. Carver.

This film provides examples of the following tropes:
""These guys are so gonna get it!""
 * Accidental Murder: Kate crushes Zack between two vehicles, and stabs him in the head with a hoe, thinking he was Bobby Shaw.
 * Agony of the Feet: Rachel steps on a nail.
 * An Arm and A Leg: Some severed limbs are found strewn throughout the bottom level of the Carver cabin.
 * Antagonist Title
 * Ate His Gun: Kate's death.
 * Ax Crazy: Bobby Shaw.
 * Bar Brawl: Zack gets into a fight with a patron of the QG.
 * Bare Your Midriff: Rachel and Kate.
 * Based on a Great Big Lie: The film claims to be based on fact, though all attempts to look up similar crimes to those presented in the film have turned up nothing.
 * Beard of Evil: The Carvers.
 * Blood From the Mouth: It's vomited a lot, especially during the sledgehammer murder.
 * Camera Fiend: Rachel.
 * Camping a Crapper: Happens to Zack.
 * Car Fu: Kate hits Zack (thinking he was Bobby Shaw) with Pete's van, and slams him into Zack's car.
 * Chase Scene: Running through the woods and a rickety cabin barefoot looks uncomfortable, to say the least.
 * Cold-Blooded Torture: It makes snuff films more exciting.
 * Cool Shades: Zack and Rachel, and of course the only law enforcement official.
 * Corrupt Hick: You can honestly tell just by looking at them.
 * Creator Cameo: Co-producer Jaye Lowe and FX man Paul Coldblatt both have bit parts.
 * Curiosity Killed the Cast: A drunk Rachel wanders off into the woods in search of Zack.
 * Daylight Horror: The snuff films.
 * Death By Mocking: Zack and Rachel.
 * Death By Sex: A pair of snuff film victims.

"Bryan: "Whose the cameraman?""
 * Deep South: Presumably.
 * Despair Event Horizon: After seeing Pete and her friend Gina dead, Kate blows her own brains out.
 * Determinator: Bobby Shaw.
 * Developing Doomed Characters: It's well past a half-hour by the time one of our protagonists is attacked.
 * Direct to Video
 * Disgusting Public Toilet: "How do you shit on the wall!?"
 * Don't Go in The Woods
 * Downer Ending: Sole survivor Bryan has his throat slit by Billy Hall after killing Bobby Shaw. Depressing, but at least it's not a full blown instance of The Bad Guy Wins.
 * Driven to Suicide: Kate.
 * Drop the Hammer: Rachel gets whacked in the face with a regular one, while Pete is bashed to death with a sledgehammer.
 * Ear Ache: While struggling with Bobby Shaw over the shotgun, Bryan gets an ear shot off.
 * Evil Cripple: Billy Hall, who walks with a cane.
 * Evil Redhead: Billy Hall.
 * Eye Scream: A crowbar in the eye, and later a piece of wood.
 * Facial Horror: A snuff film victim gets a saw to the face.
 * Famous Last Words:

""Sometimes we gotta cut ourselves to make sure we can still bleed.""
 * Fan Disservice: A naked woman is beaten, then stabbed in the face.
 * Fat Bastard: Bobby Shaw.
 * Fingore: Bryan gets a door slammed on his fingers.
 * Flashback Echo: Footage of one of the snuff films is shown as Bryan discovers the spot where it was filmed.
 * Flipping the Bird: Rachel, to Kate.
 * Follow the Leader: Torture Porn popular? The Texas Chainsaw Massacre-esque Backwoods Brutality seeing a resurgence? LETS COMBINE THEM!
 * Foot Focus: Every female character ends up gratuitously barefoot at some point.
 * Giggling Villain: And when we first hear it, it brings to mind Deliverance, since Zack is alone in the woods and naked from the waist down.
 * Goggles Do Nothing: The only possible purpose they could serve is stopping bodily fluids from getting into Bobby Shaw's eyes.
 * Gory Discretion Shot: Only in the R-rated cut.
 * Groin Attack: Zack gets his testicles destroyed with a pair of pliers, while Pete has his groin pounded with a sledgehammer.
 * Gross Up Close-Up: What human balls spray when they are crushed is an interesting and nauseating thing to see.
 * Hand of Death: Snuff films, so yeah.
 * Headphones Equal Isolation: Bryan.
 * Humiliation Conga: Zack gets punched in the face, is forced to use one of the filthiest toilets in existence, realizes there is no toilet paper, gets covered in shit, has his balls crushed with pliers, and is finally mistakenly killed by Kate while dressed as Bobby Shaw.
 * Improbable Aiming Skills: In one of his snuff films, Bobby Shaw somehow hooks a fleeing man in the eye with a crowbar attached to a rope.
 * Improvised Weapon: After shackling Zack to the wall of the outhouse, Bobby Shaw picks up the toilet and drops it on him.
 * Instant Death Bullet: Getting shot right in the chest with a shotgun certainly slows Bobby Shaw down, but it doesn't kill him. A knife to brain remedies that.
 * In-Universe Camera: Despite the presence of snuff films, it's rarely seen.
 * Karaoke Box: Used by Zack and Rachel.
 * Karma Houdini: Billy Hall.
 * Kill'Em All: By the end, every named character except one is dead.
 * Kneecapping: Rachel has nails hammered into her knees, while Bryan gets his stabbed.
 * Knife Nut: Both regular and jagged.
 * Laughing Mad: Bryan, while watching some of the snuff films near the end.
 * Loves the Sound of Screaming: See the tagline above.
 * Machete Mayhem: What Bryan's throat is slit with.
 * Mad Artist: Bobby Shaw apparently views himself as an actual filmmaker, and sees his "character" in the snuff films as the hero.
 * Madness Mantra: "He had help."
 * Male Frontal Nudity: Zack's castration, in the unrated version.
 * Menacing Stroll: Bobby Shaw.
 * MST: The characters do it to the snuff films, not realizing what they are, but quit when the films start becoming uncomfortably graphic.
 * Murderer POV: Most of the snuff films, obviously.
 * Names to Run Away From Really Fast: Bobby Shaw and Billy Hall Carver.
 * Noodle Incident: Whatever it was that made the area a "camper's ghost town".
 * No Sense of Personal Space: Sheriff Quixley.
 * Nothing Is Scarier: How Sheriff Quixley was killed isn't shown or mentioned, but judging by the condition of his body, it was probably pretty bad.
 * Off With His Head: Gina's death.
 * Oh Crap: Bryan, when he realizes the snuff films aren't always in Bobby Shaw's POV, meaning he is passing the camera off to an unseen accomplice.
 * This was probably the mangled Bobby Shaw's thought when he tries to blow Bryan's head off with the shotgun, only to discover it's out of ammo.
 * One Word Title
 * Pipe Pain: Used against and by Bobby Shaw.
 * Police Are Useless: And possibly in on it.
 * Potty Failure: While being attacked, the pants less Zack sprays urine all over the place.
 * Powerful Pick: A snuff film victim is killed with one.
 * Psychopathic Manchild: Bobby Shaw.
 * Red Shirt: Sheriff Quixley.
 * Scream Discretion Shot: Once again, only in the R-rated cut.
 * Self -Harm: Implied with the scarred Kate.

""Don't you worry about him none, he was just mah stunt man.""
 * Serial Killer: Bobby Shaw.
 * Serrated Blade of Pain: The knife.
 * The Sheriff: Jack Quixley.
 * Shirtless Scene: A snuff film victim.
 * Siblings in Crime: Presumably, the exact relationship between Billy Hall and Bobby Shaw is left a bit vague.
 * Sinister Scraping Sound: Bobby Shaw dragging his saw across the ground while advancing on Gina.
 * Sinister Scythe: A snuff film shows one of Bobby Shaw's victims attacking him with one.
 * Slashed Throat: Bryan's death.
 * Snuff Film: Bobby Shaw's passion, though he is also fine with killing people sans camera.
 * Soundtrack Dissonance: In-universe, we have Bobby Shaw adding a cheesy country tune ("Turkey in the Straw, Hee Hee Haw...") to all his films.
 * Suddenly Voiced: Bobby Shaw at first seems to be mute, but then he randomly speaks when he attacks Kate after she discovers she had accidentally killed Zack.

"Kate: (cautiously whispering) "Zack?"
 * Stealth Hi Bye: Billy Hall.
 * Torture Cellar: Though it doesn't seem to see much use.
 * Torture Porn: The film's examples of mutilation includes pliers to the balls, a nail hammered into a bodypart, then wrenched out and hammered in again.
 * Urine Trouble: While tormenting Gina, Bobby Shaw pisses on her.
 * Unnaturally Blue Lighting: Green.
 * Unrated Edition: The Grisly Edition.
 * Villain Opening Scene: Bobby Shaw cutting the still-living Gina's head off with a saw.
 * The Voiceless: Bobby Shaw only talks twice.
 * Vomit Indiscretion Shot: Courtesy of a drunk Rachel.
 * What Happened to The Mouse?: Sheriff Quixley seems to be in on what the Carvers are up to, but then is later found dead, leaving what was up with his character ambiguous.
 * With Catlike Tread: After hearing someone in the woods:

Rachel: (drunkenly) "ZAAAAAAAAAAAACK?!""


 * X Meets Y: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre meets Vacancy.
 * You Look Familiar: What appears to be the same black jacketed man dies in at least three different snuff films.