Search - The Pumpkin Karver on DVD

Shawna B. (Asforever18) from VISALIA, CA
Reviewed on 10/19/2010...

Another slaher fun B-movie. Terrible acting, bad scenery, but all around a great DVD.

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Nikki H. (Tinyavenger)
Reviewed on 6/24/2010...

This movie really was about the worst for me. The acting was ridiculously bad (couldn't even be called comically bad, it was middle school film project bad). The first 10 minutes were ok and then it all went south after that. It felt like they knew the first ten minutes and last few minutes and then threw in a bunch of stuff in the middle that didn't always make sense. Plus, you figured out who the killer was easily when the same person disappeared time and time again, sometimes immediately before a killing. It was another one of those movies that you sit through just waiting for something interesting to happen and it just never does.

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Janey A. (peanysmom) from SLOCOMB, AL
Reviewed on 4/7/2008...

this is a surprisingly good movie

2 of 3 member(s) found this review helpful.

Critics are carving it up, but I think PK's a pretty darn en

Daniel Jolley | Shelby, North Carolina USA | 10/30/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I've read nothing but negative reviews of this film; I haven't even found a single horror reviewer with anything good to say about it. Certainly, some of the criticisms are valid, but I still thought Pumpkin Karver was a pretty darn good horror movie. I don't know why it's so hard for some people to sit down and enjoy a slasher film these days. They decry the formulaic nature of modern horror films, then complain when a film like this one doesn't follow the same old tried-and-true formula they claim to despise so much. Worst of all, they criticize the lack of gore in Pumpkin Karver. Now, as you might already know, I crave blood and gore as much as anybody out there, but it's not the be all and end all of every single horror movie. I don't judge a slasher film by the number of dead bodies it stacks up over the course of an hour and a half. I also don't demand that every horror film I watch explain everything to me at the very end - a little ambiguity isn't necessarily a bad thing. Okay, so the ending of Pumpkin Karver is a little goofy, I'll grant you, but at least it wasn't written in blood from the very beginning.

The opening scene of Pumpkin Karver ranks right up there with Scream, The Ring, and maybe even Halloween, if you ask me. I won't give you any details, but I will say it takes place on Halloween and involves a babe, a murder, and a surprise - and it leaves one young man rather emotionally scarred. So how do you move on from a pumpkin-related tragedy? Apparently, you move to a town called Carver and take part in a big Halloween party with a bunch of silly teenagers with names like Bonedaddy and Skinner. Things are definitely looking up for young Jonathan Starks (Michael Zara), as his seriously hot sister Lynn (Amy Weber) has hooked him up with a hottie named Tammy (Minka Kelly). There's just something about Tammy; she isn't exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer, and her voice is a little on the squeaky side, but she definitely has IT. Unfortunately, not everyone is in a partying mood. Tammy's former boyfriend still thinks he owns her, this weird old dude keeps popping up and going on and on about the art of carving and how he likes to carve the evil out of people, and there's also a Pumpkinhead dude who seems to be haunting Jonathan. In case you're wondering, drunk, goofy kids in silly costumes will definitely die on this night.

I don't have a problem with the gore and special effects. It's all pretty well done (with one dude meeting with a most ignominious end), even though the whole "carving" aspect of the murders seems to come and go. The weird old farmer dude is a bit of a problem, though. With all of his monologues about the art of carving, you know he's either the killer or the biggest red herring you've ever seen. Then you've got Jonathan having all these weird visions of old Pumpkinhead, so you don't know if he's just nuts or if the dude really exists. These facets of the story do make the whole story a little bit on the lame side, but at least they keep you guessing as to the true identity of the killer.

Basically, Pumpkin Karver is just a fun, little slasher film that dares to be a little different. I found it more entertaining than many a film in the genre, but it's obvious that a lot of horror critics think it's a stupid waste of time. Call me old-fashioned, but booze, babes, and blood is still enough to entertain me. If I enjoyed this film, I'm confident that many other horror fans will, as well. Just don't try to overanalyze it - it's a slasher film, for Pete's sake."

Funny, scary and actually a pretty good horror flick

DV6740 | New Jersey, USA | 12/19/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I could see this film gaining a small cult following based on some of the antics it contains. For example, when the funny character dressed as the Incredible Hulk helps out with a wheel barrow full of pumpkins he does a quick flex, "and.. tight!" I cracked up.

It's the tale of a kid who is a talented pumpkin carver (though we never get any back story until later), who kills his sister's boyfriend in defense of her during a halloween prank gone awry. That part was pretty good. They move out to a small, country town, where they meet up with some local kids at a halloween party featuring a pumpkin carving contest.

During the party our lead character starts having some strange episodes, imagining his sister's dead boyfriend is coming after him. He meets a local cutie and starts hanging out with her, then meets her jealous, hot-shot x-boyfriend. A creepy old man is lurking around the place too. Seems it is his land, and he is a pumpkin carver too.

We're not sure who's doing the killing - the old man, an angry lover, or the ghost of the dead boyfrend - but one of the girls gets carved up. Another kid loses his head in the pumpkin patch, then all hell breaks loose and our lead man's love interest gets killed too. I was kind of saddened by that loss. I was hoping she would end up surviving in the end, but that's not the case.

There's a twist ending, and plenty of gore, and I think there may be room for a sequel, but I'm sure that depends on what kind of response this first movie gets.

Pumpkin Karver gets three stars from me because, while the story is clever, it seems a little sloppy in the end, and I never did understand the need for the electricity effect, seems like someone got carried away with the digital effects technology. The acting wasn't top notch either, especially the lead character, but in all it wasn't too bad.

I would watch this movie again, mainly because it had some humorous moments and some great scares. All in all it's a pretty good movie. Hey, I've seen worse."

Not Bad

Ron | Jersey | 12/08/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"For a low budget film this would be 4 stars. I was surprised by this little slasher film. Certainly the acting could be better and some of the special effects are a little shaky, but all in all it is a great effort, and I would love to see what the director could do with a larger budget to work with. The story follows a brother and sister moving to a small rural town after the brother accidently kills his sister's jerky boyfriend during a Halloween prank. Soon, the kids of town start dying. You have a bunch of suspects, from an angry ex boyfriend, a creepy old man, and the brother himself. The ending is decent. If you would like a low budget surprise, pick up this little slasher movie."