Trapped), 2004’s The Pumpkin Karver certainly seems to hew to this definition.
After a horrible accident in which Jonathan (Michael Zara) kills
a masked, apparent intruder, he and his sister Amy (Amy Weber) move away to another
titular town (that would be Karver, not Pumpkin). One year later, Jonathan is beset
by visions and nightmares about that night, and acting unusual. At a wild
Halloween party on a deserted parcel of farmland, folks start dying in gruesome
fashion at the hands of a pumpkin-headed killer. As the body count mounts, fear
and recrimination soar
plot is allegedly rooted in some true crime shenanigans, but the characters are
all creations of such stiffly cardboard motivations that one could be forgiven (encouraged,
even) for dismissing that claim as dubious. Also, Mann and Sheldon Silverstein’s
script doesn’t have the nuance to really explore these elements of its premise.
Ergo, it relies on cheap gore (one guy gets his guts drilled out, a girl gets
her face carved off, etc.) to goose you, but as any horror aficionado can tell
you, it’s the imagination of staging that will elevate/save low budget
offerings like this. The Pumpkin Karver
fails in this respect. Do look for Minka Kelly, however, heating up the small screen on Friday Night Lights.
an English language 5.1 Dolby digital surround sound audio track and optional
Spanish subtitles. For such an marginal title, The Pumpkin Karver at least comes with a few extra features. First
up is a director’s commentary track in which Mann holds forth in detail about various
production elements. While everything’s relative — and Mann’s requisite
insistence about the movie’s psychological underpinnings more than a bit ridiculous
— the overcome hurdles recounted herein can in theory serve as inspirational nuggets
from on high for other would-be moviemakers. After all, if a movie like The Pumpkin Karver can secure financing,
there is hope after all, right? Rounding out the release, there is also a photo
gallery and collection of preview trailers for other First Look titles. D
(Movie) B- (Disc)