Carny (2009 TV Movie) User Reviews

Carnage

[gcrokus · 3/10 · 25 April 2009]

An amusing diversion, the folks responsible for "Carny" trot out that staple of the Sci-Fi network, the monster that seems to not really be a science fiction imagining. One that causes mayhem, for certain, but not nearly as much as a few of the humans involved.

A carnival visiting a town has as its star sideshow attraction a beast which remains hidden from us until it escapes from its cage. The carnival master has assured Lou Diamond Phillips (the local sheriff) that there will be no problem with the sedated and incarcerated...thing.

We know different. There is another problem - a local preacher that hates all things carnival, and he particularly is interested in seeing that the escapee is captured.

I will leave it to you to find out how this whole thing ends. As tepid as this movie is, it will be far more interesting to the next generation of MST3000 fans.

One and a half stars.

Fairly standard "horror" movie...

[paul_haakonsen · 5/10 · 25 June 2011]

"Carny" was like a trip down memory lane for me, and perhaps will be for anyone who watched horror movies during the mid- and late 80's. This movie was like it was plucked right out of that era and then shined up for a 2009 release.

The story in "Carny" was pretty tame. A carnival of traveling freaks come to a small town, and with them they have a new attraction. A certain abomination as they call it. And of course, the creature breaks free and wreaks havoc upon the town and the inhabitants. Pretty much standard 80's horror plot right there.

Now, I think that the creature actually looked good and was believable. I read some reviews who weren't as forgiving to the effects and the creature, but I found it to actually be good enough.

And as for the cast and the acting, well there were some questionable performances, sure, but there were also some fairly decent performances as well. Don't put your hopes up for any award-winning performances, because then you will be sorely disappointed.

As for being a horror movie, then "Carny" wasn't particularly scary at all. And there weren't even any moments of intense suspense or dread. The movie pretty much rolled onward at a good pace, though it was weak in scares and thrills. And as for the ending, well who would have seen that coming... Not saying anything else, just watch it yourself.

All in all, "Carny" was a fairly average horror movie, though it was weak in scares. The good thing about it was that most of it was actually shot during the day, so you had good, clear and well-lit scenes, and you saw the creature clearly in the daylight (as to where many other movies use glimpses and darkness to hide whatever is prowling the innocent). So that worked. Just don't have your heart set on being scared out of your seat.

The Jersey Devil

[claudio_carvalho · 3/10 · 28 May 2010]

When side-show circus owned by Cap (A.C. Peterson) arrives in Reliance, the greedy owner kills the driver that brings the new attraction – the Jersey Devil – and his henchman dumps the severed body in the woods and the trunk in the muddy lake. The local sheriff Atlas (Lou Diamond Phillips) checks the permits of the carnival under the protests of the deranged pastor Owen (Vlasta Vrana) that does not want the abominations in the small town. In the opening show, the Jersey Devil escapes and attacks the audience, killing Owen's son. Atlas organizes a hunting party to kill the monster, while Cap and his partner try to capture it alive to sell to a wealthy investor. Meanwhile Owen rises up the locals against the monster and the performers of the freak show with tragic consequences.

"Carny" is really a terrible movie. The story and the screenplay are awful, with a ridiculous conclusion; the development of the one- dimensional characters is shallow, even for the lead ones; and the Jersey Devil and the special effects are very poor. The acting is affected by the script and the silly lines and the poor actors and actresses unfortunately can not do better than they do. I like B-movies but this one sucks. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "Carnívoro" ("Carnivore")

This movie is really lousy !SPOILERS!

[Theodine · 1/10 · 25 April 2009]

This is one of the most mean spirited movies I have ever seen. Most of the characters are unsympathetic. The head of the carnival is someone who'll murder anyone who stands between him and making a profit. His helper is stupid and just as willing to kill. The town's pastor rants on and on about the carnival even before he has a good reason to. He apparently thinks that just because some people were born differently, i.e. are circus "freaks", that means they're evil and deserve to die. The townspeople at the end are both stupid and unsympathetic as they promptly turn their efforts to killing people at the carnival rather than making sure the creature is dead. We never really get to know the circus "freaks" as they are apparently just there for shock value. The few sympathetic characters are treated horribly. A young man is completely traumatized and then later killed in front of his mother in a completely unnecessary scene. A deputy is brutally murdered. This movie was a very unpleasant experience that I wish I could wipe entirely from my mind. I don't know what the scriptwriters were thinking. Certainly not about being entertaining or having any value to their film what so ever.

The Devil made them do it.

[marbleann · 3/10 · 23 March 2010]

Two cops, one carnival with 4 or 5 sideshow freaks and a Ferris wheel, one greedy owner and his side kick. A redneck tow truck driver a crazy pastor and his son who has one friend and a woman who reads crime scene evidence in boiling pots of water. What does that all add up to? THe whole entire cast of Carny. But wait I forgot the star of the movie, The Jersey Devil.

As a native New Yorker I use to hear tales of the Jersey Devil and how he would come after bad little girls who never listen to her parents. That being me.

Well it turns out someone has captured the creature and the owner of the carnival has got a buyer for it. He has one big problem though, the beast decides he doesn't want to cooperate and he escapes. And he also has one minor problem, a crazy Pastor who believes Carnivals and the people who work there come from Hell so they must be gotten rid of and he is sending them right back to where they came from, Hell.

The beast kills everybody in his path. This is not King Kong that will actually stop and take a look at you before he kills you. No this one is serious and what makes it worse, he flies. The greedy owner wants him back alive so the sheriff (Lou Diamond Phillips) allows him to the next morning to capture the Devil. But it turns out the tranquilizer guns are not powerful enough so he uses people as bait. He kills the only other cop in town so the creature will smell the blood. But before that during the night the monster has been having a ball. Killing the crazy Pastors son and terrorizing his friend. THe goober sheriff never thinks about calling in help from another town. He has a monster killer on the lose and he takes it upon himself and his now dead deputy to bring down the monster.

Who makes these movies? Doesn't the actors say wait there has to be another town this monster can fly to and continue his killing spree, what about calling the cops from all of the surrounding area? Or at least the National Guard. It is not like it is a wolf or dog that got lose it is a freaking killing machine that flies.

This is a movie you have to suspend all common sense to watch. The pastor is really mad now because his son is dead and he blames the goober sheriff for allowing the carnival in the town and the people who work there. So when the goober arrests the owner for killing his sheriff, the Mad Monk (all he needed was a beard) somehow incapacitates the owner and goober and locks them behind bars. Well since the owner has blood on him guess who crashes through the police station and kills him. And the Mad Monk believes he kills the monster while it was locked up in the cell killing the owner. WRONG. The Goober Sheriff is nowhere to be seen when this is happening even though he is really right in the next cell which by the way also houses a rack of high powered rifles which he uses to escape from the cell when he comes to. I am sure most criminals would love to be locked up in that cell.

I am not going to tell the ending but I will say the troops were never called in and a Ferris wheel is more deadlier then I thought. Don't waste your time. As I said in my summery the Devil made them do it. Them as in the Director and all involved . And It as in making this movie.

It can fly!

[ctomvelu1 · 5/10 · 16 October 2010]

Typical SyFy Channel crap, with one difference: some character development. Lou D.Philips plays a small-town sheriff who goes on the hunt for a winged creature that has escaped from a traveling carnival. The beast makes mincemeat of everyone in its path, and is your typical CGI creation. Ah, but the carny owner (Peterson) is an extremely nasty and hideous-looking fellow who doesn't hesitate to kill anyone who gets in his path either. He imbues his character with a sort of Sidney Greenstreet sense of menace. And the local minister (didn't catch the actor's name) is hellbent on shutting down the carnival, even if it means burning it to the ground with all the carny folks inside their tents. In his own way, the minister is as bad as the ruthless carny owner. Both actors rise above their material. Sadly, Philips does not. He gives the same wooden, mail-it-in performance he gave in BATS (where he also played a small-town sheriff), with no indication he has learned anything new about acting in the interim. He needs a strong director, and he does not have one here. He simply is the one "name" actor in this low-budget Canadian quickie. Truth is, I only watched this quasi-turkey because of him. The ending is so poorly staged and filmed, you may be left wondering what the heck in fact happened.

Starts out great, and then fumbles

[Wuchakk · 5/10 · 18 October 2010]

Released to television in 2009, "Carny" is a monster-on-the-loose flick about a carnival stopping at a New York town with a new attraction, a gargoyle-like creature that turns out to be the infamous Jersey Devil. The town's prominent pastor initially objects to the freakshow and goes over the edge after the creature gets loose. The sheriff (Lou Diamond Phillips) rounds up some men to end the slaughter of innocents while the malevolent carny owner wants to recapture the creature for greedy purposes.

Being a fan of winged-monster flicks like "Gargoyles" (1972), "Gargoyles: Wings of Darkness" (2004), "Wyvern" (2009) and even "Jeepers Creepers (2001), I was looking forward to "Carny." But after a very intriguing start I was let down.

The opening act with the introduction of the town, the characters, the carnival and the creature is the best part, but the film fumbles the ball in the second and final acts. Circus-like scenarios are a surefire setting for horror/mystery tales, as verified by "The Funhouse" (1981), "Berserk!" (1967), "Circus of Horrors" (1960) and even "The Howling VI: The Freaks" (1991), but "Carny" fails to truly capitalize on this attribute.

The Human interest factor is next to zero. We get three main characters: The evil freakshow owner, the wacko pastor and a likable sheriff. Peripheral characters include the carnival owner's henchman, the pastor's son & friend, and a cougar fortune-teller, Samara. Although the story throws in a self-sacrificial scene there's not enough depth to these characters or their relationships to make it moving.

The second act involves a search-in-the-woods for the creature by the two groups noted above and I appreciated the serious, non-campy vibe (even while the villain and the Reverend treaded the waters of cartoonish-ness). The film and actors successfully gave the feeling that this was serious business and really happening.

Yet it was around this point that I also started losing interest. Why? Probably because there was no human interest. A bloodthirsty monster is on the loose and these people are trying to capture/kill it; one man is likable, another is ultra-evil and the other is a wack job. That's it. It goes no deeper.

Another key flaw is the lack of alluring females. Isn't this a creature-on-the-loose flick? A horror flick? A carnival flick? Where are the women? (And, no, Samara doesn't qualify, although I suppose she could have). "Wyvern", "The Fog" remake, "Goblin", "The Howling VI: The Freaks" (not to mention parts I, II, III, IV & V), every "Friday the 13th" flick and "Gargoyles: Wings of Darkness" all knew enough to include a lovely lass or three. Heck, even by-the-numbers straight-to-video shlock like "Urband Legends 3: Bloody Mary" includes 'em. Yes, I'm being a little humorous but, seriously, a circus plays a big role in the story, give us a freakin' high-wire woman or something, please!

Also, the stereotypical religious nutjob rings false and hackneyed. Why not get really 'cutting edge' and show us a minister (or believers in general) in a positive, heroic light, like the original "Poseidon Adventure" and "Rambo"?

That said, there's still enough good here to give it a marginal recommendation for those with who appreciate such fare. The monster looks convincing and there's a lot of gore (not that I care about gore, but some do).

The film runs 1 hour, 28 minutes, and was shot in Ottawa, which is a good stand-in for northern New York since it's only an hour drive south.

GRADE: C.

The best "Jersy Devil" movie out there ................

[merklekranz · 6/10 · 15 July 2010]

Though somewhat rushed to conclusion, what precedes it is good. Good flying monster, good story, good character development, and good location photography. Lou Diamond Phillips is totally acceptable as the small town sheriff, and the evil carny owner is well played by Alan C. Peterson. There are some unexpected twists, and some pretty good jump scares. "Carny" is superior to two other "Jersey Devil" movies, "The 13th Child Legend of the Jersey Devil" (2003), which is terrible, and the somewhat interesting "The Last Broadcast" (2006). Thus, this is flat out the best "Jersey Devil" movie out there. ................... - MERK

Bleeding Characterization

[wes-connors · 4/10 · 6 August 2013]

Small town sheriff Lou Diamond Phillips (as Atlas) has his hands full when a circus arrives. The main attraction is "The Jersey Devil" stolen by carnival manager A.C. Peterson (as "Cap" Caprini) in the opening minutes. Citizens are excited about seeing the animal and other freaky looking people. We're told the people of Reliance have never seen anything like them before. The most normal appearing member of the troupe is psychic Simone-Elise Girard (as Samara). She predicts doom and tries to explain "Jersey Devil" origins. For some reason, Ms. Girard feels "safe" with her boss, who is arguably more wicked than his monster...

God-fearing pastor Vlasta Vrana (as Owen) believes the circus will bring sin to the community and starts to campaign against "God's abomination." Ironically, his juvenile delinquent son Matt Murray (as Taylor) triggers the rampage of "Jersey Devil". The flying terror is supposed to be heavily sedated, but seems incredibly alert. The beast is called a "freak of nature" and resembles a gargoyle. It appears to be intelligent - and it's more thoughtfully constructed than the story. The supernatural and Christian religion may have some connection. Maybe the creature is just mad. The gargoyle and Kyle Gatehouse (as Jesse) are nicely done.

**** Carny (4/25/09) Sheldon Wilson ~ Lou Diamond Phillips, Alan C. Peterson, Simone-Elise Girard, Vlasta Vrana

Flawed, but still pretty good

[annoyingryan · 8/10 · 23 May 2009]

Out of sheer boredom, I flipped the TV onto yet another Sci-Fi Channel B movie, expecting nothing more than pure dreck. Luckily, I was wrong.

Carny has an interesting--if typical--plot. As the story begins, we're treated to brief glimpses of the creature--a snarling, demonic beast. "Oh no," I cry. "It's another one of THOSE films where the creature is only shown in brief, shaky camera shots to avoid special effects costs." Luckily, I was wrong.

Of course the creature escapes, just like you'd expect in a horror movie, beginning a fairly typical "monster on the loose" scenario--because really, you can't make a movie unless the monster is on the loose. Who'd like a movie where the monster just stayed in its cage and ate mice all day??? Bah! There are three things that set Carny apart from the typical Sci-Fi B movie.

1) The characters. Several characters have a fair amount of depth to them. Not a lot, but really, this is a monster-on-the-loose film. The characters aren't -just- there to be eaten; you get a feeling like they're actual people. Additionally--and not to spoil things--but it's not just the monster who's evil in this story!

2) The monster. Ordinarily, beasties such as this look like crap, or look much too powerful. This one looks menacing without one getting the feeling that it's omnipotent.

3) The dialogue. It's not Shakespeare, but like another commenter wrote, it does avoid many clichés and pitfalls of other B movies. And again, monster-on-the-loose flicks really don't require a lot of deep, existential dialogue.

Give Carny a chance. There are far worse out there. If nothing else, feast thine eyes upon the creature!

Above Average for Sci-Fi Ch

[cgallo · 7/10 · 25 April 2009]

I was pleasantly surprised by this Sci-Fi Channel entry. There were some credible makeup and physical effects, a number of competent actors supporting a script that avoided many of the more common clichés for what has become its own genre, the Sci-Fi Channel monster flick usually produced in Canada.

Lou Diamond Phillips stars, cast yet again as a small town sheriff battling things that fly and/or creep whilst chewing scenery, secondary characters and extras at will. It isn't BATS, but its not a crap fest either. Another treat -- the music did not appear to be library music but supported the scenes rather well. A genuine jump inducer in the 2nd act and some graphic gore and another jump in the 3rd made this a "7" in my book.

Oh yeah, and a minimum of shaky camera work and random zooming in and out. Bless the D of P for not inflicting that on the audience.

Not that bad but also could have been much better

[TheLittleSongbird · 5/10 · 26 July 2012]

I was actually pleasantly surprised watching Carny. It does have its problems, but for me is one of the more tolerable SyFy channel movies. It does have some beautiful-looking and atmospheric sets and lighting, giving an appropriate nightmarish feeling, good make-up, a surprisingly well-designed and menacing monster, credible performances and a score that doesn't feel at that generic and also fits with the film's tone. Of course it has its problems, the quality of the story and writing are actually vast improvements to previous and succeeding efforts but they are not perfect still. The story has a good if not groundbreaking(though it didn't need to be) concept and is actually mostly interesting, well-paced and with some scenes that are quite nail-biting. Where it is let down though is in the escape of the monster, which I also feel could've been introduced later and with more suspense, and an ending that feels rushed that contrived. The script is not as clichéd or as cheesy thankfully as most of SyFy's resume, but still could have done with more flow in terms of structure. The characters are not as irritating as before or since, however are an uneven mix, the leads are likable and have some depth but most of the supporting roles are rather shallow and not developed as well. The camera work does suffer also from some choppy editing and numerous instances where it zooms in and out which often gave it a rather overly claustrophobic sensation watching Carny. Overall, not perfect but tolerable, with even its flaws having been done worse elsewhere. 5/10 Bethany Cox

A devilish bat attacks.

[michaelRokeefe · 4/10 · 25 May 2009]

Lou Diamond Phillips in yet another movie that will briefly entertain and then be forgotten. CARNY is little horror flick filmed in Canada for the Sci Fi Channel. Alan C. Peterson plays a greedy and murderous carnival owner that has just acquired a hideous monster for his traveling freak show. The carnival comes to set up shop in a small Nebraska town. Hidden amongst the roustabouts and sideshow oddities like the two-faced man is a steel cage where shackled is the newest attraction...half animal/half devil creature...Jersey Devil. Influential citizen and Pentecostal minister Owen(Viasta Vrana)warns Atlas, the local Sheriff(Phillips), not to let the carnival open for business. Nevertheless, the freak show opens to a good size crowd and after being taunted, the blood thirsty Jersey Devil breaks loose and begins to feast on the township. Sheriff Atlas now has a hell bent monster to catch and a mess to clean up. Actually the Jersey Devil is visually cool. Also in the cast: Domenic Cuzzocrea, Simone Elise Girard and Joe Cobden.

Getting The Gargoyle

[bkoganbing · 2/10 · 27 March 2010]

In Carny Lou Diamond Phillips is cast as the police chief of Reliance, New York a small town in the most rural part of upstate New York where the big event of the year is about to take place, a carnival has come to town. Not just any carnival, but one specializing in some of the rejects from the Creator/Deity work table. In this film's makers must have been inspired by Todd Browning's classic film, Freaks.

Would that this film was anywhere close to being as good as Freaks, but it sadly isn't. The biggest attraction in the show is some kind of gargoyle like creature billed as the New Jersey Devil. When it gets loose and starts terrorizing the area, Lou as the sheriff takes it upon himself to organize a hunting party.

This is where it really gets ridiculous. When he was a smalltown Texas sheriff in Bats at least he called in some help. Why he didn't in Carny is totally beyond me.

The film was shot in and around Ottawa to simulate the rural atmosphere of upstate New York which is not as rural as when Jimmy Stewart made upstate New York's fictional Bedford Falls famous. The rest of the cast is made up of Canadian players.

Of course getting this gargoyle proves to be a rough go for Lou and his posse of hunters who are used to more docile creatures like deer. I tell you this, George Bailey would have known when he was overmatched and would have sent for help should the gargoyle ever be threatening Bedford Falls. There's also a side story about a crazy preacher wanting to see the carnival destroyed before he even knew about the gargoyle.

Carny is one big mess of a film. Hopefully Lou Diamond Phillips got to get in some rural pursuits while making this feast for his next Thanksgiving table.

A Travesty

[GC_MaxProductions · 1/10 · 23 January 2010]

I had the recent misfortune to watch this "film" which was probably the worst I have ever seen, my initial expectations of a good plot for "Carny" were about psychopathic carnival people luring their victims in with trickery but no! It involved a "monster" that was neither iconic, frightening or interesting to any degree. As soon as the "monster" was seen I knew this was going to be a bumpy ride into the land of cliché, hammy acting and scripting. I wouldn't classify this as a b movie, b movies can at least make you laugh but this was serious all the way.

Quickview: One dimensional characters, terrible script, no suspense, poor effects.

Stolen goods

[dweiner56 · 1/10 · 4 March 2012]

Doesn't anyone read anymore? The creature, setting, and story line were lifted whole cloth from F. Paul Wilson's "Repairman Jack" series. The creature is called a "rakosh", a demon from Indian mythology. Read the Wilson story (it's available on a free download from the Guttenberg Project) Then re-watch the movie. When plots and other things are lifted from other sources and no credit is given, it's very irritating, if not downright dishonest. Imagine if someone made a film about a scientist who tried to animate a dead monster that he stitched together from stolen body parts, and tried to pass it off as an original plot. If the screenwriter had Wilson's permission, then why not list it in the credits? Shame on you SyFy.

Fair Fair

[QueenoftheGoons · 2/10 · 5 May 2021]

Was a fair movie, i mean nothing really irritated or annoyed me but the creature was a poor excuse for a devil. The best devil is the one from the movie "the Barrens" you will want to look into that. This was one of the better Maneatser movies in the series though it doesn't beat Grizzly Rage or the tiger one with Busey.

Carny

[Scarecrow-88 · 6/10 · 13 September 2010]

The carnival comes to town and it's evil promoter, Cap(Alan C Peterson)has a new sideshow attraction, a winged creature hungry for human blood who has broken free from it's steel cage. Sheriff Atlas(Lou Diamond Phillips) has a lot to contend with as locals begin to fall victim to the beast. Cap is so absolutely vile he guts his own trusting servant, Quinn(Dominic Cuzzocrea)just so that he can capture the creature by using the smell of blood from the poor guy as a means to lure the monster. We get a glimpse at just how abominable Cap is when he stabs the man in the back who delivered him the creature. Through Cab's mystic, Samara(Simone-Elise Girard), we learn as she is speaking with Atlas that the creature just may be the Jersey Devil. Adding to Atlas' troubles is the local fire-and-brimstone priest, Father Owen(Vlasta Vrana) who, before the start of the carnival, was warning his citizens and neighbors of how this traveling freakshow would only bring horror to the town, a rallying cry of epic proportions, heaven and hell, good and evil kind of stuff. When Father Owen's son dies at the hands of the monster, Atlas will have to not only deal with Cap, the monster, but the priest seeking vengeance as well. Surprisingly well made creature feature compared to past Sci-Fi channel offerings, actually has some decent special effects in regards to the monster's presence in the film. The filmmakers decide to shoot the creature out of focus just enough as it flies/swoops down in the background so that it won't be as glaring computer effect as we normally are used to seeing in a Sci-fi channel Saturday movie. Owen is so blind with his own rhetoric involving the carnival of freaks' responsibility for bringing the monster in town that he encourages the locals to target them next. The priest is presented as an unsympathetic blowhard inciting negative emotions, not following the doctrines of peace and tolerance he supposed to which is why when the creature is loosened once again to hunt you care not if he is ripped to smithereens. Phillips slips comfortably into the small town hero role without a hitch, having starred in more than his share of B-movies, understanding this genre all too well. Not a lot of carnage as you might expect(there could've been more body parts and torn flesh), but there's at least a tongue removal by a knife, and because of the creature's brownish gargoyle-like color(it reminded me of the beast from JEEPERS CREEPERS a bit), this allows it to integrate fairly well within the darkly autumnal surroundings. The exciting climax has a ferris wheel toppling over thanks to Atlas trying to use whatever he can to finally rid his town of the monster, with a rather bleak resolution as many of the carnival freaks suffer devastating fates thanks to mostly Owen's doing. CARNY allows Phillips to save the day, at a huge cost.

He don't look that tough

[nogodnomasters · 4/10 · 2 September 2017]

A disreputable carny (A.C. Peterson) manages to obtain the Jersey Devil and uses it as a sideshow in a small town in Nebraska. It gets loose and raises havoc in the woodlands of Nebraska that looked like Quebec, Canada, There is a seer named Samara (Simone-Élise Girard) pronounced like "Tomorrow." Only Lou Diamond Phillips can save the town....well part of it.

This is a 2009 made for TV film. The script left much to be desired as did the characters. You do get to see the creature unlike found footage films. The boys didn't have any girlfriends, like LDP's daughter which would have added some human interest to the tale. She could have been the Final Girl that helped kill the beast. As it was all we had was some hateful preacher we wanted to see get eaten.

Guide: No swearing, sex, or nudity.

Enjoyable creature feature

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 18 July 2013]

The lethal and mythical beast the Jersey Devil is being shown as the main attraction at an eerie traveling carnival. The monster escapes and terrorizes a small town. It's up to stalwart sheriff Atlas (a solid and likable performance by Lou Diamond Phillips) to stop it before it's too late. Director Sheldon Wilson relates the entertaining story at a steady pace, presents a flavorsome seedy'n'sinister carnival atmosphere, maintains a serious tone throughout, and sprinkles in some neat bits of grisly gore. The smart script by Douglas G. Davis tweaks the standard premise in a clever and surprising manner (in an especially inspired touch, some of the human characters prove to be every bit as dangerous as the beast). The sound acting by the capable cast keeps the movie humming, with stand-out work from Alan C. Peterson as shady carny owner Cap, Vlasta Vrana as hell and brimstone preacher Owen, Dominic Cuzzocrea as Owen's meek assistant Quinn, Dan Petronijevic as redneck yahoo Luke, Simone-Elise Girard as fetching psychic Samara, and Joe Cobden as eager deputy Rogers. Moreover, extra props are in order for both the scary'n'nasty monster and the surprisingly good quality make-up for the grotesque carnival freaks. Danny Nowak's slick cinematography makes neat use of a mobile camera. Ned Bouhalassa's shivery score hits the shuddery spot. Only the shoddy CGI effects and rather abrupt ending leave a little something to be desired. A fun fright flick.

Much more entertaining than expected

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 9/10 · 22 January 2017]

When a circus arrives in a small town, their prized attraction in a captured Jersey Devil gets loose into the surrounding woodlands and forces the towns' sheriff to not only go out and stop the creature running wild on the townspeople as well as the carnival folks from their ire.

This here was a surprisingly good and enjoyable Sci-Fi Channel creature feature. One of the best parts here is that there's a lot of great encounters with the creature, as the film has a really big number of interactions with the creature which has a lot of great qualities. The first big scene, where the victims encounter it out in the woods several times, first in a spectacularly creepy barn and later out in the open, provide some fantastic scenes. From the creature appearing in the barn but not known where to the chasing amongst the trees and finally the trap under the bridge, this one comes across as an energetic creepy sequence. An attack on a couple in a car is also quite good, the hunting party scenes where the townspeople try to get the creature are both quite fun and enjoyable watching their tactics to get at it while the creature just goes on the offensive. The big one, though, and what makes the film so fun, is the major action scenes at the end starting off as a multi-person brawl at the police station which turns into a fight against the creature and then turning into a full-scale attack at the carnival. Coming complete with some vicious kills, a ton of destruction, some explosions and some fun mini- moments that are strung together into a high-energy scene before the big battle with the creature making this one go out on a high mark as well. This gives the film a rather great pace, and with as much good encounters there is, it's quite fun. The creature itself is given a lot of face time and the gargoyle-like appearance doesn't look all that bad, and along with the film's rather nice amount of blood and gore, these here are the film's good points. There wasn't a whole lot really wrong with the film. One of the problems is that the escape of the creature comes a little too early in the film, barely twenty minutes in and without much of a set-up or anything. There's no suspense that it will fail, it just happens and it feels completely underwhelming because the thing breaks through with almost no difficulty and just flies away, lessening the impact even more as the whole scene is done way too quickly. The one-line back-story about what the thing is doesn't help, since it doesn't give off any information about it or even detailing the legend it's based on, and the creature's origins are a big mystery. The last flaw is the constant preaching of the pastor in the film about the sins of the carnival and what they mean in terms of religion. It's not enjoyable, comes across from a failed viewpoint as they are based on erroneous experiences and the whole thing is completely unnecessary. Otherwise, these are the film's problems.

Rated UR/R: Graphic Violence and Language.