"Carny," released on television in 2009, centers around a carnival that arrives in a New York town with a strange new attraction—a creature resembling a gargoyle, which turns out to be the infamous Jersey Devil. The town’s pastor initially voices his disapproval of the carnival and descends into madness after the creature escapes. Lou Diamond Phillips portrays the sheriff, who gathers men to stop the killings while the carnival owner wants to recapture the beast for profit. As someone who enjoys monster movies like "Gargoyles" (1972), "Gargoyles: Wings of Darkness" (2004), "Wyvern" (2009) and even "Jeepers Creepers" (2001), I was looking forward to this film. However, after a promising beginning, I felt disappointed. The initial setup—introducing the town, characters, carnival, and creature—is the strongest part of the movie, but it loses its way in the later acts. Circuses are an ideal setting for horror and mystery stories, as demonstrated by films like "The Funhouse" (1981), "Berserk!" (1967), "Circus of Horrors” (1960) and even “The Howling VI: The Freaks” (1991). Unfortunately, "Carny" doesn’t fully take advantage of this potential. There's very little emotional connection to the characters. We have three main figures: an evil carnival owner, a disturbed pastor, and a sheriff who is easy to like. Other characters include the carnival owner’s henchman, the pastor’s son & friend, and a fortune-teller named Samara. Although there’s a moment of self-sacrifice, the characters lack depth and their relationships aren't developed enough to make it impactful. The second act involves a search through the woods for the creature by two opposing groups, and I appreciated its serious tone—even though the villain and pastor sometimes veer into cartoonish territory. The actors and filmmakers successfully conveyed a sense of realism. However, that’s when my interest began to wane. Primarily because there's no emotional core. A monster is loose, and people are trying to capture or kill it; one person is likable, another is purely evil, and the third is unstable. That’s all there is to it. It doesn’t go any deeper than that. Another significant problem is the absence of female characters. Isn't this a monster movie? A horror film? A carnival story? Where are the women? (And Samara doesn't really count, though she could have been more). "Wyvern," the remake of "The Fog," "Goblin," “The Howling VI: The Freaks” (and its sequels), every "Friday the 13th" film and "Gargoyles: Wings of Darkness" all understood the importance of including a few appealing women. Even low-budget direct-to-video movies like "Urban Legends 3: Bloody Mary" include them. I’m being somewhat humorous, but seriously, with a circus playing such a central role in the story, couldn't they have included at least one high-wire performer? The depiction of the religious fanatic also feels cliché and unoriginal. It would have been more innovative to portray a minister or believers in a positive, heroic light, like in "The Poseidon Adventure" and "Rambo." Despite its flaws, there’s still enough merit here to offer a slight recommendation for those who enjoy this type of movie. The monster looks believable, and there's plenty of gore (though I don't particularly care about that). The film has a running time of 1 hour, 28 minutes, and was filmed in Ottawa, which serves as a decent substitute for northern New York because it’s only an hour south. GRADE: C

Source on TMDB