Review of Carnage

Carnage (1984)
Not too bad Milligan cash-in of 'Amityville Horror'
20 August 2008
One of Andy Milligan's better efforts, this is basically a cash-in of Amityville Horror done in Milligan style, a low-budget production and a less slick but competent version.

That it is a cash-in is evident from the plot, religious icons, and specifically from the wholesale repeating of the infamous shot of the spooky Amityville house in ever-increasing zoom cuts used to emphasize the fact that it's a haunted house. However, this is done in an amateur style here.

Much else about the film is amateurish, but done with intensity so that it is enjoyable nonetheless. There's plenty of moments where you'd think a little bit more effort would have greatly improved the production, but then that would be hindsight. Who really knows what obstacles such a low-budget effort has except those involved? Acting is also typical of low-budget, though not without merit, especially the actress playing the Mother-in-Law, she's particularly good and attractive as well.

The gore quotient is fairly high, again done with minimal budget, so some effects are good and some are lesser. There's such items as hand chopped off, decapitation, disemboweling, stuff that was typical for the time. This can be gotten cheaply on a DVD from EastWest DVD as a double feature with Class Reunion Massacre, also a very decent low-budget shocker that has gained a cult status, so it's a DVD worth getting.
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