Andy Milligan made a lot of films about hate. Ugly hateful people blowing hot sick winds of hate at each other through two bit sets with a side order of chintz-gore. I have a lot of time for his schtick, though it is an acquired taste. Carnage sets off on a different track though, its a film about love. Love of people, love of people for a house, a love that transcends death. And nothing says love like an opening sequence murder suicide wedding! Can you feel it?! So we got a lovely young couple dead before the title flashes up, and once it does their unfortunate marital home gets a couple of new tenants, an instantly agreeable pair of newlyweds by the name of Carol and Jonathan. Easy going ordinary folk lightly essayed by one shotters Leslie Den Dooven and Michael Chiodo, they reel in the audience by a sheer force of normality and when things start to go awry its hard not to wish them the best. And things go awry a-plenty, from household objects acting of their own accord (pretty much anything not nailed down in this place gets to misbehave) to a number of amusing bloody deaths. Milligan was working with a higher budget than the majority of his films, as a result Carnage generally looks professional or at least semi professional and the setting is a plus, a nice old building with the right kind of homely atmosphere to be usurped by spooky goings on. Some of the shocks are quite neat as well, with one throat slash death that actually comes off effectively bloody and well handled. For those put off by the idea of Andy Milligan making a normal film, there is still a bit of weirdness and ineptitude to chew on. For one, there are a few scenes where the lighting kinda sucks, also some of the deaths are pretty silly. One in particular is impressively ludicrous, in which it transpires that the human intestine is in fact made of a noodle like substance. Take that biology lessons! There's a fair amount of filler as well, inconsequential characters getting more screen time and development than needed, including some thoroughly charming scenes involving a young lady bickering with her tough cookie (but good hearted and helpful) mother. Yep, a nice mom in a Milligan film! There's even a nice priest as well! Luckily the actors are all amateurs so the film never gets into genuinely dramatic territory, it just comes across as quaint and funny. And although sinister at times, the supernatural shenanigans are also pretty funny. Sadly the film does lose quite a lot of interest in trying to be normal, it doesn't work very well on normal terms because the pace is too slow and the execution too shonky, it also has little sense of character. I was never bored which is a definite plus, but on the other hand its rarely all that inspiring. I guess only 80's trash completists or Milligan addicts will ever care about this one and on those levels it serves its purpose, but I wouldn't dream of recommending it to anyone else. See it if you have to, but not an essential I'd say.
