Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Carnage Park’

Written by Scott Edwards

One of the things that I loved when I was a little younger, was going to the bank when pay day came around. With great people working behind the counters, it was the highlight of my day every couple of weeks to walk in, fill out a bank slip and get some of my hard-earned cash to put in my pocket. Alas, those days have pretty much gone away with technology and direct deposit, but every once in a while, going in and seeing the tellers is great. There is something about the human interaction that makes going to the bank so much fun, that, and getting a handful of cash from them without having to rob the place.

Going to the bank to try and secure a loan to buy her father’s farm, Vivian is not having much luck since she has no collateral to put down. Taking her lumps from the loan officer, Vivian tries to leave with a smile on her face, but the insults thrown her way will not allow her to do so. Little does Vivian know that Joe Clay and Lenny are outside, casing the bank for the perfect daytime robbery that will keep them on a path of riches, rather than going back to the poor house and heading back to jail. When entering the bank, the two men have their plan worked out, but as it goes in life, something goes wrong and they find themselves on the run from the police with a hostage in tow.

As Lenny dies in the back seat of the car during their getaway, ‘Scorpion’ Joe has found a way to elude the police car chasing him and has found a place to dump the body. But Lenny is a big sucker and Joe will need to get some help to get him out of the car. Releasing Vivian from his trunk to help, Joe sees that the young woman has plenty of fight in her, but her strength will need to be focused on helping him rather than trying to escape his clutches. With Lenny’s body out of the car, Joe is ready to make his way to Mexico with Vivian, but the clear road ahead of them is filled of terror as one of the tires on the car mysteriously blows out.

Inspecting the tire and finding a bullet wedged in it, Joe takes a look around the desert terrain and sees no one, but there is someone watching him. With Vivian handcuffed inside of the car, she is forced to watch her captor get killed in front of her very eyes and hopes that the killer will set her free. But when Wyatt Moss comes to talk to her, Vivian quickly finds out that he is not a Good Samaritan, but someone that is looking to play a game with her that she is not accustomed to. Waking up in an unfamiliar area, Vivian walks through Wyatt’s carnival of death and sees that she is not the only one that has been put on this sinister ride. Not knowing where she is or how to get help, following her instincts may be the only way she gets out alive.

When you think that a movie is going to take you one way, before it hits the breaks and turns the story to a new hero you did not expect, it makes for a great viewing experience. I really thought that the Joe Clay story would have been a little more prominent, but seeing his head get blown off and Vivian on her own against a desert mad man, well, what a ride. Not being afraid to do what must be done to survive, Vivian is just a great character to follow and even though she could have ended the affair earlier in the movie, her fight does not quit and she is always ready for battle. With a little bit of blood, plenty of self-reflection and the feeling that everyone will die, this is really a fun movie to lose yourself into and hope that the hero is victorious against the crazy man in the desert. Stay Scared.

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