When Lola, a Trans true-crime podcaster, returns to her small hometown for the holidays for the first time since coming out, she finds herself in the midst of a full-blown slasher epidemic that could come straight from one of her episodes. A legendary local killer, the Toymaker, has resurfaced and is once again plying his trade and it’s up to Lola and her posse to stop the bloodletting.
[Related Reading: 10 Movies to See at Fantasia 2024]
Honestly, Carnage plays more like a detective story or a neon-lit neo-noir than a straight up horror movie. There’s obviously a hammer-wielding, Santa-costume-wearing killer at work, and more than enough blood and guts and brains to satiate the gorehounds in the crowd. But the primary concern is the mystery, following clues, tracking leads, untangling a sprawling web of local corruption, and solving the damn thing. It even ends with a set up for what could easily be the next chapter in Lola’s continuing adventures closing cases instead of reporting them. (Would watch.)
While this bears all the aesthetic hallmarks of Mackay’s earlier films—it’s DIY as hell, punk as fuck, lo-fi, unapologetically queer, and irreverent—it’s also a step in something of a different direction, or at least a slight shift in perspective. Carnage feels more “grown up,” for lack of a better term. While most of her earlier films revolve around high school aged characters, here they’re all in their 20s, fully immersed in burgeoning careers, and carving out their places in the “real world.”
[Related Reading: 'New Life' Movie Review]
Carnage also nails the small town, the-more-things-change-the-more-they-stay-the-same element of returning home after a long while away. While Lola notes things that would never have flown before, like a gay bar, a shiny new sheen of tolerance can’t completely mask the way things have always been. There’s still the homophobia, the depressed economy, indifferent cops, hostile stares, endless gossip, and more—things may be different, but they’re not always as different as they look at first glance. All the old traumas, and traumatizers remain.
A bit slight in places, at only 70 minutes that’s bound to happen, Carnage for Christmas is raucous, energetic, and full of life. Sarcasm and bawdy humor denote earnest friendships and lingering histories tie us to the places we come from and can never truly leave behind. I dig Mackay’s movies, love that she keeps kicking out these particular jams, and will gladly keep watching as long as she does.
No comments:
Post a Comment