Carnage –No Stars–
Directed by:  Brian Gorman
Year of Release:  2006

I rate films on a 4-star scale.  Generally, a rating of four stars means I found the film exceptional with little or no aspect of which could be considered enough to detract from the fact that it is excellent storytelling executed in an exquisite manner.  Three stars suggest a good film with greater-than-average work on the part of the filmmaker.  Two stars indicate an average film, one that while not horrible does little to rise above the lot and presents the minimum expectation of a film.  A single star is usually awarded to a film that fails to meet minimum expectations of quality in storytelling, cinematography, etc.  Under very few circumstances do I fail to at least award a half-star to a film.  Most contain some redeeming quality that could at least warrant a half-star.  The only films I reserve the complete absence of any rating to are those which contain a lack of respect for the intelligence of the audience and which demonstrate a noticeable and unacceptable lack of any ethical or moral integrity in their subject matter.  Carnage is one such film.

It’s not that this film portrays an armed mission which involves violence.  There are plenty of artistic reasons in which a story can utilize such a scenario.  The issue is that this film finds killing those who don’t share your beliefs to be an acceptable practice.  There’s no attempt to even define the victims in this film by anything but a stereotype.  It also demonstrates the extreme ignorance of the filmmakers in its usage of the term “Communists”.  The term Communist as used in this film is more akin to the propaganda of the Cold War than any understanding of the meaning of the word outside of that context.  Thus, we’re left to conclude that the “villain” of the film is a totalitarian regime of some sort.  However, the film doesn’t even present anything which suggests that the filmmaker had put any effort into establishing the characters or the situation.  The film simply represents an ignorant and violent attitude toward an ill-defined enemy, an attitude motivated by blind hatred toward others.  Substitute the word “Communist” with the word “black” or “gay” and then view the film to see the disgusting implication of this kind of thinking.  It’s a manifestation of the filmmaker’s lack of moral judgment to say nothing of their lack of knowledge, understanding, and compassion toward others.

But this is a film review so why does that matter?  It matters because film is a medium whereby a filmmaker expresses themselves and can express and influence opinion on a subject.  Used for noble purposes, a film can highlight a cause or issue and incite thought on the subject matter through the audience’s viewing of it.  What Carnage does is show that the filmmaker is ignorant regarding and possesses hatred for people they don’t even understand.  Worse, the filmmaker has made no attempt to understand the people that they hate.  Instead, the filmmaker revels in depicting the killing of such people.  That this film glorifies such killing in this nonchalant manner shows a complete lack of thought to say nothing of a lack of moral compass and justifies the lowest possible rating I can give.  Simply put, this film is trash and that’s exactly where it belongs.

this film is trash