“Carved”: As Silly And Fun As A Killer Pumpkin Can Be | Review
A few years ago, I ate pumpkin. Although it has many health benefits, it didn’t taste good, so the overall experience was pretty bad. So, when I recently heard about a horror movie called “Carved,” whose heroine (or should we say villain) is a pumpkin that comes to life after a chemical accident and starts slaughtering people, I realized that I had to see it to give it a second chance. At worst, the movie will disgust me so much that I will continue to avoid pumpkins. At best, we might get a silly but enjoyable horror movie that will make me try pumpkin again – Because horror movies are known to have these nutritional effects.
“Carved by the horror giant Hulu has received quite a few reviews so far, ranging from negative to reasonable. Even if you accept that it’s hard to take a movie with such a silly plot seriously, it has a lot of problems – at the level of the plot, the effects, the humor, and more. What’s surprising is that I found it quite enjoyable for several reasons, as seen in the following review.
A Pumpkin Is Born As A Short Film
“Carved” is, first and foremost, a project by Justin Harding, who directed the film and wrote the screenplay, along with Cheryl Meyer. Both of those names are unknown to the average horror fan. Still, in the little that Harding has done so far – a resume that primarily includes episodes of TV series and short films – he’s shown his fondness for monsters, at least to the extent that low budgets allow for them.
Another of Harding’s affections is probably for pumpkins. “Carved” is based on a short film he wrote and directed in 2018 of the same name for “Huluween,” Hulu’s horror program festival. The film, about five minutes long, features a farmer who finds a scary-looking pumpkin that annoys crows and cuts off its stem. Some kid decides to buy this “disgusting” pumpkin, according to his helpless father, who soon begins carving it into a jack-o’-lantern (i.e., a pumpkin that has been emptied of its contents and sculpted into the shape of a menacing face with a candle or other lighting device inside). The problem is that this “murder” somewhat annoys the pumpkin, who turns out to be a monster. Without spoilers, this monster will present its version of a jack-o’-lantern, which this time will not be made of pumpkin.
If you have five minutes to spend, you can watch the entire short film of “Carved” here:
This rather basic idea has a tricky mission: To become a feature horror film about an hour and a half long. A simple calculation I made with the Windows calculator shows that we need to add almost an hour and a half here, and the filmmakers have gone in an interesting direction.
What’s The Plot Of Carved Horror Movie?
The plot of “Carved” takes place on Halloween night, 1993, in a small village called “Cider Creek”. All seems well in the peaceful town, where a pumpkin festival is planned for the children, the highlight of which is a pumpkin carving contest. A journalist named AJ (Elvis Nolasco of the TV series “Godfather of Harlem” and “American Crime,” who stars in another horror film Hulu made lately, “Mr. Crocket”) arrives with his small team to cover the occasion. What interests the journalist is a train accident that occurred a few years ago in the small town, which caused a chemical leak, destabilized the lives of many families, and affected the village in other ways.
You may have already understood what one of the possible consequences of the chemicals coming into contact with a pumpkin is, but even if not – the characters will soon understand.
The characters of “Carved” are a rather large group of unfortunates who find themselves trapped on a farm after the pumpkin – picked up by a sleazy guy dressed as corn (the hilarious Matty Cardarople, “Jurassic World,” “Free Guy,” and the TV series “A Series of Unfortunate Events”), and carved in a competition by another sleazy guy (Jackson Kelly of the TV series “Chucky”) – comes back to life and starts killing.
This group includes the main protagonist Kira (Peyton Elizabeth Lee of the TV series “Andy”), a director and creator of a play performed at the festival, who naturally dreams of reaching more prestigious territories. One of the actors in the play is Kira’s boyfriend, Cody (Corey Fogelmanis of “Girl Meets World” and solid horror film “MA”), a guy who very quickly becomes more focused on his career.
We also meet Kira’s little brother, Trevor (Wyatt Lindner, who is currently appearing in the horror film AfrAId, part of a plague of films dealing with dangerous smart homes), who is secretly in love with another actress from the cast of the play – a beautiful girl named Maddie (Sasha Mason, in one of her first roles), who likes to play the flute and memorize fascinating trivia items, including about pumpkins.
You will also find on the farm the festival director Bill (the lovable DJ Qualls, who started in silly teen comedies in the early 2000s and has since built an impressive resume, mainly on television), who has a secret but very transparent homosexual relationship with his deputy, Kevin (Marc Sully Saint-Fleur). There are a few other characters, like a military veteran, but it doesn’t matter because most will probably die. That happens when time is short, the work is heavy, the location is relatively limited, and there are too many characters.
Here is the trailer of “Carved” horror movie:
Meet The Killer (Spider?) Pumpkin!
A horror movie about a killer pumpkin may sound like a dumb idea. It is really dumb, and so is the movie. Still, you have to remember that we’re talking about a pumpkin here and not, for example, a cucumber, broccoli, or cauliflower, so there’s a closer connection to horror.
We need to ask how you choose to present the scary sides of the pumpkin, and there are some. If, in the short film, we see a more monstrous villain, like a demon. In the feature film, the Carved movie monster resembles more… a pumpkin spider, as one of the characters puts it. I pe
The creature does its job in terms of its design, even if it seems more disgusting than scary: I don’t personally think it should scare you. but we saw already that some people suffer from fear of fruits, so god knows. “More disgusting than scary” is a perfect term to describe the movie itself, which very quickly goes in the direction of a horror comedy, with a lot of gore in between. Some of the jokes in it don’t work, and others lean too childishly, but there are still a few moments in the movie that made me smile.
Regarding the horror or the dimensions of disgust, the direction is more childish, in my opinion. “Carved” is not necessarily a horror film that appeals to children who are taking their first steps in the world of horror through their parents, but more to teenagers or older people who like silly films (oops!).
There are cases in which the film’s low budget is less noticeable, for example, in effects that tend to be solid. In other cases, some look much less impressive, to say the least (mainly, the instances in which they chose to use computer animation). Unlike some of the other low-budget films that started as a short film, I didn’t feel like they were wasting time here, which is a plus.
Trying To Take Carved Seriously? Best Of Luck
You don’t have to be an expert on Halloween to assume that part of the story here is the creators’ criticism of the holiday’s customs, which could be for various reasons (say, harming helpless plants). If, in “Trick r’ Treat,” the demon Sam punishes anyone who does not observe the holiday customs, the story is different.
We quickly discover that the primary victims are people who participated in the pumpkin carving contest, derived pleasure from it (the film hints at physical pleasure in the act of carving, perhaps even sexual satisfaction), and damaged the pumpkins. The pumpkins, especially the one that suffered a chemical injury, quickly became angry with them. Because who likes to be carved into the shape of a scary face, except for all those celebrities who inject everything that moves into their faces, or Michael Jackson?
Like many films from recent years, the fact that it all started with a chemical accident probably says something ecological. Of course, there is a deal with relevant current issues here, such as a homosexual relationship between a white man and a black man, but the film treats the subject delicately and naturally, as it should in 2025.
Obviously, in the case of a horror movie about a fucking pumpkin that kills people, it’s hard to talk about logic. However, there are still some serious holes in the script, along with instances where the characters cling to the fact that they’re in a horror movie and act stupidly. Some characters are annoying, as we can expect, including some of the main characters we’re supposed to sympathize with. In contrast, others stand out or are sympathetic despite the problematic script or dialogue, ranging from silly to plausible.
The chemistry between some characters is problematic, including some who are supposed to be close or in love, and that’s a problem too. On the other hand, I am somewhat forgiving of these kinds of problems in movies of this type. Silly horror movies are not where you’ll usually find chemistry, story, acting, or decent human relationships.
Should You Watch Carved?
It’s hard to say that “Carved” is a successful film, and you must not take it seriously. It may also be relatively consistent with its reviews, which, as mentioned, tend to be adverse to mediocre. Still, if you’re looking for a horror film for casual nighttime viewing, a film that manages to be silly but to a certain extent also funny and disgusting, you can give “Carved” a chance.
Even if “Carved” probably won’t become a cult like some of the other films we’ve mentioned here, it’s pretty enjoyable, at times bordering on “so bad it’s good.” Watching it won’t kill you, except for a few moments of disgust, and it might even help your brain, which will get some rest from the hardships of everyday life. It’s like eating pumpkin, right?
