Not to be confused with Lockjaw: Rise of the Kulev Serpent, a mess of a film that got renamed Carnivorous. This Carnivorous that underwent a name change to Hell's Labrynth is a much better movie, if only by default as Lockjaw was utterly atrocious. Don't delude yourself into thinking that this badly acted horror/fantasy/video game escape from hell film that's sadly overly reliant on CGI is any good as it's barely passable entertainment, just that it's better than the worst killer snake movie ever made. Of course I may be biased as I absolutely disdain CGI and prefer more traditional practical special effects. So feel free to take that into account.
11 Reviews
No Wonder It Has Such A Low Mark
Theo Robertson4 January 2009
When you're watching the Zone Horror Channel you're not expecting much in the way of masterpieces . The channel shows an incredible amount of rubbish and much of it is barely watchable rubbish . Add this movie to being amongst the worst of the worst Zone horror has to offer
CARNIVOROUS starts off with a bunch of people waking up in a cavern . At this very early point I was expecting to be watching SAW crossed with THE DESCENT and in some ways it is somewhat similar to the Neil Marshall movie in that people have to run for their lives in a cave like prison being stalked all the time by murderous monsters . This is bad enough but then the movie takes on a life of its own featuring ridiculous supernatural , metaphysical nonsense
Regardless of how good or bad its narrative strengths or weaknesses might have been the production values are outstandingly poor . Most of the set is composed of a green screen , the CGI monsters are astoundingly poor but worst of all is the cinematography - everything is so dimly lit that it's almost impossible to see what's happening on screen but when you're watching a movie this bad it's a relief of sorts
CARNIVOROUS starts off with a bunch of people waking up in a cavern . At this very early point I was expecting to be watching SAW crossed with THE DESCENT and in some ways it is somewhat similar to the Neil Marshall movie in that people have to run for their lives in a cave like prison being stalked all the time by murderous monsters . This is bad enough but then the movie takes on a life of its own featuring ridiculous supernatural , metaphysical nonsense
Regardless of how good or bad its narrative strengths or weaknesses might have been the production values are outstandingly poor . Most of the set is composed of a green screen , the CGI monsters are astoundingly poor but worst of all is the cinematography - everything is so dimly lit that it's almost impossible to see what's happening on screen but when you're watching a movie this bad it's a relief of sorts
Absolutely dreadful pseudo computer game masquerading as a horror film.
poolandrews4 January 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Carnivorous starts as Kate (Leah Rose) gets a flat tyre while driving in some isolated woods somewhere, soon after a guy (Chris Flieller) comes along in a truck & abducts her after knocking her out with a shovel. Kate wakes up to find herself tapped inside what looks like a huge labyrinth that is populated by awful computer game graphics, sorry I mean scary ten foot tall monsters. Along with various other people Kate has to survive the various traps, dodge the monsters & try to find a way out of the maze like labyrinth & to the safety of the real world...
Written & directed by Drew Maxwell I watched Carnivorous last night, I actually had the choice of watching this, Southern Comfort (1981), Kiss the Girls (1997) or Saw II (2005) & I definitely made the wrong decision since Carnivorous is one of the worst films it's been my displeasure to endure. At the time of writing this comment Carnivorous has a lowly User Rating of 1.8 on the IMDb & I am wondering why so high? Also at the time of writing this comment there is only one other User Comment & it starts by asking the question 'Why such a low IMDb rating?', well it has such a low rating because it's truly dreadful. It's abysmal. It's appalling in every aspect. It's an awful film, if you can describe it as a film, & it's as simple & straight forward as that really. I have no connection to the film industry, I had never heard of Carnivorous before I watched it, I don't know anyone involved with the film & the director & producer & actor's are just 'names' to me & I didn't see it at some obscure film festival with an introduction by the director which is all it takes for some people to rave about the biggest pieces of celluloid crap imaginable. I am just an average guy & I cannot understand or see how anyone could find anything in Carnivorous even in the remotest bit enjoyable or entertaining. Both conceptually & technically Carnivorous is appalling. The story is weak, the character development is none existent, the plot makes no sense, there's barely any exposition, it's impossible to care about what is going on & it's unrelentingly dull & boring to boot. Definitely one to avoid.
A lot of Carnivorous was shot in a warehouse against a green-screen & the backgrounds & monsters were digitally put in later & the process looks terrible. The perspective is all wrong, character's just don't look right or stand right against the poorly rendered & detailed backgrounds which look awful. It's so dark you can barely see anything, the lighting is all wrong on character's face's & bodies, the CGI monster look terrible & the average PS3 console game looks better with more convincing graphics. Carnivorous is like a poorly made video game but without the fun of the interaction, you just sit there looking at these awful CGI graphics & praying that it's going to finish sooner rather than later. The film has a really odd look & feel, your brain just know's that something is wrong, that something isn't quite right in the way character's walk around or the perspective of certain shots & it's a very odd viewing experience. There's not much gore either, there's a decapitated, an impaling & a cut head but nothing else & all the actor's obviously were working without any on set props & these scenes just don't work as the CGI animators try to match the live action & the CGI but pretty much fail on every occasion. I have never seen another film quite like Carnivorous & I genuinely hope it's a one off & filmmakers don't go down the cheap CGI route not only for backgrounds but sets & props as well.
According to the IMDb this had a supposed budget of about $5,000,000, yeah right! Knock at least three zeros off that & I think that would be nearer the true budget. The film has no scares, the lighting is well off, the CGI backgrounds are far too dark & look terrible & the whole film seems to try & go far a Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988) feel with it's Gothic style hellish labyrinth complete with dangling hooks on chains but the CGI is awful. The acting is terrible too from no-one I have ever heard of.
Carnivorous is a truly terrible film, it's absolutely dreadful & deserves it's lowly IMDb rating. This is definitely 'worst film ever' material & I would hate to think the techniques used here to make Carnivorous would become widespread in the industry. One of the worst films I have ever endured & I have endured some real rubbish over the years.
Written & directed by Drew Maxwell I watched Carnivorous last night, I actually had the choice of watching this, Southern Comfort (1981), Kiss the Girls (1997) or Saw II (2005) & I definitely made the wrong decision since Carnivorous is one of the worst films it's been my displeasure to endure. At the time of writing this comment Carnivorous has a lowly User Rating of 1.8 on the IMDb & I am wondering why so high? Also at the time of writing this comment there is only one other User Comment & it starts by asking the question 'Why such a low IMDb rating?', well it has such a low rating because it's truly dreadful. It's abysmal. It's appalling in every aspect. It's an awful film, if you can describe it as a film, & it's as simple & straight forward as that really. I have no connection to the film industry, I had never heard of Carnivorous before I watched it, I don't know anyone involved with the film & the director & producer & actor's are just 'names' to me & I didn't see it at some obscure film festival with an introduction by the director which is all it takes for some people to rave about the biggest pieces of celluloid crap imaginable. I am just an average guy & I cannot understand or see how anyone could find anything in Carnivorous even in the remotest bit enjoyable or entertaining. Both conceptually & technically Carnivorous is appalling. The story is weak, the character development is none existent, the plot makes no sense, there's barely any exposition, it's impossible to care about what is going on & it's unrelentingly dull & boring to boot. Definitely one to avoid.
A lot of Carnivorous was shot in a warehouse against a green-screen & the backgrounds & monsters were digitally put in later & the process looks terrible. The perspective is all wrong, character's just don't look right or stand right against the poorly rendered & detailed backgrounds which look awful. It's so dark you can barely see anything, the lighting is all wrong on character's face's & bodies, the CGI monster look terrible & the average PS3 console game looks better with more convincing graphics. Carnivorous is like a poorly made video game but without the fun of the interaction, you just sit there looking at these awful CGI graphics & praying that it's going to finish sooner rather than later. The film has a really odd look & feel, your brain just know's that something is wrong, that something isn't quite right in the way character's walk around or the perspective of certain shots & it's a very odd viewing experience. There's not much gore either, there's a decapitated, an impaling & a cut head but nothing else & all the actor's obviously were working without any on set props & these scenes just don't work as the CGI animators try to match the live action & the CGI but pretty much fail on every occasion. I have never seen another film quite like Carnivorous & I genuinely hope it's a one off & filmmakers don't go down the cheap CGI route not only for backgrounds but sets & props as well.
According to the IMDb this had a supposed budget of about $5,000,000, yeah right! Knock at least three zeros off that & I think that would be nearer the true budget. The film has no scares, the lighting is well off, the CGI backgrounds are far too dark & look terrible & the whole film seems to try & go far a Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988) feel with it's Gothic style hellish labyrinth complete with dangling hooks on chains but the CGI is awful. The acting is terrible too from no-one I have ever heard of.
Carnivorous is a truly terrible film, it's absolutely dreadful & deserves it's lowly IMDb rating. This is definitely 'worst film ever' material & I would hate to think the techniques used here to make Carnivorous would become widespread in the industry. One of the worst films I have ever endured & I have endured some real rubbish over the years.
So bad I had to turn it off
valen22633 May 2022
I don't know how you can have such a combination of bad without supreme effort. The acting is not just nonexistent....it is like it is intentionally over the top terrible. The direction is terrible. The dialogue is terrible. It was either shut it off or start cutting myself to ease the agony.
Redbox released this garbage as "Hell's Labyrinth"
JoeB13122 July 2012
Warning: Spoilers
And it's really a stinker of a movie, but that's what you get when you buy out of a RedBox... It's kind of like a slot machine.
The plot is a bunch of people are thrown into a Green-Screen Labyrinth and are chased by fake looking CGI monsters. We find out that they are all criminals of some sort, and while they are in there, they don't need to eat, sleep or "go to the bathroom". They speculate they might be dead but are in fact in another dimension being made as sacrifices to these alien creatures.
Which is about enough plot to hang bad CGI and FX on.
We are never told what the female protagonist did to get sent here, everyone else did something bad before the monsters eat them. If you cared longer than I did, I'm impressed with your fortitude.
JoeB131- watching bad movies so you don't have to.
The plot is a bunch of people are thrown into a Green-Screen Labyrinth and are chased by fake looking CGI monsters. We find out that they are all criminals of some sort, and while they are in there, they don't need to eat, sleep or "go to the bathroom". They speculate they might be dead but are in fact in another dimension being made as sacrifices to these alien creatures.
Which is about enough plot to hang bad CGI and FX on.
We are never told what the female protagonist did to get sent here, everyone else did something bad before the monsters eat them. If you cared longer than I did, I'm impressed with your fortitude.
JoeB131- watching bad movies so you don't have to.
Waste of money and time
kronosomega201224 September 2012
This movie, put it simply, the worst There is no story on the movie, nor cause-effect, special effects are lousy to describe at it's best.
This film, begins a "horror" scene, couple, walking on the dark of a huge hall kind of like monastery style and when you look at the scenes, it's quite obnoxious the 3D effect is poor, the walls, corridors, even the "demons" look like if they were taken out of a video game, please play Halo and you can have a clear perception of what this looks like, anyone could see the scenes are poorly developed.
The acting, well, amateurs at it's worst, alas, 1st scene, there is a black guy whom apparently appear from the shadows, this guy gets eaten and anyone could see he is laughing at the scene.
This film, begins a "horror" scene, couple, walking on the dark of a huge hall kind of like monastery style and when you look at the scenes, it's quite obnoxious the 3D effect is poor, the walls, corridors, even the "demons" look like if they were taken out of a video game, please play Halo and you can have a clear perception of what this looks like, anyone could see the scenes are poorly developed.
The acting, well, amateurs at it's worst, alas, 1st scene, there is a black guy whom apparently appear from the shadows, this guy gets eaten and anyone could see he is laughing at the scene.
Genuinely Appalling
stoppedklok23 April 2013
I watched this "film" last night by accident after a friend received it in the post from his monthly subscription DVD provider service. My friend denied all responsibility after we watched this turgid and vacuous waste of light, denying that he had ever added it to his want list at all - perhaps the people at LoveFilm (other DVD provider services are available) regularly send this film out for a laugh just to irritate people. This incidentally, is the only reason I can think of for anyone to be involved in the making and distribution of this genuinely appalling eye irritant of an atrocity - they must just want to cause as much misery and unhappiness in the world as possible. Well - they're getting there.
$5 million? Really?
BakuryuuTyranno3 April 2011
For something distributed by Shoreline Entertainment, unfortunately, Carnivorous is one of the best.
Granted, its main accomplishment is generating apathy; that's because what little substance this film has is repetitive and before long, you'll probably stop caring. Still better than what you normally find amongst Shoreline's library. Essentially, people trapped within a CGI castle battle CGI monsters.
Characters contribute little before the script begins killing them off. Occasionally, still photography of the dead people appears. Why is unknown.
The pacing is pretty fast. For what it's worth. Granted, before long the actors' interaction with creatures and corridors is something the audience should adjust to. For what that's worth. Carnivorous may be somewhat watchable as a timewaster, but that's about it.
The only problem thing is before this movie ends, you'll probably have stopped paying attention, thus negating the negatives and, um... positives(?) of Carnivorous.
Granted, its main accomplishment is generating apathy; that's because what little substance this film has is repetitive and before long, you'll probably stop caring. Still better than what you normally find amongst Shoreline's library. Essentially, people trapped within a CGI castle battle CGI monsters.
Characters contribute little before the script begins killing them off. Occasionally, still photography of the dead people appears. Why is unknown.
The pacing is pretty fast. For what it's worth. Granted, before long the actors' interaction with creatures and corridors is something the audience should adjust to. For what that's worth. Carnivorous may be somewhat watchable as a timewaster, but that's about it.
The only problem thing is before this movie ends, you'll probably have stopped paying attention, thus negating the negatives and, um... positives(?) of Carnivorous.
Why such a low IMDb rating?
rainyday435727 December 2008
Carnivorous certainly isn't the best movie by any stretch of the imagination, but it's SUPER-LOW IMDb score definitely makes it seem worse than it really is. Yes, the film is shot almost entirely in green screen with the actors added into artificial backgrounds. This effect is awkward at the immediate beginning, but once you get used to it, it isn't really that bad. There are a couple of scenes throughout the movie where I thought, "Woah, that actually looks really cool!" In particular there is a floating drawbridge scene that stands out (you will know it when you see it). Also, the acting isn't the greatest, but when you are filming an ULTRA-LOW BUDGET movie in WISCONSIN of all places (and I can say that because I live 20 minutes from the border), I don't expect Oscar quality performances.
Anyway, the movie was never BORING, which is my definition of a bad movie. A movie can be as cheesy and goofy and have all the bad special effects it wants to, but as long as it ENTERTAINS me for an hour and a half, I don't consider it a failure. Carnivorous entertained me immensely for its entire running time....I was SUPER tired when I started watching it, and was sure I would fall asleep...but I didn't.... and I wouldn't even mind watching it again. I'm very curious to see what the director Drew Maxwell is working on next!
Brett Heitkam rainyday4357@yahoo.com
Anyway, the movie was never BORING, which is my definition of a bad movie. A movie can be as cheesy and goofy and have all the bad special effects it wants to, but as long as it ENTERTAINS me for an hour and a half, I don't consider it a failure. Carnivorous entertained me immensely for its entire running time....I was SUPER tired when I started watching it, and was sure I would fall asleep...but I didn't.... and I wouldn't even mind watching it again. I'm very curious to see what the director Drew Maxwell is working on next!
Brett Heitkam rainyday4357@yahoo.com
Adventurous Video Game Horror!
terrible216 January 2009
I watched "Carnivorous" online the other night, and felt that a few of the other reviews were a bit harsh. First off, "Carnivorous" is an extremely adventurous film, and given it's small budget, I think they made a decent little indie. Writer/Director Drew Maxwell writes quite an original tale about hellish beasts stalking a handful of society's unwanted, all of whom have awoke to find themselves imprisoned in an underground labyrinth. The acting is solid for the most part, although the films main character "Kate" (Leah Rose) tends to over-act (both dialog and actions) in many of the key scenes, and this becomes quite annoying. However, her co-star Ryan Schaufler is wonderful in the role of "Ian", and the rest of the cast play their roles well, although we get very little as far as knowing the backgrounds of their characters. The scenery is admirable, but quite dark due to a weak lighting scheme, and a lot of the time resembles something out of "The Land of the Lost" television show of the 1970's. The actors were obviously added later, and this sometimes becomes way too clear and takes away from the story itself. Then there's the creatures.... Yikes! They are ridiculous at best... And yes, you have seen far scarier monsters on your children's video games. These CGI created turds are just plain stupid and unnecessary. This is a real shame, because it takes away from what would otherwise be a creepy scenario, and film in general. How the director / producers could not see this, is the scariest part of the film... There is very little "Genuine" gore, as most of that is computer generated as well, but there are a few above average scalp removals and head extractions that will keep the true gore-hounds happy. And then of course, there is some gratuitous nudity that is well done and quite... GRATUITOUS!!!
Besides the horrible CGI effects and weak acting ability by the film's lead character, "Carnivourous" deserves to be rewarded for it's sense of adventure and willingness to try something new.
Besides the horrible CGI effects and weak acting ability by the film's lead character, "Carnivourous" deserves to be rewarded for it's sense of adventure and willingness to try something new.
I loved this film! A truly unique film!!!
soundteamllc2 February 2009
Warning: Spoilers
I was at the Shockerfest International Film Festival this year. It is held every year near my home town. (A great fest by the way!) Anyway, I saw this film and loved it! I am not the only one- it was nominated for "BEST FANTASY FILM OF THE YEAR" and the two lead actors were both nominated for "BEST ACTOR". I say this to prove my point about this film - it is a daring and unique film and I feel that it should be rewarded for its merits. I say this because I have read some people's negative comments on this film and I have to say that I am tired of people just bitching about movies that they did not understand. I have heard comments on how the labyrinth dimension looked strange and unreal. Come on! It is not trying to be a real place at all, it is a limbo dimension. The characters even talk about it in the film. I am sure that the filmmakers were not trying to make it look real. They were being CREATIVE! Pay attention to the story please. If you pay any attention it is clear that the creatures, or whom ever created the creatures, created the labyrinth dimension to hunt the people in. When the people were in the real world it was real locations and when the were in the labyrinth dimension it was surreal. I am surprised anybody could miss this point. I loved that the labyrinth dimension had an unearthly, surreal look. I found it very creepy and scary. The world could not have been pulled off by real-world sets and that is what made it so fun to watch- you never knew what could be around the next corner and if you tried to guess you would be wrong. If you don't like this kind of film- don't watch it. If you enjoy when filmmakers take risks and are creative for once- I urge you to give it a chance. You might be surprised. To the people who just dismiss the film as "video game-like," I feel that you missed the boat here. I quote the DREAD CENTRAL positive review of Carnivorous: "...an admirably ambitious creature feature that deserves to be given a chance." and "I really do think Carnivorous is a monster movie that's merits outweigh its negatives and deserves an audience." These guys know genre films.
I was really sucked in by the story. It was different and refreshing. I watch tons of horror / thrillers. I am quite tired of the same Asian ghost rip-offs and slasher films. Carnivorous is truly a unique film. I commend the story for telling us just enough about the chosen "bad apple" people that were being hunted. letting the viewer come to their own conclusions on why they were there. We never know why Kate (the lead actress) is there. What did she do? Why was she different than all the others? I don't want to spoil anything for a viewer but she is a character that is a very different person at the end of the story than from the beginning of the film. Changed by what she endured and now is burdened by the truth of the world and with a horrible responsibility that she must take on her shoulders. I found this fascinating. The pace of the story is very fast and never boring.
Most of the acting was very good. Ryan Schaufler who played 'Ian' was great fun to watch. He was insane but not over the top. He felt very real in an unreal world and situation. The creepy kids was a nice touch as it showed how Kate was a good person. She took him under her wing and cared for him regardless of his "bad person" status. I really loved the chemistry of the two lead characters. It was not sexual or buddies. Just respect. I liked it. The fighting was nice as it was never way over the top like so many films these days. No Matrix style bullet- time crap here. Thank you very much.
The creatures had a great design and were scary for what they were. I would not say that the animated creatures were the best I've ever seen in my life but hey come on, this is a low budget film and they matched the world they were from. Once again the filmmakers used what they had and were creative. It makes sense. Trust me I have seen some real crap CGI creatures in films that made these monsters look like gold.
You have to commend the filmmakers for "going for it" with this type of film on what must have been no real budget. Not an easy task I'm sure. I feel they pulled it off. But I am sure that there will be a lot of people who just can't get on this ride. It asks you to bring your imagination with you. Unfortunately many people these days have no imagination to speak of and they will be missing out. Therefore, like so many unique films, people will either love Carnivorous or it will not be their cup of tea. I was very refreshed and always entertained by this film and would love to see what the filmmakers could do with a real budget.
I loved this film!!!!
I was really sucked in by the story. It was different and refreshing. I watch tons of horror / thrillers. I am quite tired of the same Asian ghost rip-offs and slasher films. Carnivorous is truly a unique film. I commend the story for telling us just enough about the chosen "bad apple" people that were being hunted. letting the viewer come to their own conclusions on why they were there. We never know why Kate (the lead actress) is there. What did she do? Why was she different than all the others? I don't want to spoil anything for a viewer but she is a character that is a very different person at the end of the story than from the beginning of the film. Changed by what she endured and now is burdened by the truth of the world and with a horrible responsibility that she must take on her shoulders. I found this fascinating. The pace of the story is very fast and never boring.
Most of the acting was very good. Ryan Schaufler who played 'Ian' was great fun to watch. He was insane but not over the top. He felt very real in an unreal world and situation. The creepy kids was a nice touch as it showed how Kate was a good person. She took him under her wing and cared for him regardless of his "bad person" status. I really loved the chemistry of the two lead characters. It was not sexual or buddies. Just respect. I liked it. The fighting was nice as it was never way over the top like so many films these days. No Matrix style bullet- time crap here. Thank you very much.
The creatures had a great design and were scary for what they were. I would not say that the animated creatures were the best I've ever seen in my life but hey come on, this is a low budget film and they matched the world they were from. Once again the filmmakers used what they had and were creative. It makes sense. Trust me I have seen some real crap CGI creatures in films that made these monsters look like gold.
You have to commend the filmmakers for "going for it" with this type of film on what must have been no real budget. Not an easy task I'm sure. I feel they pulled it off. But I am sure that there will be a lot of people who just can't get on this ride. It asks you to bring your imagination with you. Unfortunately many people these days have no imagination to speak of and they will be missing out. Therefore, like so many unique films, people will either love Carnivorous or it will not be their cup of tea. I was very refreshed and always entertained by this film and would love to see what the filmmakers could do with a real budget.
I loved this film!!!!
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
