Carny

Starts out great, and then fumbles

Released to television in 2009, "Carny" is a monster-on-the-loose flick about a carnival stopping at a New York town with a new attraction, a gargoyle-like creature that turns out to be the infamous Jersey Devil. The town's prominent pastor initially objects to the freakshow and goes over the edge after the creature gets loose. The sheriff (Lou Diamond Phillips) rounds up some men to end the slaughter of innocents while the malevolent carny owner wants to recapture the creature for greedy purposes.

Being a fan of winged-monster flicks like "Gargoyles" (1972), "Gargoyles: Wings of Darkness" (2004), "Wyvern" (2009) and even "Jeepers Creepers (2001), I was looking forward to "Carny." But after a very intriguing start I was let down.

The opening act with the introduction of the town, the characters, the carnival and the creature is the best part, but the film fumbles the ball in the second and final acts. Circus-like scenarios are a surefire setting for horror/mystery tales, as verified by "The Funhouse" (1981), "Berserk!" (1967), "Circus of Horrors” (1960) and even "The Howling VI: The Freaks" (1991), but "Carny" fails to truly capitalize on this attribute.

The Human interest factor is next to zero. We get three main characters: The evil freakshow owner, the wacko pastor and a likable sheriff. Peripheral characters include the carnival owner's henchman, the pastor's son & friend, and a cougar fortune-teller, Samara. Although the story throws in a self-sacrificial scene there's not enough depth to these characters or their relationships to make it moving.

The second act involves a search-in-the-woods for the creature by the two groups noted above and I appreciated the serious, non-campy vibe (even while the villain and the Reverend treaded the waters of cartoonish-ness). The film and actors successfully gave the feeling that this was serious business and really happening.

Yet it was around this point that I als...