wes-connors Small town sheriff Lou Diamond Phillips (as Atlas) has his hands full when a circus arrives. The main attraction is "The Jersey Devil" stolen by carnival manager A.C. Peterson (as "Cap" Caprini) in the opening minutes. Citizens are excited about seeing the animal and other freaky looking people. We're told the people of Reliance have never seen anything like them before. The most normal appearing member of the troupe is psychic Simone-Elise Girard (as Samara). She predicts doom and tries to explain "Jersey Devil" origins. For some reason, Ms. Girard feels "safe" with her boss, who is arguably more wicked than his monster...God-fearing pastor Vlasta Vrana (as Owen) believes the circus will bring sin to the community and starts to campaign against "God's abomination." Ironically, his juvenile delinquent son Matt Murray (as Taylor) triggers the rampage of "Jersey Devil". The flying terror is supposed to be heavily sedated, but seems incredibly alert. The beast is called a "freak of nature" and resembles a gargoyle. It appears to be intelligent - and it's more thoughtfully constructed than the story. The supernatural and Christian religion may have some connection. Maybe the creature is just mad. The gargoyle and Kyle Gatehouse (as Jesse) are nicely done.**** Carny (4/25/09) Sheldon Wilson ~ Lou Diamond Phillips, Alan C. Peterson, Simone-Elise Girard, Vlasta Vrana

David Weiner Doesn't anyone read anymore? The creature, setting, and story line were lifted whole cloth from F. Paul Wilson's "Repairman Jack" series. The creature is called a "rakosh", a demon from Indian mythology. Read the Wilson story (it's available on a free download from the Guttenberg Project) Then re-watch the movie. When plots and other things are lifted from other sources and no credit is given, it's very irritating, if not downright dishonest. Imagine if someone made a film about a scientist who tried to animate a dead monster that he stitched together from stolen body parts, and tried to pass it off as an original plot. If the screenwriter had Wilson's permission, then why not list it in the credits? Shame on you SyFy.

Scarecrow-88 The carnival comes to town and it's evil promoter, Cap(Alan C Peterson)has a new sideshow attraction, a winged creature hungry for human blood who has broken free from it's steel cage. Sheriff Atlas(Lou Diamond Phillips) has a lot to contend with as locals begin to fall victim to the beast. Cap is so absolutely vile he guts his own trusting servant, Quinn(Dominic Cuzzocrea)just so that he can capture the creature by using the smell of blood from the poor guy as a means to lure the monster. We get a glimpse at just how abominable Cap is when he stabs the man in the back who delivered him the creature. Through Cab's mystic, Samara(Simone-Elise Girard), we learn as she is speaking with Atlas that the creature just may be the Jersey Devil. Adding to Atlas' troubles is the local fire-and-brimstone priest, Father Owen(Vlasta Vrana) who, before the start of the carnival, was warning his citizens and neighbors of how this traveling freakshow would only bring horror to the town, a rallying cry of epic proportions, heaven and hell, good and evil kind of stuff. When Father Owen's son dies at the hands of the monster, Atlas will have to not only deal with Cap, the monster, but the priest seeking vengeance as well. Surprisingly well made creature feature compared to past Sci-Fi channel offerings, actually has some decent special effects in regards to the monster's presence in the film. The filmmakers decide to shoot the creature out of focus just enough as it flies/swoops down in the background so that it won't be as glaring computer effect as we normally are used to seeing in a Sci-fi channel Saturday movie. Owen is so blind with his own rhetoric involving the carnival of freaks' responsibility for bringing the monster in town that he encourages the locals to target them next. The priest is presented as an unsympathetic blowhard inciting negative emotions, not following the doctrines of peace and tolerance he supposed to which is why when the creature is loosened once again to hunt you care not if he is ripped to smithereens. Phillips slips comfortably into the small town hero role without a hitch, having starred in more than his share of B-movies, understanding this genre all too well. Not a lot of carnage as you might expect(there could've been more body parts and torn flesh), but there's at least a tongue removal by a knife, and because of the creature's brownish gargoyle-like color(it reminded me of the beast from JEEPERS CREEPERS a bit), this allows it to integrate fairly well within the darkly autumnal surroundings. The exciting climax has a ferris wheel toppling over thanks to Atlas trying to use whatever he can to finally rid his town of the monster, with a rather bleak resolution as many of the carnival freaks suffer devastating fates thanks to mostly Owen's doing. CARNY allows Phillips to save the day, at a huge cost.

merklekranz Though somewhat rushed to conclusion, what precedes it is good. Good flying monster, good story, good character development, and good location photography. Lou Diamond Phillips is totally acceptable as the small town sheriff, and the evil carny owner is well played by Alan C. Peterson. There are some unexpected twists, and some pretty good jump scares. "Carny" is superior to two other "Jersey Devil" movies, "The 13th Child Legend of the Jersey Devil" (2003), which is terrible, and the somewhat interesting "The Last Broadcast" (2006). Thus, this is flat out the best "Jersey Devil" movie out there. ................... - MERK