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Carved: When Pumpkins Fight Back//October 28th, 2024

 I haven't done much blogging this October, as I've been more focused on the annual photo challenge I do over on Instagram. However, I've recently fallen in love with a new Halloween movie, and felt the need to talk about it.


 A week ago, a movie called Carved appeared on Hulu, and I had to watch it ASAP, as I'm always looking for new Halloween-themed media, and this one was actually centered around a pumpkin!

It's interesting to me, in a way, that the "pumpkin's revenge" storyline seems like a bit of a gimme, yet it really hasn't been done very often. The only other instance that immediately comes to mind for me is the final segment in Tales Of Halloween. Carved is, to my knowledge, the first movie to do "pumpkin's revenge" as a full length storyline. And quite frankly, how could a movie about a pumpkin getting revenge on those who have wronged it not become an instant comfort film for me?

Carved doesn't necessarily do anything groundbreaking, but it's a lot of fun to watch. The story is set around the tourist pioneer town of Cedar Creek Village, on Halloween 1993. One year prior, the town fell victim to a train derailment leading to a chemical spill, and, well...you can probably guess where this is going. 

Teenage stoner Clint, son of the owner of the adjacent Craven Hill Farm, cuts an interesting looking pumpkin off of a vine in preparation for the Cedar Creek Village staff pumpkin carving contest. As the contest gets underway, the "freak pumpkin", as it's referred to earlier, suddenly springs to life and starts attacking the carvers, leading to a typical horror movie game of cat and mouse as it hunts down and picks them off one by one. It's classic horror film fare, with quite a bit of comedy also thrown in, but the fact that it's a pumpkin, who seemingly is growing smarter by the second, carrying out the terror, makes it all the more fun.

Nothing much happens that hasn't been done before in horror, but I still truly enjoyed this movie and highly recommend it as a spooky season staple, or a good off-season watch to help with the post-Halloween blues. And, if you're a 90s kid like me, you'll likely appreciate the use of a certain iconic sound as a jump scare! 

It's highly likely I'm biased, as pumpkins, particularly strange, almost-rotten ones, are my thing, but I would love to see Carved become a cult classic for spooky season. (We all know how badly I need merch!) And maybe, just maybe...a sequel in a year or two?

Either way, I think we need more stories of strong pumpkins standing up for themselves. It's inspirational, really. 

Stay spooky, my friends. 



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