Premise: A group of young Latin American citizens of the US are rounded up and forced to work in a prison camp for the elderly.
Do you ever think that maybe Jordan Peele ruined cinema with Get Out? That's not an attack on Get Out. The problem is that Get Out is too good. He made something incredibly hard look effortless. It convinced was too many filmmakers to try something similar without considering how hard it is. It's the same problem I have with The Wire on TV. That show is amazing but it convinced a lot of lesser TV shows that they could do the same thing. As a result, we've had a scourge of TV shows that don't think in terms of episodic structure and think they can make a really dull season as long as the finale pays off. Get Out has done the same thing with scary yet funny movies with social commentary.
American Carnage is the latest of these and...it's just not very good. The simple reason is that it's trying to do way too much. This movie takes on immigration policy, elder care, the meat industry, race, and corrupt politics while trying to be scary, funny, thrilling, and smart. It's too much. Everything feels half explored (or less).
Had the movie picked a lane, I think it could’ve been pretty decent. The cast is good. It's yet another Jenna Ortega horror movie in what's turned out to be a really impressive breakout year for her. I like Jorge Lendeborg Jr too. I can't say I know Allen Maldonado or Bella Ortiz from anything else, but they seemed to understand the assignment more than anyone else. The individual topics the film explores are pretty interesting. I like that they bring up colorism in the Latin American community. I appreciated the commentary on how difficult it can be to shake the immigrant label by many of the main characters being citizens with undocumented parents. I really wish they would've dropped some of the most forced aspects though. Old people having body horror contortions before they die: barely explored and just an excuse for some creepy visuals. Turning humans into cheap meat: the economics make no sense and that was so unneeded for the rest of the story. And for god's sake, if you are going to reference the governor and state so much, name the damn state! I know that the movie was trying to make a statement about how this could be anywhere and not obviously Texas. Pick any state though. Or make it a national thing. By specifically talking around naming a state, it felt like the movie was too afraid to stick to its convictions.
Verdict: Strongly Don't Recommend
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