Carpenter (1988)

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Here's your typical 1980's direct-to-video B-movie strictly for genre fans. A married couple move into a home that is under renovation not knowing that its haunted by the ghost of a maniacal carpenter (Wings Hauser). Unstable wife, Alice encounters the strong and confident Mr. Fix-it, and as soon as he starts murdering all of the antagonists in her life, including her cheating husband, she begins to fall in love with his devilish charm and demeanor. Its an average at best Canadian slasher story only worth seeing for one of Wings Hauser's intense and erratic performances. The murderous handyman constantly spews out dialog about old-fashioned "working man" values that make the plot seem disjointed and confused. Murders include: Arms amputated by circular saw, power drill to the chest, nail gun shots, head in a vice,...etc. Gore fans, don't get too excited. This is only slightly bloody unlike the "uncut" rating suggests, and the ending is silly and predicable.

I like watching Wings Hauser and in 'The Carpenter' he could be classified the sole interest for giving this one a look. However I guess I like it more than others seem to do, even though I wouldn't call it excellent, but this low-budget straight video ditch is a modest achievement in the psycho thriller genre.Alice (a reliable performance by Lynn Adams) and her husband have moved to a country estate, after she was release from hospital due to a mental break down. To keep her mind of the fact that her husband is cheating on her and her recurring nightmares, she finds comfort in the carpenter that's repairing her house. But there's something not quite right about him, as he begins to use his tools on those who cause any trouble to Alice.Other than Hauser's performance (who perfectly nails down a quietly uneasy intensity), it's the hallucinogenic air that makes this a strange little package. This quality is rather profound as we don't know if it's all in the heroine's head (as she is recovering from an nervous breakdown), or maybe it's a simple psychopath or it could it be something out of left field involving the supernatural. It teases, nonetheless it's answered for us midway through and in certain aspects (due to the path it takes) it can feel absurdly daft.True handyman horror! Hauser's uses hammers, nail guns and vice grips to dish up some unpleasant acts of violence, while also managing to spit out mannered dialogues about hard work and craftsmanship. It's all in a hard days work. The majority of the scenes occur around the house, close quarters and some under lit scenes amongst shadowy areas. The serviceable story is low-key, and David Wellington's direction keeps it basic making it sharply well-made. Although the pacing can become plodding, and latter end skews in to mundane territory. Pierre Bundock music score is hauntingly angelic, and pretty much bombards the air.

I'm not rating this film so high because of it's great production values, it's haunting score, its vivid cinematography, it's stand-out performances by Wings Hauser or Lynne Adams. Because frankly, it has NONE of those things.What this film DOES have going for it is that it actually one of the highlights of American b grade horror productions that were filmed in Canada in the 80's. If you're a fan of the genre, the basic theme of the movie followed the 'title' with surprising finesse considering the budget they had to work with. Yes, "The Carpenter" did away with most of the cast using power tools, (Surprise!) some of which were disturbingly original. In a couple of cases even gruesome. My personal favorite was watching the character of Barns (played by Robert Austern) having part of his head and face sanded off.I doubt you'll ever find this in the DVD Horror section as it has never been transfered to that medium. But if you should happen across a copy in the old five dollar VHS bin at your local video store, it is indeed very entertaining.

"The Carpenter" is certainly more intelligent than many horror films out there,but it's also so mediocre.The plot is quite interesting,but the pace is rather slow and the film becomes quickly dull.There is a good deal of splatter and some gruesome killings,but really this one isn't worth your time.4 out of 10-not a classic by any means,just another mediocre Canadian horror.