Dim echoes of David Lynch and early Roman Polanski abound throughout “The Carnivores,” a fitfully fascinating mix of teasing narrative opacity and stylized psycho-thriller atmospherics.
The shot-in-Austin indie feature, originally set to premiere at the cancelled SXSW Film Festival, instead had a March 14 unveiling at a private event in the Texas capital city attended, according to a press release, by “the film’s crew, cast, friends & family, and prominent members of the Austin film community.” Director Caleb Michael Johnson, working from a script he co-wrote with Jeff Bay Smith, walks a tricky tightrope here, and occasionally — especially during his movie’s first act — seems perilously close to toppling into absurdity.
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