SXSW 2020 Review: THE CARNIVORES Is A Weird Little Indie About The Madness of Being In Love
What do sleepwalking, vegans with meat fascinations, and relationship jealousy over dying dogs have in common? They’re all elements of Caleb Michael Johnson’s sophomore feature, The Carnivores, a whimsical yet grounded psycho-thriller that functions as a nightmare love story, a missing dog mystery, and a ground beef elegy all rolled into one.
Alice and Bret's dog Harvie is dying, and he's ruining everything. What had been a bright little family is quickly being consumed by clouds of self-doubt, suspicion, and a disturbing amount of ground beef.
Caleb Michael Johnson has long been interested in the ways in which people in a relationship conceal and consume themselves — and each other — for better and worse, whether it be intentionally or accidentally. This is an idea that’s also explored with less oddity and complexity in his feature debut, Joy Kevin (which also stars Tallie Medel), a self-professed exploration of whether true love is more likely to make a house into a home or a bonfire. He also happens to be married to a chronic sleepwalker and sleeptalker.
For quite some time, Johnson dreamt of marrying sleep-related conditions with the insanity of loving in a way that captured both the absurdity and beauty in a grounded and realistic way, and The Carnivores is the manifestation of that dream. This little indie out of Austin, Texas may “keep it weird” to a fault, but it’s surprisingly successful in its ambitions to create a grounded and serious film composed out of elements that feel better suited in a ludicrously silly fantastical comedy.
Much like a sleepwalker/talker, the film is sometimes funny and often terrifying, albeit not in any kind of typical horror sense. While The Carnivores plays with elements from love stories, comedies, thrillers, and horror films, it ultimately, for better or worse, charts its own course. It can, perhaps, be faulted for getting lost amidst its own ambiguity, somewhat chasing its tail as it builds up to its hazy climax (which plays more lacklaster than we’d hoped), but it’s successful in how it blurs the lines behind reality and non-reality, keeping the audience guessing along the way.
However, much of the film’s credit is owed to the strength of its two lead performances by Lindsay Burdge and Tallie Medel. Their relationship feels palpable and real, and a lot of people will have no problem relating to the complexities and nuances of their situation (they just might get lost in the sleepwalking fog, which is easy for any viewer to do). Medel in particular is fascinating, with her wide eyes and vacant stare. She conveys a lot of emotions and dials in a mainly physical performance, but her crowning achievement is in her ability to draw sympathy from the viewer, even when there’s a fair amount of evidence that suggests she may have done something awful. A shoutout is also owed to Vincent James Prendergast for playing Alice’s excessively chatty co-worker, Roland, who provides a sense of comedic relief while also filling the film with a looming sense of dread (“Either your eating a body or your body is about to be eaten,” he says at one point).
Clocking in at a breezy 77 minutes, The Carnivores gives a viewer a lot to chew over at a fairly consistent rate. There are aspects of the film that are undeniably resinous (like it’s Lynchian atmosphere), but it’s more confounding than anything. We didn’t exactly love it, but we didn’t find it entirely disposable, either. It might not capture it in the most fulfilling way, but it successfully depicts the madness of being in love and touches on the fears that occur in a long-time relationship with sincerity.
Recommendation: If you want something challenging and off the beaten path, Caleb Michael Johnson’s The Carnivores will fit the bill; however, this weird, decidedly niche little indie won’t float ever viewer’s boat.
Rating: 3 meat fantasies outta 5.
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!