Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: THE CARPENTER [Fantasia Film Festival 2024 - Montreal, Quebec]
“The Carpenter” [Genre du Pays] plays like a mix of early 80s Brian DePalma with a dash of Lawrence Kasdan. Achieving some small degree of success internationally in 1989, it seems like the kind of presale element that did very well in the 90s. Its score and dissolves bring to mind Georgio Moroder and “Body Double.” As a result, this would-be slasher film plays much better than it should considering the insidiousness of its plot (which may not have seemed that way then as well). In the film, a woman has a.nervous breakdown. Her overprotective and smothering husband seems like he is helping her back to health but also buys a brand new house being renovated by a bunch of lazy workers that just seem to want to harass the only lady on premises.
The film has completely not aged well but it is a time portal of the 80s. But interestingly enough, the essence of “The Carpenter” harks back to what that generation thought were simpler times in the 1950s although much more severe in its gender politics. The character of the Carpenter itself reflects this though the mythology of why he is there is not explained. Despite that, there is a degree of entertainment because the film does try to have fun while leaning into the earnestness of the actors and the filmmakers despite the story’s obvious shortcomings. C+
By Tim Wassberg
