Carver (movie #73)

I didn't want to like this movie. I was still in a bad mood after "Funny Games" and I just found myself mocking the low-budget and amateur acting of this movie...and then I slapped myself across the face and made myself shut up, and I found myself enjoying things a lot more. No, this movie isn't perfect, but it's got a lot of interesting things going for it (probably more than it should given its dubious heritage). A group of friends camping in the mountains run afoul of someone who likes to kill people and film himself doing it. Uh oh. There are a lot of gruesome deaths here, and the victims don't die instantly gushing rivers of blood, either, they squirm and limp around and try to drag themselves to safety, which is heartening to watch. Plus the ending has some twists up its sleeves and a few things that surprised even me. All in all, it's not perfect, but it has heart and filmmakers who want to actually tell a story, and I'll take that over pretentious sneering any day.