The Carpenter (1988)

User Rating:

4.0/10   

Director:

David Wellington

Writer:

Doug Taylor (writer)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

He's Turning Their Dream House Into A Nightmare!

Plot:

A carpenter, who was executed in the electric chair, comes back to finish his dream house, now inhabited by a young married couple. |

Plot Keywords:

Carpenter | Circular Saw | Handyman | Nipples Visible Through Clothing | Power Drill

Cast

Wings Hauser	...	Carpenter
Lynne Adams	...	Alice Jarett
Pierre Lenoir	...	Martin Jarett
Barbara Jones	...	Rachel (as Barbara Ann Jones)
Louise-Marie Mennier	...	Laura Bell
Jon Cuthbert	...	Roland
Robert Austern	...	Barns
Anthony Ulc	...	Landis (as Tony Ulc)
Bob Pot	...	Farnsworth
Richard Jutras	...	Mr. Mort
Ron Lea	...	Sheriff J.J. Johnston
Beverly Murray	...	Crazy Woman
Griffith Brewer	...	Doctor Flanders
Anne Farquhar	...	Nurse
David Gow	...	Larry

Runtime:

Norway:89 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Certification:

Norway:18 (video premiere) | UK:18 (video rating) | Iceland:(Banned) (original rating) | Iceland:16 (cut)

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company:

Gold-Gems Ltd.

Love your job.

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.