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.

I see dead handymen!

Wouldn't it be so much cooler if John Carpenter had directed this movie? Then the box of the VHS could loudly announce "John Carpenter's … The Carpenter"! And also, it probably would have been a much better film if John directed it… "The Carpenter" is a rather weak and laughable 80's slasher movie that desperately tries to add in some deeper psychological themes, but fails. It centers on a beautiful, thirty-something housewife that just got released from a period in a mental institution because she cut up her husband's business suits for no apparent reason. They move into a new countryside house that still needs a lot of renovation and Alice stays indoors whilst her husband cheats on her with a hot blond chick. Meanwhile Alice falls in love with the reincarnation of carpenter Ed (portrayed by 80's stud Wings Hauser). Ed is an old-fashioned workaholic who died in the electric chair 40 years earlier after he went a little berserk and killed some people that didn't allow him to finish his work. Together, Alice and Ed butcher a couple of lazy handymen and talk about dancing. How adorable! It's a pretty ridiculous film overall, with too much talking and only a couple of demented murder scenes to make up for it. The killings are similar to the ones in the 'video-nasty' cult classic "The Toolbox Murders" (a nail gun, a bench vice…) but not nearly as gross or memorable. I always thought Wings Hauser is a bit of an idiot and didn't really like him in this role, neither. His tedious speeches about how "handy-work is holy" are implausible and not exactly terrifying. The climax is just plain retarded.