Jenna Ortega is having one heck of a year. The young actor started 2022 with a starring role in the fifth Scream film which helped propel her star power. Scream was followed quickly with a featured part in Ti West’s smash horror, X. Ortega also had a cameo appearance in the Foo Fighters’ vehicle, Studio 666. Next month Ortega will lead the highly anticipated Netflix show, Wednesday (based on The Addams Family), but before that comes American Carnage. Directed by Diego Hallivis, American Carnage is a less high-profile project than some of the other aforementioned properties, but is one that proves that Ortega is able to put the quality of a story above her ego.
This is a film that works together elements of comedy, horror, mystery and a smidgen of science-fiction; American Carnage tells a very topical story. Set in America, fast-food employee JP (Jorge Lendeborg Jr.) finds himself in troubled water after the government issues an executive order. The mandate orders the arrest of all children of undocumented immigrants. Whilst detained, JP and several others are offered an opportunity to have their charges dropped by volunteering to provide care to the elderly. The horror and science-fiction elements of American Carnage mean that there’s something sinister going on at the facility. What begins innocently enough with JP and Ortega’s Camila tending to the elder population, soon takes a dark and uncomfortable turn.
Hallivis taps into the powerful storytelling mode that Jordan Peele utilised so well in Get Out. Here Hallivis explores the very real issue with American immigrants and how they and their offspring are treated. As with Peele, there’s plenty of humour to soften the edges, but the message remains. Whilst a portion of Americans have ill feelings towards those that they deem not worthy of living in the country, those same people are happy to let them do the jobs that they don’t want to. Although not happy to share the country, they will leech off of and consume those that have a more vulnerable status.
The manner in which JP, Camila, and their friends are exploited goes down a different route to Peele’s Get Out, but there is a connecting thread between the two. Its reveal is of course saved until the final act, but there’s enough intrigue and red herrings to keep the viewer guessing until this moment. Time is spent building up characters, more notably slacker JP. Like many a stoner hero before him, JP must grow-up and take responsibility for not just himself, but also the people alongside him. His journey from uninterested to politically charged presents the ideal conduit for the audience to follow suit.
The tone of American Carnage shakes a little in places. The comedy pushes a tad too hard in some moments and on occasion the film gets a bit too silly. Hallivis manages to correct this by the end, pushing the tone back on balance. The slips are minor blips and thankfully don’t dilute the message that Hallivis is trying to communicate. It’s a message that needs amplifying and hopefully the inclusion of actors such as Ortega will have audiences flocking to American Carnage.
American Carnage
Summary
An interesting Latino spin on Jordan Peele’s Get Out, American Carnage blends horror, comedy, and political messages to create an entertaining story with an important moral core.
American Carnage is available on Digital now.
