A disreputable carny (A.C. Peterson) manages to obtain the Jersey Devil and uses it as a sideshow in a small town in Nebraska. It gets loose and raises havoc in the woodlands of Nebraska that looked like Quebec, Canada, There is a seer named Samara (Simone-Élise Girard) pronounced like "Tomorrow." Only Lou Diamond Phillips can save the town....well part of it.This is a 2009 made for TV film. The script left much to be desired as did the characters. You do get to see the creature unlike found footage films. The boys didn't have any girlfriends, like LDP's daughter which would have added some human interest to the tale. She could have been the Final Girl that helped kill the beast. As it was all we had was some hateful preacher we wanted to see get eaten.Guide: No swearing, sex, or nudity.

The lethal and mythical beast the Jersey Devil is being shown as the main attraction at an eerie traveling carnival. The monster escapes and terrorizes a small town. It's up to stalwart sheriff Atlas (a solid and likable performance by Lou Diamond Phillips) to stop it before it's too late. Director Sheldon Wilson relates the entertaining story at a steady pace, presents a flavorsome seedy'n'sinister carnival atmosphere, maintains a serious tone throughout, and sprinkles in some neat bits of grisly gore. The smart script by Douglas G. Davis tweaks the standard premise in a clever and surprising manner (in an especially inspired touch, some of the human characters prove to be every bit as dangerous as the beast). The sound acting by the capable cast keeps the movie humming, with stand-out work from Alan C. Peterson as shady carny owner Cap, Vlasta Vrana as hell and brimstone preacher Owen, Dominic Cuzzocrea as Owen's meek assistant Quinn, Dan Petronijevic as redneck yahoo Luke, Simone-Elise Girard as fetching psychic Samara, and Joe Cobden as eager deputy Rogers. Moreover, extra props are in order for both the scary'n'nasty monster and the surprisingly good quality make-up for the grotesque carnival freaks. Danny Nowak's slick cinematography makes neat use of a mobile camera. Ned Bouhalassa's shivery score hits the shuddery spot. Only the shoddy CGI effects and rather abrupt ending leave a little something to be desired. A fun fright flick.

The carnival comes to town and it's evil promoter, Cap(Alan C Peterson)has a new sideshow attraction, a winged creature hungry for human blood who has broken free from it's steel cage. Sheriff Atlas(Lou Diamond Phillips) has a lot to contend with as locals begin to fall victim to the beast. Cap is so absolutely vile he guts his own trusting servant, Quinn(Dominic Cuzzocrea)just so that he can capture the creature by using the smell of blood from the poor guy as a means to lure the monster. We get a glimpse at just how abominable Cap is when he stabs the man in the back who delivered him the creature. Through Cab's mystic, Samara(Simone-Elise Girard), we learn as she is speaking with Atlas that the creature just may be the Jersey Devil. Adding to Atlas' troubles is the local fire-and-brimstone priest, Father Owen(Vlasta Vrana) who, before the start of the carnival, was warning his citizens and neighbors of how this traveling freakshow would only bring horror to the town, a rallying cry of epic proportions, heaven and hell, good and evil kind of stuff. When Father Owen's son dies at the hands of the monster, Atlas will have to not only deal with Cap, the monster, but the priest seeking vengeance as well. Surprisingly well made creature feature compared to past Sci-Fi channel offerings, actually has some decent special effects in regards to the monster's presence in the film. The filmmakers decide to shoot the creature out of focus just enough as it flies/swoops down in the background so that it won't be as glaring computer effect as we normally are used to seeing in a Sci-fi channel Saturday movie. Owen is so blind with his own rhetoric involving the carnival of freaks' responsibility for bringing the monster in town that he encourages the locals to target them next. The priest is presented as an unsympathetic blowhard inciting negative emotions, not following the doctrines of peace and tolerance he supposed to which is why when the creature is loosened once again to hunt you care not if he is ripped to smithereens. Phillips slips comfortably into the small town hero role without a hitch, having starred in more than his share of B-movies, understanding this genre all too well. Not a lot of carnage as you might expect(there could've been more body parts and torn flesh), but there's at least a tongue removal by a knife, and because of the creature's brownish gargoyle-like color(it reminded me of the beast from JEEPERS CREEPERS a bit), this allows it to integrate fairly well within the darkly autumnal surroundings. The exciting climax has a ferris wheel toppling over thanks to Atlas trying to use whatever he can to finally rid his town of the monster, with a rather bleak resolution as many of the carnival freaks suffer devastating fates thanks to mostly Owen's doing. CARNY allows Phillips to save the day, at a huge cost.

I had the recent misfortune to watch this "film" which was probably the worst I have ever seen, my initial expectations of a good plot for "Carny" were about psychopathic carnival people luring their victims in with trickery but no! It involved a "monster" that was neither iconic, frightening or interesting to any degree. As soon as the "monster" was seen I knew this was going to be a bumpy ride into the land of cliché, hammy acting and scripting. I wouldn't classify this as a b movie, b movies can at least make you laugh but this was serious all the way.Quickview: One dimensional characters, terrible script, no suspense, poor effects.