Venom: Let There Be Carnage

The Silly Symbiote Returns

Sep 30, 2021

Welcome to Pop ‘n’ Pizza, a weekly newsletter highlighting what’s new in pop culture and pulp fiction. This week, I’m talking about VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE. 🍕🥤

Title

Genre: Superhero / Action / Sci-Fi
Release Date: October 1, 2021
Running Time: 97 Minutes
Rated: PG-13

Behind the Scenes

Directed by Andy Serkis
Written by Kelly Marcel
Cinematography by Robert Richardson
Music by Marco Beltrami
Studio: Columbia Pictures / Sony Pictures

In Front of the Camera

Tom Hardy (MAD MAX: FURY ROAD, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES)
Michelle Williams (MANCHESTER BY THE SEA, MARILYN)
Woody Harrelson (TRUE DETECTIVE, ZOMBIELAND)
Naomie Harris (MOONLIGHT, SKYFALL)

What’s It About?

“Tom Hardy returns to the big screen as the lethal protector Venom, one of Marvel’s greatest and most complex characters.” — Sony Pictures

Why You Should Check It Out

VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE is one of the weirdest, most unhinged movies you’re likely to see this year — and I say that as someone who’s seen James Wan’s latest film, the High-Camp Lifetime Original Giallo™ MALIGNANT.

Directed by Andy Serkis and written by Kelly Marcel (FIFTY SHADES OF GREY, VENOM, CRUELLA), this follow-up to Ruben Fleischer’s 2018 movie sees reporter Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and his alien symbiote learning to live in peace and harmony. For Eddie, things are on the up and up. He’s just landed a career-defining interview on death row with the serial killer Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson). However, Venom’s insatiable hunger for phenethylamine — a chemical found only in chocolate and human brains — has put on a strain on his relationship with his host, leading to constant bickering and violent outbursts.

Luckily, Venom’s got his pet chickens, Sonny and Cher, to keep him company and a steady supply of chocolate from Mrs. Chen’s (Peggy Lu) convenience store. Is that the weirdest sentence I’ve ever written? Maybe. Anyway, Eddie and Venom’s shaky marriage gets put to the test when a bit of the symbiote gets on Kasady during Brock’s interview, and the prisoner becomes host to Carnage, an even-larger, even-deadlier killing machine. Now, Brock and Venom must battle with Carnage and Kasady’s psychotic bride Shriek (Naomie Harris), who can manipulate sound.

Carnage first appeared in 1992’s The Amazing Spider-Man #361, but became truly iconic thanks to the 1993 comic book crossover event Maximum Carnage and its subsequent video game adaptation, the 1994 side-scrolling beat ’em up Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage. As for Shriek, she debuted around the same time in Spider-Man Unlimited #1 (1993), making VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE the most ’90s Spider-Man movie yet!

Another ’90s touchpoint is the casting of Harrelson as Kasady — an homage to his role as the sadistic Mickey Knox in Oliver Stone’s NATURAL BORN KILLERS (1994). They’re both victims of traumatic childhoods who become psychopathic serial murders and go on a killing spree with their lovers. Touching. There really is someone out there for everybody.

Look, VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE is not what you would call a good movie, but it is entertaining. The intentionally silly tone assures you that nothing you see should be taken seriously, which allows you to appreciate how bizarre the film’s creative choices are. The special effects, action set pieces, and the film’s overall visual style — lensed by Quentin Tarantino’s frequent collaborator Robert Richardson (KILL BILL, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, DJANGO UNCHAINED, ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD) — are impressive. Oh, Richardson also lensed NATURAL BORN KILLERS. Coincidence? I think not!

It isn’t the Maximum Carnage adaptation I’ve been dreaming of since 1994, but if you liked the first VENOM, you’re going to enjoy this sequel. Serkis gets the assignment, creating an aggressively goofy, DEADPOOL-esque superhero comedy that offers absurdity and computer-generated spectacle in equal measure. And be sure to stick around for the end credits, as there’s a scene that — no hyperbole — completely changes the way we’ll look at these movies going forward.

Slices:

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Pop 'n' Pizza

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