Horror Movie Review: Doctor Carver (2021)

Doctor Carver aka Conjuring the Plastic Surgeon comes from director Louisa Warren, who co-wrote it with Shannon Holiday. Telling a story about a demonic plastic surgeon in gory and violent fashion.

Four women, Tonya (Chelsea Greenwood), Belle (Amanda-Jade Tyler), Dina (Julia Quayle), and Peppa (Sofia Lacey) all want to have some form of plastic surgery and for different reasons. All stemming from issues that include self-confidence, trust, acceptance, abuse, and more. As far as character motivations go, each is given a believable thread based within reality.

A reality we’re all too aware of, where society focuses on a person’s (particularly women) appearance and any perceived flaw is attacked. It’s interesting to see the story deal with the effect this behaviour can have on a person’s mental health and it certainly adds a level of robustness to the story.

Where things go off the rails is the fact that each woman is offered free plastic surgery by the mysterious Nurse Alexa (Danielle Scott), and happily takes up the offer. Even going along with aspects that would raise an eyebrow on most people’s faces. It’s a tough pill to swallow, especially when they’re asked to take part in a seance pre-surgery. Desperate or not, this pushes the limits of plausibility too far, and makes each character harder to invest in because they behave so stupidly.

Staying at a remote house, they wait their turn to be called to see the doctor (sometimes waiting days), and wouldn’t you know it? The doctor is a demonic creature (played by Zuza Tehanu) doing a ‘be careful what you wish for’ thing with the unfortunate victims. All while Alexa gleefully enjoys the bloody slaughter.

Which Doctor Carver is. As far as blood and gore goes, it’s more than happy to push some limits and often in a triumphantly garish way. The effects are good, mostly – the mask on the demonic surgeon isn’t great, and while this is a low-budget film, effort was made to make this aspect stand out, and it does.

The positives of Doctor Carver do outweigh the negatives, and even if the character’s behaviours do become quite sketchy as the film goes on, the cast do a lot to make it work. Films from Louisa Warren can be hit and miss, and it’s no surprise that Jagged Edge Productions had involvement here (Scott Jeffery is listed as a producer), but this is a solid effort overall. Likable characters, a hearty attempt to tell a deeper story, good acting, and plenty of gore. It’s definitely worth a watch.