Carny (2009 film)

The Jersey Devil appears in quick flash glimpses in the very beginning of the film as it growls. After Cap (Alan C. Peterson) kills the man who sold him the Jersey Devil, Cap and his assistant Quinn attempt to bring the Jersey Devil into the carnival's truck. Cap shoots it with a tranquilizer dart to calm the it down. However, as Cap's assistant heaves on the chains, the beast slashes at his eye, causing it to bleed. Cap eventually shoots it with more tranquilizer darts, which causes the beast to finally pass out.

When sheriff Atlas (Lou Diamond Phillips) comes to investigate Cap's carnival under the local pastor's requests, Cap takes him into the tent where the Jersey Devil is being kept for the opening show. It growls at Atlas from inside its cage and Atlas, shocked at the Jersey Devil's hellish appearance, suggests that it is not safe. During the opening show, the audience is shocked at the sight of the Jersey Devil. All except for the pastor's son Taylor (Matt Murray) and his friend Jesse who throws peanuts at the it from the audience. This angers the beast and it eventually escapes from its cage and begins terrorizing the carnival. It throws a man inside the cage that it had been locked in and escapes the carnival right before flying into the Ferris wheel and injuring itself.

Later the following night, the beast finds Taylor and Jesse hiding in an old barn in the forest when it hears a dog barking at it. The beast goes after the dog as Taylor and Jesse escape the barn. However, the beast eventually finds Taylor hiding under a bridge as Jesse hides in an old car. The beast lands on the bridge and then looks under it to find Taylor, who it kills and dismembers. Later when Jesse, who survived the incident, and his mother are driving down a road in the forest, the Jersey Devil attacks him through the car window and flies off with him. As his mother is gazing at the skies trying to find him, the beast drops his dead body on the car right before killing her.

Cap and his assistant later try to recapture the Jersey Devil by using tranquilizer darts. They stab Atlas' deputy to attract the beast with the smell of his blood. However, as the beast approaches, the deputy shoots at the beast right before dying, which causes it to retreat. The beast then sets its sights on Cap's carnival once more, and kills several of his carnies. Cap later tries once again to recapture the beast by stabbing his own assistant to death to attract the beast with his blood. The beast soon arrives and sneaks up from behind Cap. Cap then shoots it with his new tranquilizer darts that "have enough drugs in them to put an elephant to sleep for a week", which knocks out the beast once more.

When Cap is arrested for murder after Atlas discovers part of a tranquilizer dart in his deputy's back, the beast awakens from the tranquilizer darts and arrives at the police station, where it kills Cap. The pastor, who wants revenge on the beast and the carnival for the death of his son, stabs the beast in its shoulders with two tranquilizer darts. This eventually knocks it out. However, when the pastor and his followers arrive at the carnival, the beast awakens right before the pastor's eyes. It growls at the pastor and then kills him.

When Atlas arrives at the now burning carnival, he attempts to rescue one of Cap's carnies, Samara (Simone-Élise Girard), and the beast arrives to kill them as it lands on one of the RVs. It chases Samara to the Ferris wheel where the "Gentle Giant" attempts to stop it. However, the beast attacks and kills him. Atlas eventually rams the beast into the Ferris wheel with a car in an attempt to kill him. As the beast is rammed into the Ferris wheel by Atlas, it growls at him from the front car window until the Ferris wheel eventually collapses on both of them. This finally kills both the Jersey Devil and Atlas. Before the beast dies, its hand is seen collapsing.

• Lou Diamond Phillips as Atlas
• Simone-Élise Girard as Samara
• Alan C. Peterson as Cap
• Vlasta Vrána as Pastor Owen
• Matt Murray as Taylor
• Rick Genest as Carny

• Carny at IMDb
• Carny at Rotten Tomatoes
• Carny at AllMovie