When it comes to B-movies, you can't beat the genuine article -- and you can get much more genuine than Wings Hauser. A compelling actor who spun cinematic gold out of his juicy roles in films like Vice Squad, The Wind and Street Asylum, he was always worth watching even in films that aren't worthy of him. One of his wildest leading man roles came in 1988 with this unusual Canadian horror offering, which became something of a VHS hit for Republic and was one of the few earlier films at the time released in both R-rated and unrated versions. A supernatural slasher film with an unexpected romantic twist, it was a fun little surprise whose reputation spread through word of mouth over the years with good reason.

The initially ambiguous story features a couple, Alice (Adams) and Martin (Lenoir), moving into a new country house that's still under construction. She's getting over a stay in a mental institution, and her situation isn't helped by the weird carpenter (Hauser, natch) working like a demon on their new basement. He also has a habit of taking his power tools to anyone who tries to interfere with Alice or the house, and the heavily medicated woman has to put all the pieces together as the bodies begin to pile up.

Far more ambitious than its simple setting and limited cast might lead you to believe, this isn't a perfect film by any means (the budgetary limitations alone are definitely an issue). However, its surreal plot structure and weirdly nonchalant attitude to the nasty mayhem give it an off-kilter feel that lingers long after the closing credits. Hauser is terrific here in a role with far more complexity to it than the title and cover art might lead you to expect, and it would make an interesting double feature with the same year's thematically similar Heathers (which also pulls its punches just a bit in the final stretch).

For reasons never made clear even to the filmmakers, The Carpenter was heavily toned down for its scant theatrical screenings with every murder scene shorn of any power tool mayhem. It isn't a terribly graphic film apart from an amusing double arm amputation, though apparently even something like a vice used on someone's head was beyond the pale for an R rating at the most conservative point in MPAA history. Republic was among the many labels that released this circa '89, with the unrated option being the way to go for anyone with a shred of common sense. Unfortunately the rights holders apparently weren't great at preserving film elements, and as of now apparently only one theatrical print of the R-rated version survives. That was the source for the Scorpion Releasing DVD in 2011, which looked okay (with the unrated bits added from an archival tape master) and was part of their entertaining Katarina's Nightmare Theater series with the cheeky horror hostess (with a few appropriate tool props) offering wraparound segments complete with trivia about the making of the film. Apart from that you get the usual bonus previews for films like The Pyx, The Devil within Her, Final Exam, and Humongous.

In 2025, Vinegar Syndrome brought The Carpenter back into action with a Blu-ray release featuring a new 2K scan of the 35mm print with improvements in detail and color timing compared to its predecessor. Again the unrated portions have been included from a D2 master and look watchable enough given what they are; the DTS-HD MA English 2.0 mono audio is fine and comes with English SDH subtitles. A commentary track with director David Wellington and writer Doug Taylor runs through their own industry experience up to this film, the casting and shooting in Canada, their surprise at the two versions out there, thoughts on Hauser's interpretation of the lead, and the very limited finances at their disposal. A second commentary with William Morris and John Dickson of The Oscarbate Film Collective and Podcast covers this more from a horror history perspective, examining where it falls within the fading days of the slasher film and Canadian genre exports as well as the glories of Hauser cinema. In "Aggressively Itself" (33m2s), Wellington, Taylor, Hauser, Adams, and producer Jack Bravman talk about the demand for horror exploitation in the wake of maestros like Craven and Romero, the function of Montreal as home base for most of the activity at the time, the colorful personalities around, the home video market that served as a kind of safety net, and the films that influenced them including some that might surprise you. Finally in "Tools to Play With" (7m38s), Hauser returns for a solo chat about the "joyful" nature of the project, his breakneck work schedule at the time, an immigration snafu in Montreal, his attraction to the script, his own shop experience growing up, and his approach to building the persona for his character.

VINEGAR SYNDROME (Blu-ray)

SCORPION RELEASING (DVD)

Reviewed on March 20, 2025