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Venom: Let There Be Carnage
Movie

Venom: Let There Be Carnage

2021 • Action, Comedy, Horror

Woke Score
6
out of 10

Plot

Eddie Brock struggles to adjust to his new life as the host of the alien symbiote Venom, which grants him super-human abilities in order to be a lethal vigilante. Brock attempts to reignite his career by interviewing serial killer Cletus Kasady, who becomes the host of the symbiote Carnage and escapes prison after a failed execution.

Overall Series Review

Venom: Let There Be Carnage centers almost entirely on the dysfunctional relationship between investigative journalist Eddie Brock and his alien symbiote, Venom. The narrative focuses on their domestic bickering, breakup, and eventual reconciliation, which is framed as a toxic relationship drama resolving into a committed partnership. The film's primary conflict pits this anti-hero team against the psychotic serial killer Cletus Kasady and his powerful, disturbed love interest, Shriek. Humor is derived from the main duo’s Odd Couple dynamic, and the plot culminates in a destructive battle at a church. The central takeaway is the theme of acceptance, self-expression, and embracing one's true identity, which is heavily coded through Venom's struggle to 'come out' and be his true self.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics4/10

The core conflict revolves around two white males, Eddie Brock and Cletus Kasady. The narrative is driven by individual psychological trauma and a battle of alien merit (symbiote power), not a lecture on systemic oppression or white privilege. However, the one prominent character of color, the villain Shriek, is noted to be depicted as a 'crazy' and aggressive person with mental illness from the prison system, leaning into negative tropes rather than progressive empowerment.

Oikophobia3/10

The theme of civilizational self-hatred is not explicit. The film is set in America, but the focus is on a personal, psychological battle rather than a critique of the nation's culture or ancestors. Venom does deliver a speech at a rave about the 'cruel treatment of aliens' who are different, which functions as a light metaphor for 'the other' being repressed by 'normative' society.

Feminism5/10

Gender roles are largely sidelined as the central, most emotionally intense 'love story' and primary focus is the domestic, bickering, male-male partnership between Eddie and Venom. Eddie's ex-fiancée, Anne Weying, is a successful professional but is secondary to the male relationship. The main female character who drives conflict is Shriek, a powerful but psychopathic villain. This focus on a male-male 'couple' reduces the female characters to supporting roles in a traditional sense and shifts the dramatic weight away from complementarity.

LGBTQ+9/10

The score is very high because the relationship between Eddie Brock and Venom is intentionally and explicitly framed by the director as the film's 'central love affair'. Venom's storyline includes a segment where he breaks up with Eddie and attends a rave, delivering a monologue that is described by the director and reviewers as his 'coming-out party'. The film treats the symbiotic relationship as a queer metaphor for identity and acceptance, directly replacing the traditional male-female pairing (Eddie and Anne) as the central committed relationship.

Anti-Theism7/10

The climactic final battle takes place inside a church, which the villain Cletus Kasady and Shriek choose as the location for their twisted, murderous wedding. The entire house of worship is then utterly destroyed by the battle between the two sets of alien symbiotes, signifying that the alien power, not faith, resolves the conflict. This makes a traditional religious institution a target and backdrop for extreme, anti-hero/villainous chaos.