Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) is a superhero film adapted from Marvel Comics, directed by Andy Serkis and starring Tom Hardy and Woody Harrelson. The film is part of the Sony Spider-Verse and was released by Sony Pictures. Runtime: 1h 37m. Rated PG-13. Audience rating: 6.3/10.
What is Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) about?
Eddie Brock attempts to restart his career by interviewing serial killer Cletus Kasady — who becomes Carnage after bonding with a symbiote, leading to an explosive showdown.
Released in 2021, Venom: Let There Be Carnage was directed by Andy Serkis and produced under the Sony Pictures banner. The film occupies a significant place within the Sony Spider-Verse — contributing to the ongoing narrative and mythology of that cinematic universe.
The film features lead performances from Tom Hardy, Woody Harrelson, Michelle Williams, among others, anchoring a story that adapts characters first brought to life in Marvel Comics. Its source material gives the film a foundation rooted in decades of published storytelling, which Serkis and the creative team interpret through a cinematic lens.
The film's 6.3 audience rating indicates a mixed response. Even so, it holds interest as part of the broader Sony Spider-Verse catalogue and for how it fits into the lineage of Marvel Comics-based cinema.
What happens in Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)? — Full Plot
We open with Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson) — a serial killer on death row in San Quentin Prison. Eddie Brock visits Cletus to extract a confession. Cletus, recognizing Eddie's coming alien symbiote bond, bites Eddie's hand during the visit. A tiny piece of the Venom symbiote transfers to Cletus's bloodstream. Within hours, Cletus has bonded with the symbiote and developed full Carnage powers — a red, more-violent version of Venom.
Eddie returns home to San Francisco. He and Venom have been arguing constantly. Venom wants to eat live people. Eddie refuses to allow it. Venom is bored and resentful. The two of them break up. Venom moves out of Eddie's body and into the body of a homeless lady who runs a chicken-coop in their alley.
Meanwhile, Cletus has escaped from prison. Carnage is significantly more powerful than Venom — and significantly more violent. Cletus retrieves his estranged girlfriend Frances Barrison / Shriek (Naomie Harris) from a confidential government facility. Shriek's mutation: a sonic-based ability to kill anyone who can hear her. The combination of Carnage and Shriek is unstable but terrifying.
Eddie tracks Cletus and Shriek to a cathedral wedding ceremony. Eddie convinces Venom to forgive him; they re-bond. The final battle takes place in the cathedral between Venom and Carnage. The fight is symbiote-on-symbiote — black-and-white versus red-and-black — fully CGI animated.
Carnage and Venom are roughly evenly matched until Eddie discovers Carnage's weakness: heat and sound. Venom unleashes a sonic blast that disrupts Carnage's stability. Eddie ultimately bites Carnage's head off (with Venom's help) — eating the symbiote like a tongue-out reptilian appetizer. Cletus is left dying as a normal human. Shriek is captured.
The film closes with Eddie and Venom riding into the sunset, finally reconciled. The end. Venom: Let There Be Carnage grossed $507 million globally on a $110 million budget — strong commercial success despite mixed reviews. The film's short runtime, comedic register, and Tom Hardy's dual performance made it a critical-fan-divide success: critics were lukewarm, audiences enjoyed it. Andy Serkis has not directed another Sony film.
Who stars in Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)?
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What are some facts about Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)?
Venom: Let There Be Carnage released in 2021, placing it within the 2020s era of comic book cinema — a decade that saw superhero films become the dominant force at the global box office.
Directed by Andy Serkis, the film was produced by Sony Pictures and adapts source material from Marvel Comics.
The principal cast features Tom Hardy and Woody Harrelson, with key supporting roles played by Michelle Williams, Naomie Harris.
The film belongs to Sony Spider-Verse — Sony Pictures' Spider-Man adjacent film universe.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage carries an audience rating of 6.3 — a middling reception but one that hasn't prevented its cultural footprint.
The Marvel Comics source material for Venom: Let There Be Carnage has been in continuous publication for decades, giving filmmakers a rich well of storylines, character arcs, and iconography to draw upon.
Modern superhero films like this one use a mix of practical effects and digital VFX, with entire sequences often shot against volume walls or LED stages pioneered by shows like The Mandalorian.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage is catalogued on Movies on Comics among our collection of 162 comic book films spanning 48 years of cinema — from Richard Donner's 1978 Superman to the present day.
