Scarred (2013)

Too much of everything

hyped garbage

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Four models, a photographer and a token fat guy go off to "the lodge" for a photo shoot, except they camp out in small tents instead. Whatever happened to those large green canvas monstrosities anyway? There is the story of Jonah Kandi who apparently died with no one bothering to find a body. A midget claims he is still alive.This is a slasher film, so I can't imagine there be much of a plot spoiler except for "final girl." The film had a low budget sound system that was choppy and ill suited. Too much outdoors sound at beach, too much munching when midget was eating, and other sound had an echo effect. Typical slasher with various implements including a chainsaw and other questionable brand new items.Appears to have originally been released in 2013 under the groan title "Kandi Land" without much fanfare.Guide: F-word, sex, nudity (Jessica Lauschin) Minus a star for crappy sound.

SCARRED is a very typical example of your indie horror movie. It sees four girls heading off to an abandoned building in order to shoot photos for their modelling portfolios. Cut lots of posing in underwear and bikinis for what seems like forever. Eventually, a masked killer goes on the rampage and begins bumping them off one by one. The second half of the film is full of torture porn-style kill segments which are dealt with in an uninteresting and distasteful way while the film as a whole is made without grace, flair, or wit.

When you watch horror movies/slasher movies, what keeps you invested? For me it is the cast, here not only is there a great cast, but some real standouts. Now everybody knows Ari Lehman in the slasher world as the "kid Jason Voorhees", but I have been watching some great indie slashers here lately and Ari is all in the horror mix! Having cast a horror vet in a slasher flick only adds to the appeal to me, kudos for bringing him on board. Another standout for me was Don Kilrain as "Jonah" who was our masked madman. With a name like KILRAIN, you expect to have one badass mother____%#^!!, and Jonah is that! Another standout was Molly Miller as "Tiny". Tiny was an interesting aspect to this film, she brought the "humanity" out of Jonah, and I don't know if that is such a good thing! It was also nice to see Janine Sarnowski as "Luna" she did a great job and was kickass towards the end. The plot for this one is straight up, you get a tragic past that creates this villain...who has grown to despise "pretty people"., so what do you think happens to a group of models that cross paths with this creepy brute?!?! Let's just say, beauty is only skinned deep! This movie boasts a rather large body count, not once was I bored, superb pacing! Being a fan of iconic killers like Jason, Freddy and Chucky, what works for them is their motivations for killing. Jonah has his own unique reasons for killing, one that would make for a nice urban legend to share with others around a chilly campfire! What brings this slasher up a notch from others is not only motivations, but the kills. This movie was pretty brutal, and dare I say offered up some inventive demises. I won't share all of the gory details but the one involving chains with hooks towards the end of the film really made me squirm. I think Jonah has more to do, with that diabolical mask and his ability to select from a wide variety of "kill tools", I think this is one character begging for sequels! I always look forward to reviewing these indie films, many boast about being a "homage" to the 80's, while I think others just do. With this one I do get a little nostalgia from that decade, it's almost a mix of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre with Jonah's brutality mixed with a little Twisted Nightmare! I say give this one a peep creepers, two very big thumbs up!

After a recent viewing of Fright Teck Pictures latest horror endeavor "Kandie Land" I didn't have the greatest of expectations. Nothing being said against the crew or talent involved but one simply learns that, when viewing a no-budget production such as this, you must simply lower your standards. Well I must say that, overall, I was Pleasantly surprised by this little film! What a fun nod to the classic slashers of the early 80's! The story-line is very simple and offers up the classic "tortured soul turned villain" shtick. Jonah Kandie is very much you cliché big, bad monster in a creepy, heavily textured mask that looks rather effective in low lighting. He takes out his lifetime of pain and internal rage on young, unsuspecting women who accidentally stumble onto his territory (aka "Kandie Land"). The girls are beaten, scalped, chain sawed, etc. for no reason other then the fact that they are "pretty people". Yes, this production doesn't demand a lot of deep thought from its viewers. Let's be real, a movie such as this shouldn't have to. It's your typical hack and slash movie and these films don't need to be much more then boobs and gore. Both are offered here. Success! The acting is pretty solid for this level of filmmaking (with one or two weaker exceptions) and often times the performers prove to be extremely entertaining. There are several moments of humor that balance out well with the consistent violence that is well paced through-out the length of the film. Many of these more brutal scenes are amplified thanks to the sleek and fluid camera-work and creative lighting that gives the film a darker, shadowy look when needed. The gore is extremely effective, especially on such a small budget! There are several bloody sequences that are very original, especially the violent scalping and the eye-burning. Well done! The one element of this film that truly helped it to stand out against the rest of the formulaic slashers out there is the introduction of the character "Tiny". She is a unique and odd little thing who adds a level of sympathy and caring to the otherwise blatantly commonplace hulk that is Jonah Kandie. Without her character, this story would likely suffer from being too much of a stereotype and possibly come off as more of a rip-off then a tribute to the other genre-classics that came before it. Her side story is certainly unique and(not to mention well played by the adorable Molly Miller) and will likely keep a viewer invested in what is otherwise a very simplistic storyline.The only other complaint I care to mention regarding this film is the severely overlooked side-story the is used to open the movie. Why start the film off with a well played and interesting character and then never touch upon her story again afterward? If you view the movie you'll more then likely understand where I'm coming from. I feel that her story could have possibly provided far more depth to a movie that otherwise deals with a color-by-numbers killer going after a group of bimbo models. Ideally, if there ever is a sequel, it will expand upon this story and thus offer a more serious tone to balance out the moments of humor that fit in so well with this genre.All in all, this film proved to be an extremely entertaining watch! I would certainly recommend it to fans of the slasher-genre, especially the ones who've learned to appreciate that same-old, same-old horror-movie formula we've come to love. This film definitely isn't a groundbreaking piece of cinema by any means, but it is loads of fun! "Kandie Land" is well executed, immensely entertaining, surprising well shot, and will no-doubt be highly appreciated by anyone who enjoys low-budget horror!