Post by StevePulaski on Jul 21, 2011 22:18:07 GMT -5
Angela Bettis in Scar 3D.
Rating: ★★½
I always say that if I see a film in 3D that no matter how awful the 3D is I will never mark a film up or down because of it. I feel that is a cheap thing to do because it is like grading the film on what size TV you watched it on. Just because you watched it on a small TV doesn't make the movie bad, it just makes your TV small. The movie did nothing, your TV didn't meet standards.
But something needs to be said about the inexcusable use of anaglyph 3D, or as most refer to it as, red and blue 3D. I am going to assume it was added in later because nothing seems to be even remotely 3D. It was clearly not shot with 3D cameras, and was all added in later. What a waste of a good movie-going experience.
As far as the film goes, Scar 3D is not a remake, but is clearly inspired by the countless number of Saw films and, at the time, I believe the first of Eli Roth's Hostel series was out. The torture porn genre is brought to the table, but it isn't doing really any harm here. It's not as despicable as you would think, and most of the film does without it.
The story focuses on Joan (Bettis), now an aunt, who was lured into an old funeral home and tortured with her friend by the owner. The game was, you get tortured back and forth until one of you says "kill him/her." The only was to save yourself is to kill your friend of relative. Joan now goes to live with her niece Olivia (Blanton) and her father Jeff (Titus). But now, a copycat killer is on the loose since Joan killed the original one. Now he's after Olivia and her friends.
Despite its interesting premise, the ending is more cliche than I was hoping it was going to be. That is because not enough characters are introduced, and once the real killer walks on screen for the first time you're blind if you don't know its him. There is no twist, surprise, or even something to confuse you. It's plain obvious.
Some of the torture scenes are quite brutal. Researching a bit, I uncovered information from a review saying one person was "out cold" and another ran out of the theater and "threw up." My guess is they never attended one of the many torture porn films we have out today. I cringed during some of the scenes, but I never felt sick or anything major. Most of the torture scenes were well crafted and amusing - in a totally non-satanic way.
The film is what low budget is made of. Clearly, not a lot of money was used to make this film which is perfectly fine with me. It almost felt like someone picked up a pretty solid HD camera and made this. Again, that isn't an insult. It's a compliment to the makers. They didn't produce a piece of fine horror gold, but they did something with what they had. I hate to keep repeating myself, but one has to thank the producers for not remaking The Shining and at least coming up with their semi-own idea.
While Scar 3D does pass on a few levels, the cliche ending and the lack of character development does drag this one down a little bit. Gorehounds will be satisfied, but people looking for a very memorable horror film may be a little let down. It's a quick watch, but one that is fast-paced and admirable.
Starring: Angela Bettis, Kirby Bliss Blanton, Devon Graye, Ben Cotton, and Christopher Titus. Directed by: Jen Weintrob.