Michael Ledo
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.
Leofwine_draca
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.
Donny Ybarra
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!
tatalovic
I had an opportunity to attend a world premiere of "Kandie Land" in Cleveland, Ohio. It's an indie/underground horror-slasher-torture flick, spiced up with beautiful young ladies and humorous dialogue lines. The film pays tribute to 1980s genre classics, and even features a special appearance by "the Original Jason", played by Ari Lehman! The cinematography is very solid, with creative compositions, well-controlled moving camera, and very good coverage. The sound is good (something that indie ultra-low-budgets constantly struggle with); "Kandie Land" has it under control. The acting? Very good, natural...I would like to point out one particular name - Molly Miller. This lady has potential. The audience loved her creepy, twisted, but very natural delivery. Overall - this little film shows that American new-wave indie horror is alive and kicking (I mean killing!). if you are a true fan of classic 1980s horror - see "Kandie Land". It will get you back to those good old days of - "beautiful people who must die"!