Digital Dismemberment: Scarred (AKA Kandie Land) Movie Review

Digital Dismemberment: Scarred (AKA Kandie Land) Movie Review

Director- Eddie Lengyel

Producer- Don Kilrain and Janine Sarnowski

Special FX- Daniel Blain Click, Raven Lunitic and Greg Lanning

Cast- Ari Lehman (Austin), Don Kilrain (Jonah Kandie), Lisa Neeld (Shaina), Carl Ferrara (Bo), Tina Grimm (Brooke), Alex Russo (Asia), Molly Miller (Tiny), Jessica Lauschin (Jess), Max Elinsky (Brody), Janine Sarnowski (Luna), Haley Kocinski (Marley), Devin Steiner (Tash), Justine Greenwald (Miss Ambler), Robbie Barnes (Dana Flynn), Bart Flynn (George), Kris Leiter (Night Club Patron), Lloyd Weema (Night Club Bartender), Julie Ann (Bettie), Benny Benzino (Bar Patron) and Barbie Marie (Bartender)

Released By- Fright Tek Pictures/ Origin Releasing

Release Date- May 2015

The Premise: When group of models , their body guard and a novice photographer head out to remote rural location for an edgy photo shoot they soon find themselves confronted by a couple of locals that try to warn the group of the legend that is Jonah Kandie. The locals fail to persuade them to heed their warning and not to fall prey to the grotesque disfigured Jonah that was maimed at the hands of his psychotic father,,,,Jonah who has a hatred for beauty, wreaks havoc with his special brand of vengeance using hammers, chainsaws and other assorted flesh ripping devices as punishment for entering camp Kandie Land……

There is a tried and true format when it comes to the slasher film, a simplicity and love that does not require over-handling of the subject or too much coddling that withers the pace or characters. Very much to his credit, Director/Writer Eddie Lengyel (other films include 2010’s Hellweek and 2011’s Voodoo Rising) stays true to these premises and delivers a film that not only harkens back to the heydays of the 80’s slasher genre, but also gives us a sharp insight into what a talented and determined cast and crew can do when given good material to work with. With obvious nods to genre favorites of the past (Friday the 13th and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, to name a few), Eddie manages to blend a story and characters that hit every benchmark, from beautiful actresses, remote locations (fantastic job by Actress/Producer/Location Scout Janine Sarnowski), creepy town legends, graphic and gruesome kills, creepy little kids and sex, drugs, rock and roll. But just as important as all of that is, a true slasher film is nothing without its killer. In that role, Actor/Producer Don Kilrain is the man behind the fury and the mask of Jonah Kandie, the town legend that was brutally abused as a boy that had his face slashed with a straight razor by his father (before he kills his wife and himself with a shotgun). Very large and menacing, Don portrays the character well, his presence dominating the screen whenever he appears. Made with a budget of around $10,000, Eddie and crew makes the film look 10 times more expensive, giving a polished look and a great soundtrack. Filmed in Medina, OH.

SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!

The film starts off with a young lady getting out of her car and putting a flier up on a telephone poll in a rural town. She pulls in to a local bar and talks to the bartender and a few of the local patrons, showing them the flyer (which is of her missing sister). One of the bar patrons takes the flyer home and shares the flyer with his wife Luna (Sarnkowski) and daughter Tiny (Miller). Tiny mentions that she has seen the girl before while playing in the woods with Jonah. The mother and father seem to shrug the statement off, but we then see the girl tied to the hood of a car in a remote location. Jonah, a hulking figure with a mask, enters the room with a large knife and a hammer and proceeds to slit her throat and bash her skull in with a hammer, watching her die with a morbid fascination. We next see a bevy of beautiful models in a montage of putting on make-up and doing various model shoots. We then see Bo (Ferrara) talking with an actor on Skype about doing a horror film. Bo’s Aunt (Greenwald) calls him to be a body guard for four of her models, Brooke (Grimm), Asia (Russo), Marley (Kocinski) and Jess (Lauschin), who are doing a nature photo shoot with photographer Brody (Elinsky) for the weekend. They stop at a local restaurant to eat, and while there, run into Shaina (Neeld) and Austin (Lehman) who try to warn them about the history and danger of where they are going to be shooting. They blow off the warnings, semi insulting the locals, but one of the girls leaves her purse behind and the locals take it with them…

They arrive at their location, and we see the campground is run by Luna. After checking in, they look around for a bit. Meanwhile, we see Tiny enter what appears to be an abandoned house. She finds scattered bones in one of the rooms and runs out, only to bump into Jonah. After what appears to be a tense moment, Tiny smiles and Jonah carries her on his shoulder and they head off together. Marley and Jess begin a photo shoot with Bo by the pond and a couple of other locations. The day continues with photo shoots, eventually with all of the girls posing. Afterwards, the entire crew parties and swims, having a great time but they do not realize they are being observed from the bushes by Jonah. Later that evening, Tiny is given a beating by her father because he thinks she is lying about being with Jonah, who supposedly was killed years ago by his father. Later, we see the models with Bo and Brody around a campfire drinking. Shaina and Austin show up and give the purse back that was forgotten earlier and tells the group the story of Jonah in full detail. The group once again laugh it off, insulting the locals again. They go back to their car and lament the fact that the models don’t believe them. They start to make out in the car, but Jonah rips them from the car and takes the back to his place. Jess makes her way to Brody’s tent, and after some pot smoking, they have sex. We then see Shaina again, tied by her wrists standing up in a barn. Jonah walks in and begins choking and then slasher her legs with a knife, until he disembowels her…

The next day, Bo and Asia head off into the woods and come across a barn. On the way, they are passed by a lady on a golf cart who warns them that they have a death wish by heading towards the old Kandie family land. Inside the barn, they run into Tiny, but when they chase after her, Jonah shows up and knocks them both out with a hammer. When Asia awakens, she sees Jonah heating up a metal pole with a torch, which he then uses to burn her eyes out. Meanwhile, Tiny’s father searches her room and finds the ID of the missing girl in the flyer. Tiny is seen later telling Bo to run (after he wakes up) unless he wants to end up like Asia. He runs off in terror to tell the others. The rest of the group is still taking pictures until he shows up, but they don’t know whether to believe his story or not. Tiny’s dad confronts her and accuses her of lying again and starts beating her. Jonah see this and attacks the father, tying him up and brutalizing him with a hammer, cutting a finger off with a knife and slitting his throat with a machette. Brody, Jess and Marley head off to find Asia, and when they find her body, Marley runs off on her own from the group. Bo and Brooke attempt to go get help, but the car stalls. While Brooke tries to fix it, Jonah chainsaws her on the hood of the car in a spray of gore and guts. Brody and Jess try to find Marley and run afoul of Jonah, while Bo accidentally finds Marley while trying to find help. Can Bo and Marley find them before it is too late? What is the connection between Tiny and Jonah? Will anyone survive the night? You are going to have to watch to find out!

There is much to like here! While the plot is simplistic and to the point, it belts along at a fantastic pace and it never seems to drag or go into too much of a deep narrative. The character development is right where it needs to be and the actors and actresses hit their marks perfectly. In particular, the interactions between Jonah and Tiny have a particular brother/sister feel to them, creating a level of intensity and dread that will have you biting your lip. The camera and sound work make it hard to believe that this was only a $10,000 budget film, far surpassing what you see from most micro-budgeted slasher films these days. The homages to Friday the 13th and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre are well received, and the Special FX work brings a gritty sense of realism that even the most hardcore of gore fans will enjoy. The film is a perfect example of what talent, hard work and dedication can do for a film with a micro budget. The passion is obvious through the entire film, and new film makers can learn a lot by observing how Eddie and his cast and crew took a well worn and loved genre idea and put a refreshing spin on an old idea. If you are going into this film looking for a mass of nudity and CGI, you might as well keep walking. However, if you are looking for an easy to watch slasher film that hits all the notes with dumbing down your IQ, then Scarred is for you! I hope to see a sequel soon!