Although it had a theatrical release in Real D 3D in this country (previews were on Halloween night 2008 with a nationwide release following on November 7th), the fact that it was technologically ahead of it’s time meant that hardly any cinemas had 3D projectors then (mines didn’t get one until My Bloody Valentine 3D had been out for a few weeks), so few people actually saw this puppy the way the filmmakers intended. It was later shown as part of a 3D double feature at select cinemas with the aforementioned My Bloody Valentine 3D on Halloween night 2009 thanks to the popularity of that film and countless other 3D efforts last year.
Years ago, Joan Burrows (Angela Bettis) and her best friend Susie were held captive by sadistic serial killer Bishop as part of his sick game. The rules of the game were simple. He would torture Susie and wouldn’t stop until she would beg him to kill Joan. When Susie wouldn’t give in he began torturing Joan until she begged him to kill Susie. Joan finally escaped after killing her captor.
Still haunted by the guilt of killing her friend, Joan returns to her hometown to visit her brother Jeff and niece Olympia. Olympia has been led astray by her wild friends following the death of her mother and Jeff is struggling to rein her in. Unfortunately things get worse when Joan returns, as two of Olympia’s friends go missing and then bodies start piling up and it looks as though Bishop is back.
I initially tried watching this in 3D with the coloured glasses, but they gave me a terrible headache so I ended up having to watch it in 2D. I still enjoyed it, although it did look terribly washed out. Bettis is good as always, as was her supporting cast which included Devon Graye who plays teenage Dexter and Harper’s Island alums Ben Cotton and Brandon Jay McLaren.
The film is incredibly gory and the visual effects are truly brilliant. I can’t comment on how it looked in Real D 3D but the little I did see using the coloured glasses worked well. I liked that the film wasn’t just full of objects leaping at the screen, so the filmmakers obviously chose 3D to enhance their story and not assault the senses of the audience. Another smart choice was having a male character shrug off the sexual advances of his horny girlfriend…how refreshing!
OVERALL SUMMARY
Scar is an enjoyable little indie film that most horror fans should enjoy (although it’s also very nasty with a mean spirit), the only major criticism I have is the pacing. I don’t think intercutting Joan’s back story throughout the film was the best idea. I personally would have liked to have seen it open the film and then cut to the present day. The producer himself has talked about the disappointing box-office here in the UK (it opened at number 12 with £74,371) but he should feel satisfied that the film will go down as the first live action horror film to be shot and released in Real D 3D.
