Directed by: Diego Di Iorio Written by: Diego Di Iorio Genre: Horror / Thriller |
Scars
A little girl ( Charity Rose ) awakens during the night and via candlelight, goes off in search of some sounds she hears in the house. As her curiosity propels her forward down to the basement she finds a broken picture and eventually, her trip goes beyond the confines of the residence itself. Dream? Imagination? That's for the audience to decide but this film is all about the journey and the emotion stirred up along the way. Diego Di Iorio's film may be short in run time, but packs in a lot of atmosphere along the way.
Scars manages to deliver a very gothic feel from its good use of sound overtop some very unsettling imagery. There's nothing terribly overt about what you see, no blood or guts really, but the implications of what you are looking at may be considered upsetting to some. This is a horror film, so if you weren't expecting things as such, what were you expecting? By the time we reach the scene involving the hanging man, the senses are fully drawn and this feeling of tense dread continues through the rest of the film. I really love a film, any film, that manages its atmosphere so well. Even if the eventual climax doesn't quite live up to the journey to get there. The performance given by Charity Rose was also a huge plus for this title. Even though she doesn't say a word, the expressions seemed dead on. Pardon the pun. The curiosity of a child is excellently played out in this film, and the growing fear... yet the need to push forward is captured nicely. Along with some excellent cinematography, such as those wide shots within the darkness, Scars feels like a much bigger film than I'm guessing it actually was. A testament to both the production, and post production crew. Taking us back to a time where filmmakers used atmosphere over jump scares has worked well for this particular title. Although a little vague, and lacking the climax I was hoping for, there's no questioning the atmosphere created as this very quick film plays out. Scars is a visually polished film and will definitely appeal to those looking for a small adrenaline rush and have very little time to kill. There's some real talent both in front of, and behind the lens, and it really shows here. Scars should have no problem finding an audience that truly enjoys the spectacle. Three and a half stars. |
