What the Waters Left Behind: Scars Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

What the Waters Left Behind: Scars Blu-ray Movie Review

'The Argentinian Barbed Club Killing' doesn't have the same ring...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown December 11, 2023

Do you enjoy watching people be kidnapped and tortured? Sure, we all do. Well, have I got a horror movie for you. If you just said to yourself, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre?" And meant Tobe Hooper's 1974 original and not the five, count 'em five reboot/relaunch/remake/requels of the 2000s, then... maybe I don't have a film for you. Because while What the Waters Left Behind: Scars (2022) owes much of its plot, tone and existence to Hooper's terrifying '70s classic, it shares far more in common with the increasingly problematic, hit or miss remakes everyone from New Line to Legendary have been churning out every few years in the hopes of finding an artery to bleed dry. Scars may be a suitably grimy-n-gritty, ultimately decent little slice of indie torture-porn from Argentinian director Nicolás Onetti (tackling the follow-up to his own What the Waters Left Behind without his brother, the first film's co-director Luciano), but it's also terribly derivative and unoriginal, extremely predictable, and features one too many characters you'll be eager to see killed just so you don't have to spend any more time with them.

In 'What the Waters Left Behind' (2017), an accident in the '80s led to an enormous amount of water breaking through a protective embankment guarding one of the most important tourist villages in Argentina: Epecuén. The town was submerged under ten meters of salt water, disappearing in its entirety beneath the flood. Thirty years later, the waters receded and the ruins of Epecuén emerged, exposing a bleak and deserted townscape. The residents never returned but a crew of young documentary filmmakers did, never to be seen or heard from again. In 'Scars', the 2022 English-language sequel to 'What the Waters Left Behind,' an Anglo-American indie rock band finds themselves stranded on the edge of Epecuén, where their interpersonal conflicts and some bad luck quickly begin to seem far less important as the bandmates encounter the hell and Epecuén denizens that awaits them.

If there's a saving grace to Scars and its cannibal horror-mongering, it's several convincing performances. Not so much when dialogue is being delivered, or when character development is being attempted, or when the annoying bandmates that are about to be sacrificed to the slasher movie gods are given banter designed apparently to make them seem like people we might want to hang out with. (We wouldn't.) No, the convincing bits come when the flesh-nibbling ne'er-do-wells of Epecuén grab, tie down, chain up, or gag any one of the soon-to-be victims. I fully bought the pain, fear and torment that suddenly graced the actors' faces, and I started to believe, just enough to bring Scars more in line with the original Chainsaw Massacre, that the people on screen were very much in real danger. Was it fun to watch? Not at all. I'm just not that breed of horror guy. But I recognize effective genre scene-chewing and the young actors here are doing all that and then some. Is every leather-clad screamer created equal? You'll feel far more empathy for the females in this one than the gents. Is every death drawn out to disgusting, stomach churning, overly detailed and graphic ends? Yup. Genre hounds rejoice.

Unfortunately, that brings me back to the uninspired, cut-and-paste nature of Scars's ode to Texas. Once I grew numb to the visuals, futile cries and pleading, and the inevitable kills, I grew oh so bored. A death sentence to any gore-lord's good time. Scars doesn't offer anything new, nor does it try to reinvent any barbed wheels or subvert its tried and true forefathers. It's well made pseudo-snuff, realistic to a fault but lacking the edge or the imagination to give those familiar with such films anything that might truly titillate, offend or surprise. Even now, I want to be kinder, not because I love these sorts of movie, but simply because it is better than the usual low-budget indie fare, if only in its production values and striking appearance. I also can't mask some of the disappointment that first set in when I realized there wouldn't be any supernatural bent to the horror, as I assumed when misunderstanding the cover art and not reading the back cover description. Even that -- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre blended with a demon-worshipping cult that had truly tapped a sinister otherworldly entity -- would have kept me engaged and brought something fresh to the screen. Bottom line? If you love this type of horror, you'll probably be mildly pleased with the effort here. If this isn't your favorite strawberry jam, look elsewhere. Everything Scars serves up has been done scarier and more disturbing elsewhere.

What the Waters Left Behind: Scars Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Forget my take on the movie. Scars certainly looks the modern-horror-standout part, as does its borderline stunning 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation. If this sort of material can be called borderline stunning, that is. Although, be sure to scope out the screenshots included with this review. I'll just say it: wow. Saturation is boosted and contrast is blazing hot, but it's clearly all in line with the filmmakers' desires. (Bright whites occasionally crush, stripping actors of fine skin detail, but it's to be expected considering the film's photography and at-times extreme contrast and color grading.) Primaries pop -- particularly reds, which are liberally scattered and spattered throughout the movie -- and black levels are devilishly deep and ominous. Fleshtones are striking as well, as is detail, which features naturally sharp edge definition, refined and crisply resolved fine textures, and spot-on delineation that reveals as much (or as little) as is intended. I was also impressed with how clean the image is; almost entirely free of unsightly issues like banding, blocking and noise. The opening flashback sequence isn't as remarkable as the present day sequences (due to sickly swaths of pink and red light sometimes bathing the actors), but it hardly matters. Once the horror properly gets underway, the image doesn't disappoint.

What the Waters Left Behind: Scars Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The AV disappointment comes, though, with the Blu-ray's lossy audio. No lossless option is included, meaning Scars is presented with a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track, sans any bells and whistles you might be hoping for. Voices remain clear and well prioritized throughout, although some of the violence and screaming tends to overwhelm bits of dialogue; quite purposefully I'd assume. Torture scenes sound as adequately horrifying as you'd imagine (including one of the band's stage performances, which struck me as real torture), and low-end output and rear speaker activity keeps matters fairly weighty and coming at you from all directions. But this is also a track that really reminds you just how much of a boost lossless audio can bring to an experience. Scars sometimes sounds weaker than it could, the rear channel elements aren't always as engaging as you'd expect, and more power in the subwoofer would have been welcome. Is that mostly a failing of the track's lossy nature? The film's original sound mix? Both? Who can say. But no one will argue that the sequel sounds as good as it looks. It simply doesn't.

What the Waters Left Behind: Scars Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Only two extras are included: a Scars trailer and a stills gallery.

What the Waters Left Behind: Scars Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

What the Waters Left Behind: Scars is a sequel with a surprisingly devilish premise and a striking look. Sadly, it lacks imagination and new ideas, borrowing heavily from horror films you've seen a dozen times before. Cleopatra's Blu-ray release is still a bit tempting, though, thanks to a fantastic video presentation. If only lossy audio and a lack of extras didn't make the rest of the disc a disappointment.