What the Waters Left Behind: Scars

Horror mythologies can be as complex, fascinating and ridiculous as anything dreamed up by the Greeks.  But fans always appreciate the effort.  That’s why it’s tough to dismiss What the Waters Left Behind: Scars (2022) – a sequel to the 2017 Argentinian original – as nothing more than a metastasized re-occurrence of the short-lived French New Extremity wave…which itself owes a big debt to ‘70s grunge horror like Texas Chainsaw.  Director Nicolas Onetti doubles down on backstory and scales back the gore to produce a second chapter that outdoes the first entry…if only by a bloody hair or two.

On the last stop of their tour, five English rockers are lured to the town of Epecuèn by a suspiciously horny local girl.  Blindsided by the other members of her family, the group is imprisoned, raped (both males and females), and prepared for the big barbecue…in which they are to be the main course!

 

First off, Epecuèn is a real place; and it’s an astonishing shooting local.  A popular resort developed in the ‘20s, a massive flood forced the evacuation of all residents.  When the water receded 30 years later it revealed a bleached-white ghost town of skeletal trees and ruined structures.  Scars actually gets more mileage out of the location than the original (which leaned on a lot of night scenes) and gives the film an eerie Hills Have Eyesvibe until things eventually move underground.

 

This time around there’s a more nationalistic flavor to the cannibalistic proceedings, starting with a montage over the opening credits rehashing the scandal of the Falkland War (still a hot topic in Argentina).  Our Sawyer-family lookalikes are actually ex-combat veterans who take great pleasure in butchering their English victims as some sort of gruesome reparation.  But they don’t settle for a pound of flesh.  Scars is a nasty bit of business.  Onetti has the courage to cut away from time to time, which gives the film some class and his actors are all well above the horror movie bell curve.  That, along with a spot-on oversaturated style, makes this sequel stands-out among others that might just settle for being “content.”

 

The Blu-ray courtesy of Cleopatra Entertainment features a great transfer, accurate subtitles (although the dialogue switches between English and Spanish) but no extras besides a trailer and slide show.

 

 

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