Candy Land

"Candy Land" is another entry in the seemingly never-ending stream of throwback exploitation/horror to 'back when the genre was still harsh and relentless. I normally would have passed, since too often these movies are incredibly disappointing, but gave it a chance after several friends and fellow reviewers (with whom I usually agree) said it was good and really worth checking out.

Guess what, ... it is! "Candy Land" is a refreshingly original and authentically gritty exploitation wild-ride, with strong performances from plausible actresses/actors, plenty of uncanny violence, and an extremely persuasive underbelly-of-America ambiance. Writer/director John Swab gives a realistic portrayal of a seedy truck-stop and roadside motel (I reckon, at least, it's not as if I visit those places very often).

A close group of sex workers at truck stop Candy Land shelter and care for a naïve and vulnerable young woman when she gets exiled from the fanatically religious sect she grew up in. The girl - Remy - gradually becomes a "lot lizard" herself, but the impressive wooden crucifix she carries around everywhere reveals that she might have a hidden agenda.

"Candy Land" benefices from extremely powerful and explicit opening sequences, as if John Swab promptly intends to make very clear that he's not about to conceal or romanticize anything in his film. We're talking about rough, emotionless sex sequences in filthy toilets or dark truck cabins, and brutal confrontations between prostitutes & God-freaks. The most intelligent and effective trick Swab pulls off, however, is that he patiently takes time to introduce the lead characters, and basically obliges the audience to sympathize and cheer for a band of prostitutes. And it works, too. Sadie, Levi, Riley, and Liv are sublime characters. Heck, even the cuckoo Remy and the imposing "Madame" Nora are somewhat likeable. Only the customers and sect-members are truly appalling. And maybe also William Baldwin, who puts down a courageous performance as the Sheriff.

Review title inspired by Iggy Pop's song "Candy"

Candy Land looks like a B-movie, feels like a B-movie, is a B-movie. Not that aren't good B-movies, but this one is just not one of them. The story is just a bit stupid. Plenty of murders, no investigations whatsoever, nobody slightly worried about the rising death toll, it's just bad writing. The acting is just average, certainly no award winners here. William Baldwin, the less famous one of the family, plays the sheriff, you wonder how he got that job as he's not slightly interested in doing any police work. He acts okay but his character is just dumb. I wouldn't waste my time with this one if I were you, there are much better movies than Candy Land.

Opening scene: 10/10. Newb producer, writer and director John Swab sure knows how to capture and maintain the audiences attention. This is Swab's only sixth filmmaking credit, and although not perfect, there is not one dull moment throughout the film's comfortable 93 min runtime. The pacing was decent for the most part, and his directing and camera shots were excellent. Even the colorful cast of outcasts performed well, although Olivia Luccardi as Remy could've used better cast direction in the first half. The story itself was a combination of genres mixed together and it actually worked. It wasn't perfect writing, but all this put together by a relatively inexperienced filmmaker was impressive. It's certainly worth at least a one-time watch, and a well deserved 8/10 from me.

Candy Land is another good example that it doesn't take a lot of different sets or a huge budget to create a visually appealing work - what a nice cinematography, but even better, what an incredible editing! - that, at the same time, fulfills its goals of entertaining with quality.

All this could seem like a kind of sexploitation. That's what the beginning of the first act implies. Calm down. Let those who already had stones to throw calm down. Let those who thought they were going to watch a porno also calm down. The first 15 minutes show more explicit nudity than what we're used to in North American cinema (which, truth be told, is very limited), but that's pretty much the end of it. Better yet, these women are true characters, all of them are very well built and are dignified by a story that doesn't just want to show their tits nor wants them to be seen only with pity. They do what they have to do, things are going relatively well and they form a real team with moments of real camaraderie that are very well-built. There's also a man in the same circumstances, but Candy Land's greatest triumph is that it's always interesting in the way it tells its story and explores gray areas.

Even when it commits excesses - such slaughter in such a short space of time makes us have to question our credulity in the story - it continues to be a work with something to say and very well constructed. It is in its excesses that it also has many of its virtues, but it is in its simplicity that its characters conquer us. It tells us a lot about prejudice, religious fanaticism, and friendship, without forgetting to entertain us and give us a real bloodbath.

Remember the 1970s? That would be helpful. Bottom line, Candy Land is what might happen if you took a Ninja blender and mixed together a 1970s sexploitation film and a 1970s slasher film. By that standard, the end result would be better than you might expect. The acting is solid, the script adequate, and the direction restrained. The typical over-amped soundtrack of the 1970s films -- where gaps in the action are filled in with raw noise -- is nowhere to be found, and that is a very good thing. In fact, almost every aspect of this film is toned down, and that works well too. The only recognizable star is William "Billy" Baldwin, who has been in the biz since the late 1980s. Above average for an indie. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))