MCBASTARD'S MAUSOLEUM: WHAT THE WATERS LEFT BEHIND: SCARS (2022) (Cleopatra Entertainment Blu-ray Review)

WHAT THE WATERS LEFT BEHIND: SCARS (2022)

Label: Cleopatra Entertainment
Region Code: Region-Free

Duration: 85 Minutes 14 Seconds

Rating: Unrated

Audio: English/Spanish DTS-HD MA 5.1 or LPCM 2.- stereo with Optional English Subtitles.

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.351)
Director: Nicolas Onetti
Cast: Agustin Olcese, Clara Kovacic, German Baudino, Juan Pablo Bishel, Magui Bravi, Maria Rigon, Matias Desiderio

In the gruesome shocker What the Waters Left Behind: Scars (2022), directed by Nicolas Onetti, one-half of the Onetti Bros. who directed the retro-giallo Abrakadabra (2018), American alt-metal rockers The Ravens are touring Argentina; we have vocalist/bassist Jane (Clara Kovacic, Abrakadabra), guitarist Mark (Juan Pablo Bishel), drummer Billy Bob (Matias Desiderio), Mark's outspoken girlfriend

Sophie (Maria Eugenia Ragon, Abrakadabra), plus the band's manager/driver Javi (Augustin Olcese, The Red Book Ritual). They put on a bangin' show for a sparse crowd and after the gig Billy Bob hooks up with sexy metal-chick Carla (Magui Bravi, The 100 Candles Game), who invites them to stay that night at her father's place in nearby Villa Epecuén, with the promise of some genuine Argentinian BBQ, which sounds good to the cash-strapped indie band. Enroute there's a bit of a spat when the other bandmates become irritated by the sounds of Billy Bob and Carla loudly fucking in the back of the bus, there's an argument and Carla and the drummer take off on foot down a dirt road in the middle of nowhere, with Carla ominously noting that they will regret this decision. When they go to collect their incensed bandmate he is nowhere to be found, and they find themselves travelling to Villa Epecuén to find their bandmate and get the fuck out of Argentinian dodge.

The location of Villa Epecuén is a whole character unto itself, a very real city that was once a thriving tourist village, in 1985 was submerged by 30ft feet of water when a nearby damn burst, it remained submerged for over 25 years until the waters began to recede years later exposing the creepy remnant of the abandoned village. That is the location of this film and it makes for an eerie and quite unique backdrop to the carnage about to befall these capturing the desolate surrounding. I usually feel that drone footage is way overused, and often poorly, in indie flicks, but they use the overhead shots to great effect to establish not just the alien nature of the ghost town, but showcasing just how remote and isolated it is from anything else.

The band enter the eerily empty and dilapidated village and start their search on foot, a task made more difficult by rising tensions and internal conflict between each other, so they split up. They don't initially find their friend, but Carla shows up, not alone either, she's brought with her whole family, a fucked-up clan of miscreants hellbent on violence - yup, we're right smack dab in the middle of Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Wrong Turn, Frontier(s) sort of flick folks! The clan consist of patriarch Tadeo (Mario Alarcon, Panic in the Forest), rape enthusiast Antonio (German Bandino, Abracadabra), the sadistic goat-skull wearing Chimango (Chucho Fernandez), and the hulking mute Tito (David Michigan). The bandmates are subjugated, beaten, raped (both male and female) and tortured - one is subjected to a pulverizing facial beating administered by Tito, and one of the gals get an acid bath, throats are slashed, and there's plenty more gore, but I don't want to give it all away. The story itself about a rural clan living in isolation terrifying a group of strangers who wind up in the wrong place at the wrong time is nothing new, TCM covered all the bases back in the early 70's and there have been innumerable imitations ever since, but this one succeeds despite the lack of originality of the plot by having a very unique location, as well as some terrific characters played with gusto my a talented group of actors. The archetypes are familiar but quite well acted, as the demented suspect-BBQ grampa Alarcon gives such a wonderfully unhinged turn, that demented smile of his definitely fucked with me. We also get a pair of Choptop style sick-fucks, and the hulking mute Leatherface type, and in grand TCM tradition we get a sit-down at the dinner table scene. The mood and tone here is quite grim, there's no humor to break up the dread, it's dirty and fucked-up, and if that's your bag this is a pretty terrific entry in the fucked-up family sub-genre. The gore is well-executed with plenty of bloody mean-spiritedness, I also appreciated that the rapey stuff was not overly graphic and while seen it's more implied, the violence and gore of it all is quite enough without drowning me in the misery of rape. The film is quite well-made, the visuals are top-notch, it's well lit, the composition is skilled, and the the use of light and shadow sets a dour mood for sure, this is quite a gem. Again, not original by any means, but it's executed deftly and it breezes by at 85-minutes, which is just about the perfect length for a slasher in my opinion.

Low and behold I was surprised to discover after watching this that it's a follow-up of sorts to What the Water Left Behind (2017) which was directed by the Nicolás and Luciano Onetti, and is currently available on Blu-ray and DVD from Unearthed Films. I liked this quite a bit so I will most certainly be seeking it out, but let me just say that there's no requirement to watch that film to enjoy this sequel, it worked just fine on it's, and it felt like a complete singular flick all on it's own.

Audio/Video: What the Waters Left Behind: Scars (2022) arrives on region-free Blu-ray from Cleopatra Entertainment

in 1080p HD widescreen framed in 2.35:1 widescreen. The digital shot film looks terrific with good colors, finely detailed texture and excellent black levels with good shadow detail. All in all the attractive lensing in well served by the transfer, zero complaints. Audio comes by way of either English/Spanish DTS-HD MA 5.1 or PCM 2.0 stereo with optional English subtitles. Both tracks are solid with excellent fidelity, dialogue is crisp and clean and the Luciano Onetti sounds fine. The only extras are an HD trailer for the film, additional Cleopatra Trailers, plus a brief slideshow set to the score from the film. The single-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork,