Plot
A group of college students head out to
an ancient Indian burial ground to dig for artefacts where one of them becomes
possessed by a vengeful Native spirit and begins to kill off his friends.
Review
I can't recall too many slasher films
where boredom has been the main killer as opposed to some guy in a mask but
Scalps manages to instantly rise to the front of the pack in that respect.
It's been near impossible to find on VHS or DVD for years and there's definitely
a good reason for that - no one in their right mind would want to watch this
unless you suffer from insomnia. I
really can't get how this gets so many positive reviews from people on the internet.
Displaying the "one of the most censored films in history" tag like a badge on
honour on the DVD sleeve, Scalps just isn't what it's cracked up to be
and certainly not deserving of such a tag.
The first half of the film is incredibly dull and
long-winded. It takes far too long for the students to arrive at the
burial ground so if slow burners are your thing, then this will be right up your
alley. However I like my slasher films a bit more even-paced and the wait
between the token opening scene kill and the eventual "massacre" at the end is
just a little too long and drawn out. Unfortunately they blow one of their
biggest set pieces to kick off the film and it leaves a disappointing taste in
the mouth when it doesn't deliver more and deliver it quicker. There's too much driving around, too much
walking and definitely too much talking going on. It's filler of the lowest
quality and with the film's running time as low as it is, you don't really need
to pad it out anymore with constant shots of the characters walking around the
desert. It's not like we're even interested in these characters because they're
just not engaging in the slightest. The script is laden with terrible lines but
in better hands, at least they may have made something of it. The acting is
terrible although the poor sound quality certainly doesn't help them. Some
scenes are too loud. Others seem to lack sound at all. Scalps could
definitely work as one of those films where you ad-lib your own dialogue because
it's much more fun!
Thankfully things pick up towards
the final twenty minutes when one of the characters is possessed and finally
starts dishing out some Native Indian revenge. The film then shifts into more
familiar exploitative territory with gore and rape the order of the day. I can't
understand how this has become one of the most censored films in history.
There's only one scalping for crying out loud! The title clearly stated "Scalps"
which is plural. It's the film's best moment however despite the best efforts of
the make-up team to botch the job done. Maybe the grainy quality of the film
helps the effect look a little more brutal and realistic that it clear was. At
least it is gory. There's also a half-decent slow-motion chase scene which is
ruined by some awful day-for-night cinematography. But cherry picking this film
for entertainment is a near impossible task and sitting through this arduous
endurance test is just not worth seeing some half-assed gore effects for.
Verdict
Scalps will test the patience of even a die hard Fred Olen Ray connoisseur.
It may be book-ended with gore moments that will satisfy but it's the other
fifty or so minutes that will have you reaching for the stop button long before
the end.
