Candiland

I recently had the opportunity to screen this indie film based on the book by Elizabeth Engstrom and produced by Motorcycle Boy Productions. Additionally, I interviewed the two leads, James Clayton and Chelah Horsdal, and I knew that in screening this film, I would be stepping further outside my comfort zone than I ever had before. And that is entirely correct. I am not a fan of psychological thrillers as a rule–except Hitchcock, if you can call some of his films that–but I was determined to go in with the mindset of a reviewer. I do want to warn you that if you are offended by gratuitous sex (no nudity, thankfully) or superfluous profanity, you may wish to skip this film. On one level, I could have done without either of those. However, I set aside all that for the purposes of the review, and the remainder of this review will be spent on the content and acting from an artistic standpoint.

For the entire review, please go to the link on my website: http://mydevotionalthoughts.net/2017/02/candiland-film-review.html

This movie haunted me it is so bad. I watched it online where it was misrepresented as having a high IMDb. I would have turned it off in the first 30 seconds, but thought there has to be something good here with such a high rating. The idea that this turd had 8+ rating was eating at me, so I found this site, where the rating is actually much lower.

The film is composed of what seems like 20 second scenes. Each scene may include different characters at a different time frame. The short, scattered scenes would normally be even more annoying, but they are so bad that the viewer is happy to see them end.

The plot summary is more than a spoiler. It is more understandable than the actual movie.

A very weird film where a couple decides to lock themselves in the apartment and paint it to resemble a candy land. Shutting the outside world off they easily enter their new world, which at first seems heavenly, then slowly transcends into hell.

They both have more issues than Sports Illustrated which is why you never get surprised at some of the things they do. This film drags a lot of times and suffers from poor editing.

Gary Busey plays the mans over bearing father who is mostly responsible for the mental health of his son. When I first seen the poster for this (the one with the skull) I thought it was going to be a twisted Charlie And The Chocolate Factory but instead we get two people starving themselves for an hour and a half.

Low-budget, and the biggest name (or at least most recognizable) is Gary Busey. But...the writing is great, the acting is superb, and relatively-new-guy Rusty Nixon shows promise as a director.

Particularly fascinating is Clayton's performance; the boy suffered for his art as few will ever attempt (I won't say how, but I can guarantee that what he did ain't special effects).

I hope this comes out theatrically, but if it doesn't, it's definitely worth a stream.

I don't really have much more to say, but IMDb insists on "ten lines", so here it is.

The Plot. Peter, a failed tennis star, is struggling to rebuild his life after a car accident forces the end of his career.

Angry at the world's consumerist values and his controlling father, Arnie, who he blames for being absent during his mother's dying days, Peter is desperately searching for a moment's peace.

In an attempt at normality, he heads to a bar for a night out, where he encounters recently divorced and grieving Tess, abandoned and lonely. Finding solace in each other's brokenness, they withdraw to Peter's apartment and begin a sensual love affair.

Days of bliss pass by, and when Tess reluctantly tries to leave to deal with the aftermath of her divorce, Peter proposes an idea: isolate themselves in his apartment to create their own reality - CANDiLAND.

Now cut off from the world, the tormented lovers embark on a dogmatic quest for a higher existence.

But their possessive love descends into a surreal savagery as Arnie attempts to reconnect with his son and put an end to CANDiLAND.

I was looking forward to seeing this movie given the rave reviews. Should have known. The two good reviews are clearly written by people who have skin in the game.

This movie is well nigh unwatchable. It's poorly written, horribly directed and the acting is horrendous.

The only good thing about this movie is that it's colorful. Period.