Scalper

Granted, I haven't watched the 2021 movie "Night Caller", so I don't know how much of a direct continuation this 2023 movie titled "Scalper" is of the 2021 movie. Nor do I know how much information I am missing out on by not having seen that movie, in order to properly enjoy "Scalper".

The storyline and script for "Scalper" is written by Chad Ferrin, whom also directed the movie. In fact, Chad Ferrin also wrote and directed the 2019 movie "Night Caller", so I assume that would make for a well-planned continuation of the storyline from "Night Caller" here in "Scalper". I have to admit that while the movie was fair enough, the storyline was a bit bland and generic. Writer and director didn't really deliver anything that proved to be overly innovative or groundbreaking. And as the narrative progressed without much of anything thrilling going on, I was gradually losing my interest in the movie.

The cast ensemble in "Scalper" is good, and there are some familiar faces on the cast list, with the likes of Jake Busey and Bai Ling. I noticed that some of the cast members in this 2023 movie are returning to reprise their characters from the 2021 movie "Night Caller", and that is nice I suppose, despite I haven't watched "Night Caller". What happened to Jake Busey, when did he turn into sort of a clone of Donald Trump?

There were some nice enough effects in "Scalper", and the effects helped to make the movie a bit more bearable to sit through.

I was lead to believe that "Scalper" was a horror movie, when I sat down to watch it, but it was actually more of a thriller. And a boring on at that.

This is not a movie that will grace my screen a second time, nor is it a movie that I will recommend for horror fans to rush out and get to watch. Unless you are a newcomer to the horror genre, then this movie just simply was too bland.

My rating of "Scalper" lands on a three out of ten stars.

After surviving the previous massacre, the psychic starts to receive the same visions and flashes that happened with her previous encounter with the dead killer causing her to team up with the investigating detectives to stop the killer before he strikes more victims around her.

Overall, this was a fairly fun follow-up that has a lot going on. One of the better elements here is the strong setup that plays quite nicely with the implications found in the original and using them to continue the experience. As she's now come into her own with her powers and abilities after doubting herself in the original, the personal success she has with the newfound fame she experiences is a nice enough touch to follow up on that storyline, much like her continued experiences with the other survivors around her. With the interactions with the police officers who were colleagues with those on the previous case and her father being shown suffering the effects of the first encounter, this all comes together to bring about a highly effective setup following on from the original. Upon establishing the connections to the past, the attempts at going off in a new direction bring about some fun times here. Connecting things quite nicely by having the victims emerge as interconnecting pieces from the first film, the idea of tying up loose ends comes across rather nicely while also serving to bring about more involved stalking and killing scenes to take them out. With the impressive confrontation of the homeless man to open this on, the friend being stalked in their home while the encounter is broadcast during a live radio show, the encounter on her father, and the final big attack at the church, this one brings about quite a lot to enjoy as the rather gruesome kills here come off incredibly brutal as a result. These manage to provide a lot of positives to hold this one up even though there are a few issues with this one. The main issue here is the generally underwhelming and shockingly unrealized finale where it feels immensely flawed in most regards. Featuring a slew of unresolved questions that emerge here from the decision to reveal the killer at that point rather than build to something here when it has no outcome that makes sense with the particular build-up. It feels awkward and forced, especially with a clumsy workaround for the reveal that makes it seem like there are multiple killers due to how badly edited the whole scene is and is then immediately over a minute or so later without any kind of big confrontation. As well, the low-budget setup is a bit of an issue to get over and stands out at points throughout here, but beyond that, this is the main drawback on display.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.