Summer Scars

I watched this film in 2018 although released in 2007. I loved it. It really reminded me of a darker version of the old Children's Film Foundation movies that I watched as a child in the 70's. It reminded me of my childhood playing in woodlands..and encounters with bullies as well as the 'odd' adults me and my friends would encounter. Aged 16 me and my friends made a 5 minute film in nearby woods and it also created nostalgia for my youth now well gone. All the actors and the actress were superb in their roles and very natural. The whole short film passed with a perfect pace. Like all films I like I also say that it might not be for everyone..no flashy effects or high budget here..just a solid British film. Again I thought it was brilliant..well done to all involved.

Set in Great Britain with young kids who think they are punks. They are young and listen to foul rap lyrics, and think of themselves as tough kids. They steal a motor bike, and head off to a wooded area where they have sort of a camp. Joy riding on the bike, they hit a man on the trail, so they abandon the bike and run back to the camp. But along comes the man. He says he won't hurt them, but he feels they need a little toughening up. They need more fortitude, and he can give that to them. He says he don't hurt anyone but he has a pellet gun to enforce his will. Towards the end of the movie, it takes a dark turn. A very dark turn. And that will leave scars.

This new feature from Julian Richards the director of THE LAST HORROR MOVIE boasts another 'volcanic' performance by Kevin Howarth. It would spoil the fun of SUMMER SCARS to reveal what exactly happens, but this morality tale, which takes place entirely in a forest, is an unsettling film about abuse, mental, emotional and physical.

This is a film that has resonance with a youth crime phenomenon in Britain. As knife crime dominates London and teen suicide dominates Wales, the best screen villains are now not serial killers or zombies but contemporary British youth (although In SUMMER SCARS the teens are more anti-hero than villain).

The irony, of course, is that SUMMER SCARS works precisely because of this social context, and not despite it. It is beautifully shot and intensely acted, and it's queasy approach to youth culture gives it a fascinating attraction.

We've had troubled youth movies in the past, everything from BULLY to MEAN CREEK, but this bold marriage of topicality and slick genre formatting is startling and defiantly un-Hollywood.

I could've also written "Down and dirty" as a headline, but I chose the nice try one. It is actually a really nice movie. It has dark drama and psychological subtext to it. Some very disturbing scenes and feels very "real".

The actors enhance your impression of the rawness and the realness of the movie. Whethere you think that is a good thing or not, is entirely up to you. Which will also be leaning your likeness for or against the movie. That some sociological problems are brought up to, is another good point for the movie. Entertainment this ain't, especially because it's not afraid to pull punches ... Which is also it's downfall at any given moment. Still worth a look!

Anyone who recalls misspent summers of youth will understand well how a single day can echo down the years. Like the similarly resonant stories of Rob Reiner's Stand by Me, or much of Shane Meadows's work, Summer Scars captures fragile youth at a turning point, with cracks opening up to the darker adult world.

Six friends bunk off school to spend the day in the woods. Armed with a few cans of beer and some very inadequate barbecue skills, they're free to do just what 14-year-olds do best: show off, swear, fight and spend the day just hanging out together. The first reel of Julian Richards's low budget drama is spent solely in the company of these six. Like most real kids they're certainly no angels, and might qualify as 'hoodies' in a cruder film.

Riding a stolen moped around the bumpy woodland paths, two of the gang collide with a lone adult, Peter (Howarth). They fear the worst, and leg it from the scene, but Peter is unharmed and soon emerges to join the group. Attention turns to this unknown quantity, and the focus of the group shifts. Peter seems to be 'down with the kids'. He's sympathetic, and is soon leading the gang into new scrapes.

But Peter can't be pinned down – one minute he's offering life lessons to his young charges, the next he seems more sinister, playing divide and conquer, and easily exploiting tensions by turning friends against one another. As the afternoon wears on, events take worrying turns, and it appears Peter's agenda may be closing in on the gang.

This low-budget indie thriller makes all the right moves with an engagingly 'real' cast of youngsters. Never patronising and edgy throughout, it's a heartfelt picture of fragile adolescent faiths.