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| Images courtesy of MVD Visual |
The work of indie horror writer-director John Swab isn’t known
much yet outside of festival circuits or smaller outfits and streaming
networks, starting out with films like Run with the Hunted or Body Brokers
but still operating under the radar.
However, with her supporting appearance in It Follows and her terrifying
neo-Nazi murderess in Soft & Quiet and now John Swab’s 2022 horror film
Candy Land, the work of actress Olivia Luccardi is becoming increasingly
well known as one of contemporary cinema’s most ferocious horror heavies since
the recent emergence of Mia Goth. Starting
out usually in the background before slowly menacing her way to the center
stage, Luccardi is a remarkable new screen talent who usually herself winds up
being the most frightening thing about the horror shows she’s starring in and Candy
Land released through MVD Visual is no exception.
In the American Midwest in the open desert terrain lies a
group of truck stop sex workers dubbed ‘lot lizards’ comprised of Sadie (Sam
Quartin), Riley (Eden Brolin), Liv (Virginia Rand) and Levi (Owen Campbell) ruled
with an iron fist by madam Nora (Guinevere Turner from American Psycho)
and occasionally treaded upon by local Sheriff Rex (William Baldwin). One morning a young religious, naïve sexually
repressed woman named Remy (Olivia Luccardi) appears on their doorstep after
having recently been cast out of a cult and quickly ingratiates herself with
the lot lizards keen on grooming her into becoming one of their own in the line
of truck stop prostitution. Unbeknownst
to the group of rough and tough escort girls, their matriarch and law enforcement,
there’s a pious purge secretly in the works which our mysterious seemingly
innocent naif intends on carrying out.
Starting off like a Gas Food Lodging type of
midwestern sex drama before making a sharp invasive detour into literal and
figurative blood bathing spiraling out of control towards an everybody-dies
type shocker, Candy Land like its outwardly innocent and pure knife
wielder lulls you into a false sense of security before slowly transforming into
a thriller. A bit of a chamber piece as
much of the activity takes place in the truck stop arena with occasional forays
into hotel rooms or front seats of diesel trucks, one of the strengths of the
film is how it fools you into thinking we’re entering an ensemble piece about
the lives and hardships of sex workers before something else no one’s expecting
simply appears before them.
Visually speaking Will Stone’s modest digital cinematography
is pretty and picturesque when it is regarding the open desert terrain on the
outskirts of the truck stop lots and David Sardy’s score is serviceable to the
steadily horror-oriented proceedings. The
ensemble cast including but not limited to William Baldwin fresh off of his
turn in Too Old to Die Young as a crusty local sheriff. Sam Quartin, Eden Brolin, Virginia Rand and
Owen Campbell all make the sex workers into tough rugged women who have been
around the block and are quick to assume the role of mentorship to their new “innocent”
recruit. As aforementioned with Soft
& Quiet, the reason to see this film is for Olivia Luccardi who is
starting to give Mia Goth a run for her money in terms of leaving an
unforgettable, searing impression that is equal parts horny but mostly
homicidal. That’s two movies in a row
Luccardi crept into an ensemble piece only to completely steal the show from
everyone.
Released on streaming and blu-ray disc from MVD Visual as
well as a director-commentary and digital press kit, Candy Land is another
solid addition to the indie-horror thriller subgenre with an unlikely mixture
of sex, religion and the so-called acts of “cleansing”. Spearheaded by a ferocious new female horror heavy
who is almost like a cheetah, Luccardi more than makes the film integral to any
bloodthirsty slasher fan’s ever-expanding collection of thrills and chills. Surprisingly well made, uncompromising and
leaving you with much to ponder once the horrors have ceased, Candy Land represents
another important new release from MVD Visual and genre fans should take keen
notice of Olivia Luccardi as an explosive new horror talent unafraid to go off
the deep end with reckless, almost feral abandon.
--Andrew Kotwicki
