WHAT THE WATERS LEFT BEHIND: SCARS (aka LOS OLVIDADOS: CICATRICES, 2023)

New On Demand, DVD, Blu-ray from Cleopatra Entertainment!
Directed by Nicolas Onetti.
Written by Camilio Zaffora.
Starring David Michigan, Mario Alarcon, Magui Bravi, German Baudino, Agustin Olcese, Clara Kovacic, Maria Eugenia Rigon, Matías Desiderio, Juan Pablo Bishel, Chucho Fernández, Mario Alarcón, David Michigan, Paula Brasca, Raymond E. Lee

One of the Onetti Brothers, Nicolas, who co-wrote and directed the original WHAT THE WATERS LEFT BEHIND as well as the semi-successful Giallo riffs ABRAKADABRA and FRANCESCA has brought forth a sequel, WHAT THE WATERS LEFT BEHIND: SCARS. The film begins with what seems to be a preamble, depicting an early act of cannibalism during a military conflict set in the Falkland Islands, circa 1982. I guess, the point of this scene was to say that this family has had a history of cannibalism that goes back for a while.

After that gruesome scene, the time shifts to present day as a metal band named The Ravens plays a seedy nightclub in Argentina. We have some getting to know you time, displaying how the band is strapped for cash and at each others throats as they’ve been touring for a while. The drummer meets a slutty siren named Carla (Magui Bravi) who tempts the band to come to her place to have a real Argentinian cookout. This leads the band to Epecuén, a once thriving vacation attraction by the ocean that was devastated by a hurricane. It’s a ghost town, completely flooded with buildings in rubble or half submerged in thick muck. When one of the band members go missing, the rest try to find them, leading them to meet Carla’s family, which is made up of inbred cannibals, each with their own unique horrors to unleash.

I found WHAT THE WATERS LEFT BEHIND to be a soulless and blatant copy of THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE and its sequel is sort of the same. Carla is a glorified version of the Hitchhiker, luring our mobile home full of victims to her home. There’s an older man (Mario Alarcón) who seems like an elder, representative of the family who even looks like an Argentinian version of the Cook. And there are a few characters who are hulking monsters who pose a physical threat while looking menacing just like Leatherface. Sure, each has their own kind of kink. One’s a rapist, one’s a sadist, one’s a chef who terrorizes his meat before carving, but basically, they are doing the job of what Leatherface has done in the original TCM and all of its sequels.

I will say that the band has much more character in this film than the hapless victims in the first film did. They’re better actors and look more distinct, though their arguments feel forced at times. While one might say a band who gets along this badly would never be together, the fact that they are in dire need of money and have been touring for quite a while explains why they are all tied together quite well. The leads, Javi (the band’s tour manager, played by Agustin Olcese) and lead singer Jane (Clara Kovacic) are both solid, personable actors with a nice little unrequited love story going on between them. As are the cocky guitarist Mark (Juan Pablo Bishel) and his vapid groupie Sophie (Maria Eugenia Rigon) though their characters are much more one note. Then there’s the crazy family who all are ok, but seem to be playing from the same, giggling psychopath playbook. All of them seem to take great delight in the tortures they inflict and really, the only differences come from their various ROAD WARRIOR costumes they are sporting.

SCARS seems to linger less on the torture and rape, which was another complaint I had from the first film. Oh, they’re there, it’s just that it’s all not as gratuitous and less time is spent lingering on the horrible acts. The film is bloody and grimy, as each family member seems to have his or her own little room where they do their heinous deeds in. This gives the film a funhouse feel as the victims make their way around the home experiencing one shock after another.

What WHAT THE WATERS LEFT BEHIND and its sequel have going for it is the town of Epecuén. This is an actual place. The history of the flooding is real as evidenced by the black and white footage during the opening credits. The skeletal trees jutting out from the waters, decimated buildings, and pools of mud on either sides of the lonely streets is a character all its own. There seems to be a resentment towards the Argentinian government that is conveyed through both films, as the city seems to be something the rest of the country has left behind, leaving it for these cannibals to move in and claim for their own. Had the filmmakers taken more time to establish the character of this ghost town and taken advantage of the treacherous environment, WHAT THE WATERS LEFT BEHIND and its sequel, SCARS, would have had something unique going for it. But that doesn’t happen. The focus is inside of the cannibals home, which is much less original. I’m surprised with all of those mud pits and sludge, how no one in the crew seem to think of having a scene where the actors or killers get down and dirty in that muck. It’s an environment screaming to be used in a horror movie, but it is never dived into thoroughly and messily.

WHAT THE WATERS LEFT BEHIND: SCARS is much more digestible than the gratuitous original. It’s characters are better and there’s even some development between the bad guys. I will say that I did really like the music played by the band, THE RAVENS, as well as what was used over the credits sequences and if you like metal music, I think you will too. Though it doesn’t bring a lot to THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE-style family of maniacs sub-genre, I definitely prefer SCARS to the uninspired original.

Check out the trailer here!!