Horror movies and 3D began life as a pairing made in heaven (or maybe Hell would be more appropriate) with monsters, grue, and gore flying out the screen at horror audiences from as early as the 1950’s. The trend had a resurgence in the ‘80’s with such heavyweight franchises as Friday the Thirteenth, Nightmare on Elm Street and even Jaws all getting on the red and blue bandwagon. After all that campy fun it seemed that the trend for sitting in the cinema wearing a pair of ridiculous glasses had died out again but with much improved 3D technology and only marginally less dorky looking glasses, a whole new slew of 3D horror titles is on the way and first out of the gates is Scar 3D.

Scar tells the story of Joan (Angela Bettis), a young woman who as a teenager was captured and tortured by a local serial killer. Although she managed to defeat and kill the murderer her return coincides with a fresh spate of killings – all with a very familiar MO. It isn’t long before she finds herself both a target and a suspect and it also isn’t long before the audience start yawning at such an overused plot device. Unfortunately this not the only aspect of the script that disappoints and as the fairly slight story chugs on and bodies start piling up so do the forced contrivances, outright impossibilities and cases of baffling logic. These flaws aren’t always too damaging to a fun slasher flick but Scar takes itself just a little too seriously to get away with it.

The mood is perpetually grim aided by the bleak and washed out cinematography which at times becomes just a little too dark. The lead characters are damaged haunted individuals who may be realistic portrayals of trauma victims but are certainly no fun to watch. The tone is inconsistent with the genre, a problem exacerbated by the technically impressive but ultimately redundant use of 3D. In the main this effect is used simply as a visual style which though a little distracting at times is well executed. There are however a few misjudged moments where it seems that the film completely forgets about the atmosphere it has been toiling to create and turns to the audience with a big goofy grin saying ‘look what I can do!’. A scene where a young woman takes off her bra and dangles it in front of the camera is a particularly jarring example of this problem and though naked breasts are an always welcome staple of the slasher movie, here it just seems like it is a scene from a different movie.

There are also some distinctly unsavoury undertones present that are impossible to ignore. The film often veers into torture porn territory but unlike many films in this oeuvre the victims here are exclusively female with their merciless sadistic tormenters being male. The girls’ torture scenes and eventual deaths are long, gory and very unpleasant and while it may seem odd to criticize a horror film for its use of violence and horror here it just feels wrong.

Aside from this, the gore scenes are effectively directed and do exactly what they are supposed to do – make the audience squirm (or if the press is to be believed pass out in shock as one man at an early screening is reported to have done). The cast is strong as well and though Bettis is not quite up to her usual level here she is very ably supported especially by Kirby Bliss Blanton and Britney Wilson.

Scar is not a complete disaster but its mismatched tone, discomforting undertones and lack of any real ideas of its own make this a viewing experience that no amount of 3D boobs can save.

Rating: 6/10

Review By Matt Compton