Nor do you have to know anything about the Falklands War, which has always been limited to how it was covered in the comic strip Bloom County (to the best of my knowledge). Zaffora cleverly gives a rundown of the conflict while leaving viewers with a mouthful of blood. We then have images during the opening credits of slaughterhouses intercut with military leaders praising the war. This adds an extra layer of subtext that carries through the entire movie. All the rapes, flesh-eating, and soccer matches keep being tied symbolically to the massacres that occurred due to horrific decisions by the government. All of this whetted my appetite to seek out the first installment, which makes this sequel a roaring success by bringing new victims into the fold.
Of course, your enjoyment of What The Waters Left Behind: Scars is going to hinge on how much you enjoy the cinema of brutality. The atmosphere is so thick with evil it will burn through the skin of your eyelids. The effects are painful looking and are used precisely to make one cringe. I was impressed by how unpleasant it was able to be without being wall-to-wall graphic. Onetti plants the seeds of atrocities in your head with fleeting details that expand like a contagion through your imagination. If everything that happens in the story were shown onscreen, this would be banned on five planets.
“…things feel truly dangerous.”
Onetti is able, in several instances, to rev up the intensity, making things feel truly dangerous. In turn, the viewer starts feeling everything lose control, causing higher investment due to the intense stakes. The performances are of the highest caliber; these actors know how to play hurt. Kudos to Kovacic and Rigon for totally legitimate performances as musicians, particularly Kovacic’s sick Fairuza Balk tee.
Yes, What The Waters Left Behind: Scars is essentially an Argentinian The Hills Have Eyes sequel. If the idea of that intrigues you, take a bite. I now want to see the first film and am eager to check out the next sequel. So what did the waters leave behind this time? A grisly, vicious horror picture whose stylish edge is serrated so that it can cut through your bones like butter.
"…now want to see the first film and am eager to check out the next sequel."
