Another Hole in the Head Film Festival Coverage
Scalper review.
The sequel to 2021’s Night Caller. Scalper features great gore effects and a fantastic twist on the investigation horror story. It covers a lot of the more questionable moments.
Festival reviews will not contain spoilers.
Scalper
Directed by Chad Ferrin
Written by Chad Ferrin
Starring Susan Priver, Jake Busey, Bai Ling, Kate Patel, Elina Madison, Robert Milano, Robert Rhine and Timothy Muskatell
Scalper Review
Full disclosure: I’ve never seen Night Caller, the 2021 movie for which Scalper serves as a direct sequel. I plan to rectify that soon…but felt there was merit in reviewing writer/director Chad Ferrin’s follow up with no previous knowledge. These things have to stand on their own, right? I’m pleased to report that Scalper does just that. With excellent gore effects and a gimmick that makes the investigative horror story feel fresh and exciting…this is a fun watch without seeing Night Caller. It is obvious, however, that seeing its predecessor will make this film even better. While the movie does its best to catch you up…it feels very tightly wound to the original. The movie can’t stop every time a reference is made to explain it.
Clementine (Susan Priver) is a medium whose ESP allows her to communicate with the dead. She’s called into action hen a masked man begins scalping his victims. A strange thing given she killed the scalper killer last movie. Is this a copycat…or a resurrection?
Scalper is an investigative horror movie. What makes it feel so fresh is the way Clementine is able to investigate. She can sense murders…which means we get to see them through her eyes. The dead can tell her what they know…show her what investigators don’t normally get to see. It’s an exciting twist on the well-worn investigation story. From an impromptu interview with a corpse on a medical slab to reliving the torturous ending of a friend…Scalper finds unique ways to tell its story at every turn.
It does so with excellent gore effects. If you are the kind of person who enjoys skin ripping or a face peeling (and I’d like to believe that you do) you’ll find what you’re looking for here. There is some fun, gnarly stuff in Scalper. Early in the story, Clementine relives the death of her friend and returning character from Night Caller Jade (the always excellent Bai Ling). It goes much further than simply seeing the events that led to her demise. A faceless Jade speaks directly to Clementine while awaiting her final cut. It’s tremendous.
Now…it’s not all faceless Bai Ling’s and intense corpse interrogations. Some of Scalper is downright silly. For as great as the gore effects are…there are a few weird makeup and digital effect choices too. Most of what lost me while watching it though seemed to be connected to the first movie…so it’s harder to judge it here. Just know that you can have a good time with Scalper…but there may be times where you scratch your heads at characters or events. To be expected, sure…but one specific thing feels like a completely out of left field scene that is jarring given the story to that point. I’m sure it makes sense if you’ve seen Night Caller. If you haven’t it feels like you’ve jumped into a completely different world for a few minutes.
Scalper can feel a bit sloppy at times…but the fun kind of sloppy. There are more than enough awesome moments and cool concepts to make it worth your while. Any movie that begins with a masked man shocking the pointy end of a knife up someone’s behind can only stray so far from awesome. If nothing else…it’s innovative storytelling and truly fun gore effects make Scalper one to keep on your radar. But you should probably watch Night Caller first. As of the day this review was written…it can be seen for free on Vudu, Tubi and Freevee. So, you really don’t have an excuse. Or…I guess…I didn’t have an excuse. But I’ll be fixing that soon enough.
Scare Value
There are plenty of things you could pick apart in Scalper. The pacing isn’t great…some of the supernatural moments are more silly than effective…you should really be familiar with Night Caller before watching… But there are enough great things here to deliver a fun movie. The psychic elements add a ton to the investigative horror story. Wonderful gore effects throughout. Entertaining even if you haven’t seen Night Caller…but almost certainly better if you have.
3/5
Scalper Link
Rent/Buy on VOD from VUDU
