Scarred (1983)

Living on the streets is tough. Not being able to speak from experience, but merely influenced via film, books, and true-life events, the trials and tribulations involved with those that rely on the hard concrete for support are harsh. Any book will strike fear within your mind, a film will give you the visuals, and take a few moments to watch the news - there is nothing but honesty there! Upon viewing Scarred, I want to make sure that it is realized that I do not mock those that have to endure the hardship. With that said, Scarred is a visual and cinematic disgrace to those living on the streets. From the painfully blurry cinematography to the atrocious character-less story all the way to whatever our actors were trying to accomplish, Scarred failed. I am not afraid to say, admit, discuss the less-than-redeeming value that Scarred brought to the player. Not only was it embarrassing for everyone involved, but - well - I didn't even finish it. Admittingly, I did fast forward until the end just to see if there would be anything of value to pull away from - but nothing at all. The only high point to this film -- the ending credits!

Analytically, let's take a look at this movie. Red, as seen from the photos, is the color of the night. The ladies in red represent those of the night, and our lead - Jennifer Mayo - representing the color with the name Ruby - leaves her home due to struggles as well as an unwanted child. The lines, like the image on this cut-rate DVD are blurred. From chugging (and not spitting out) what seems like the COSTCO brand of Listerine to the Carrie-esque inspired blood/paint sequence that adds no further value to the overall story. I understand that director Rosemarie Turko perhaps wanted the film to ooze realism, which is valid, but cannot work if there is no structure. There was no sympathy for our characters, nothing that made us (the viewers) want to do anything more than wait until the final frames. There are "johns" that add nothing to the immediate needs of our main character Ruby. Who is Ruby? Why is she so whiny? Why does she look like she is twelve? What brought her to this significant point in her life? Nothing was added, informed, or detailed. Ruby was a paper bag character, used to float through each scene, bring us to an unfelt conclusion.

The final entry in my "Destroy all Movies" book, this has been a hodgepodge ride of decent, mediocre, to really bad cinema. I think this mix best represented the true mix of Hollywood in the 80s and the unsure direction of modern cinema (yet the birth of independent producing - as this film Scarred was brought to us partially funded by AFI and through the National Endowment of the Arts -- which all I can say is "what a low point for both of these organizations"). Alas, I cannot speak anything positive about this film. Scarred is what the dollar bin was specifically created for - or should I say, also why late-night Cinemax was famous for. Ruby was pointless, nothing made sense, and ultimately it was a huge failure. I will always take 80s films, but this was too much a difficult pill to swallow (I was going to use a street reference, but I am not sure what kids read these choppy words). Sadly, yet proudly, this is getting a yellow highlight with black mark. Nobody should watch this film and it constantly surprises me that this can find a release, but most amazing old, classic, and powerful cinema is left in vaults to die. So very sad.