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What The Waters Left Behind: Scars – Cleopatra Entertainment (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Argentina/New Zealand/Italy, 2022
Director: Nicolás Onetti
Writer: Camilo Zaffora
Cast: Agustin Olcese, Clara Kovacic, Magui Bravi, Maria Eugenia Rigon, Matías Desiderio, Juan Pablo Bishel, Germán Baudino, Chucho Fernández, Mario Alarcón, David Michigan, Paula Brasca, Raymond E. Lee

Release Date: July 11th, 2023
Approximate Running Time: 85 Minutes 14 seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen & 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 English/Spanish, LPCM Stereo English/Spanish
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $24.95

"What The Waters Left Behind: Scars begins when after a packed gig in the middle of nowhere and a wild night out, an indie rock band's RV gets stuck in the middle of nowhere. The situation is tense: there is trouble within the band and member Billy Bob (Matías Desiderio, Palermo Hollywood ) lives up to his reputation as the band's black sheep when he first sleeps with a groupie and then flees. The remaining band members Jane (Clara Kovacic, The 100 Candles Game ) and Mark (Juan Pablo Bishel), as well as manager Javi (Agustin Olcese, The Red Book Ritual ) and companion Sophie (Eugenia Rigón, Abracadabra ).) go in search of the ruins of Epecuén. They soon realize not only that they are not alone, but that they are also in acute danger. And that you should also be careful with groupies." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4/5

What The Waters Left Behind: Scars comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 19.9 GB

Feature: 16.8 GB

The material used for this transfer is in excellent shape. Flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity and black levels are strong, and compression is very good.

Audio: 4.25/5 (LPCM Stereo English/Spanish), 3.75/5 (Dolby Digital 5.1 English/Spanish)

This release comes with two audio options, a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix in English/Spanish and a LPCM stereo mix in English/Spanish. Both audio tracks sound clear and balanced, and range-wise, both tracks have very good depth. That said, the stereo track is the more satisfying of these two audio tracks. Included are removable English subtitles for the Spanish dialog.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a slideshow with music from the film playing in the background, a trailer for What The Waters Left Behind: Scars (1 minute 55 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), and seven unrelated trailers for films also released by Cleopatra Entertainment.

Summary:

Directed by Nicolás Onetti, who is most known for co-directing Abrakadabra. Though What The Waters Left Behind: Scars shares a location and has a similar title to What the Waters Left Behind, the former is not a sequel to the latter.

The narrative revolves around an indie American rock band that is touring Argentina. One day their paths cross with a woman named Carla, who invites them over for a barbeque with her family. Things start to go awry after they enter a desolate city named Epecuén and meet its inhabitants.

What The Waters Left Behind: Scars is best described as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre meets the Hostel and Saw films. The opening setup is basically moments revolving around the band performing and having a good time. And it is not until their arrival in Epecuén that things start to take shape. From there, things take on a much bleaker tone, as the bulk of the narrative from there on out is filled with moments of torture and degradation.

The most surprising aspect of What The Waters Left Behind: Scars is the performances. The entire cast is very good in their roles, especially Mario Alarcón (We Are Not Animals) in the role of Tadeo, the patriarch of the psychopaths living in Epecuén. Another performance of note is Magui Bravi in the role of Tadeo’s granddaughter Carla.

What the narrative lacks, it more than makes up for when it comes to intense, in-your-face moments that are gruesome and not for the faint of heart. That said, the premise retreads familiar ground that has been covered in countless other "Torture Porn" splatter films. And it is easy to quickly see where the narrative is heading. That is not to say that there are not a few areas where What The Waters Left Behind: Scars holds up well. Notably, when it comes to the cinematography, in particular the moments that show the devastation that befell Epecuén. Ultimately, What The Waters Left Behind: Scars is a film that can only be recommended to fans of extreme horror films.

Cleopatra Entertainment gives What The Waters Left Behind: Scars a strong audio/video presentation.