Candy Land (film)

Last updated
Candy Land
Directed by John Swab
Written byJohn Swab
Produced byJohn Swab
Jeremy M. Rosen
Starring Olivia Luccardi
Sam Quartin
Eden Brolin
Owen Campbell
Virginia Rand
William Baldwin
Music byDavid Sardy
Distributed by Quiver Distribution
Release date
Running time
93 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Candy Land is a 2022 American horror thriller film written and directed by John Swab and starring Olivia Luccardi, Sam Quartin, Eden Brolin, Owen Campbell, Virginia Rand and William Baldwin. [1]

Contents

Plot

A seemingly naive and devout young woman navigates her way through the underground world of truck stop sex workers known as "lot lizards".

Cast

Release

The film premiered at the Locarno Film Festival in August 2022. [2] It was also screened at the New York City Horror Film Festival on December 1, 2022. [3] In November 2022, it was announced that Quiver Distribution acquired North American distribution rights to the film, which was released in theaters and on demand on January 6, 2023. [2] [4] [5]

Reception

The film has a 77% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 22 reviews. [6] Meagan Navarro of Bloody Disgusting awarded the film three and a half skulls out of five. [7] Mary Beth McAndrews of Dread Central awarded the film four and a half stars out of five. [8] Christian Zilko of IndieWire graded the film a B+. [9] Michael Talbot-Haynes of Film Threat rated the film a 9.5 out of 10. [1]

Noel Murray of the Los Angeles Times gave the film a positive review and wrote, "It’s possible Swab made this film just to tell a story about the more compassionate side of prostitution. If so, the movie’s guilty-pleasure thrills are just a bonus." [10]

Jon Mendelsohn of Comic Book Resources also gave the film a positive review and wrote, "Candy Land succeeds at juggling multiple genres at once, resulting in a memorable, layered, and bloody slow-burn of a horror flick." [11]

Beatrice Loayza of The New York Times also gave the film a positive review and wrote, "Candy Land is standard grindhouse fare(...)though not without its fair share of pleasurable nastiness." [12]

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References

  1. 1 2 Talbot-Haynes, Michael (January 11, 2023). "Candy Land". Film Threat. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Grobar, Matt (November 11, 2022). "'Candy Land' Horror-Thriller From 'Ida Red' Team Acquired By Quiver Distribution". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  3. Melanson, Angel (November 24, 2022). "Watch This Exclusive CANDY LAND Clip: CANDY LAND make its East Coast Premiere as the New York City Horror Film Festival's opening night film". Fangoria. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  4. Hamman, Cody (November 14, 2022). "Candy Land: truck stop slasher gets January theatrical and VOD release". JoBlo.com. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  5. Jordan, Grace (January 5, 2023). "Candy Land: Watch the Trailer for the New Horror Film Ahead of the Imminent Release". MovieWeb. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  6. "Candy Land". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  7. Navarro, Meagan (January 6, 2023). "'Candy Land' Review – Truck Stop Slasher Explores Sex and Violence". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  8. McAndrews, Mary Beth (November 28, 2022). "'Candy Land': A Disturbing, Horny, And Unmissable New Holiday Horror Classic [Review]". Dread Central. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  9. Zilko, Christian (January 6, 2023). "'Candy Land' Review: Death Comes to the World's Horniest Truck Stop". IndieWire. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  10. Murray, Noel (January 13, 2023). "Review: 'The Drop' doesn't always work as a comedy, but it has the ring of hard-won truth". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  11. Mendelsohn, Jon (January 5, 2023). "REVIEW: Candy Land Presents a Provocative Nightmare Both Dynamic & Horrific". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  12. Loayza, Beatrice (January 5, 2023). "'Candy Land' Review: Truck-Stop Thrills". The New York Times. Retrieved November 11, 2023.