Scarce (2008) - Film Review

I don’t care if Jesse T Cook and John Geddes were on a low budget when they created and acted in their 2008 film SCARCE. If a film is worth making then it should be worth watching. Although the setting is perfect, the only things that are scarce in this film are good acting, a well-written script and an original story. Albeit well directed at times, SCARCE never drew me in. I have read many reviews which contain the line ‘for a low budget film’ well, I’m sorry, I paid a tenner for this rubbish, I couldn’t care less how low the budget was. I wasted my money and my time on this dross and the fact that it cost less than average to make just makes it even more unfair.

The story offers nothing original; 3 young men end up stranded, head to a log cabin for help, encounter a few unsavoury characters with a taste for human flesh, and try to escape. The snow made a refreshing change and at times I could almost feel the cold.
But I cannot excuse such massive flaws; a man whose leg is broken with the bone hanging out and his spine exposed running away! A guy who has been a hunter for 40 years being the worst shot ever, I’m serious this guy has 40 years of practice and couldn’t hit a barn door on a clear day! Scarce was yet another film, badly made on a low budget that was intended to be so bad it was funny, there were a few mildly entertaining moments but for the most part it fell way short of the mark.

The gore was reasonably well-done, but we don’t see any action at all for the first 45 minutes of the film and what we do see, has been done before much more effectively. With such a magnificent setting and some obvious film-making talent, Scarce shows some promise. The shoddy acting and major flaws detract from any of its better qualities however, and when the end credits rolled I felt robbed, not only of that tenner but of 94 minutes of my life.

SCARCE (2008). Directors: Jesse T. Cooke, John Geddes. Writers: Jesse T. Cooke, John Geddes. Cast: Steve Warren, Gary Fisher, Chris Warrilow, Thomas Webb, John Geddes, Jesse T. Cooke.

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