User reviews

Remember the 1970s? That would be helpful. Bottom line, Candy Land is what might happen if you took a Ninja blender and mixed together a 1970s sexploitation film and a 1970s slasher film. By that standard, the end result would be better than you might expect. The acting is solid, the script adequate, and the direction restrained. The typical over-amped soundtrack of the 1970s films -- where gaps in the action are filled in with raw noise -- is nowhere to be found, and that is a very good thing. In fact, almost every aspect of this film is toned down, and that works well too. The only recognizable star is William "Billy" Baldwin, who has been in the biz since the late 1980s. Above average for an indie. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

A truck-stop hooker thinks twice when a cult turns up to save her soul, but her fate may be sealed when one of the cult decides to go on the game with her.

People say this harks back to '70s exploitation movies - and it does, but in two ways: one good, one bad. The good comes in the open and frank sleaze of the prostitution biz, with completely candid performances showing us how it works, what it does to people, and I guess above all how the workers retain their kindness and empathy. These characters are very nicely put together, and I was totally engaged by them for the first half of the story.

It helps that the cinematography and the writing and editing keep the scenes on point, with a good flow. As well as the acting, maybe the best quality of the production is the sound design, with a subtle shriek when a pair of eyes are opened and a faint heart-patter during a virgin's first time.

The bad comes in the second half, when we enter straight up slasher mode. That genre rarely appeals to me, so I can't be too hard, but there really is nothing of interest to say as all the character-building is thrown away in favour of a lurid and unenlightening mania. Also, there's no real jeopardy for the villain since nobody entertains any suspicion, making the plausibility break down as the climax approaches. And then, as in all metaller productions of horror, the music has to go tongue-in-cheek, combining Christmas carols with scenes of bleak death. No idea why they always pull the rug out from under interesting stories.

The one movie this reminds me of is from the '70s - Alice, Sweet Alice, which has the same shape of a disturbing, engaging start and a lurid, pointless end.

Overall: Good story finished off by typing into ChatGPT: 'write the ending of a religious slasher.'

I was hoping for a somewhat gritty true to life film like "The Florida Project" - boy I couldn't have been more mistaken. The limited number of reviews (eight when I watched this) giving this film high marks should be the first clue that those reviews are planted to generate an overall rating that is deceptively higher than is warranted. That's if you even consider a 5ish rating to be good?

The poster/advert and synopsis is written to take the viewer in, but if you bother to watch even the first few minutes, you'll see this is nothing more than a "B" grade production (or less) with nothing to offer except a predictable script with at best mediocre acting by unappealing actors that ultimately veers towards a violent sexploitation film. And to be honest if that's what you're after there are certainly better choices than this one.

I watched it through to the end, which says a lot. Probably suits guys around my age (48) who remember Baldwin back in his prime. It's held up by Baldwin's scenes, black humour, violence, horror, twists and the sex stuff. Story was fine, acting was fine. If you don't mind getting a bit dirty and feral you will find some enjoyment in it. Ignore the haters, they're obviously seeking some pretty Hollywood big budget tripe.

Seriously these reviews and ratings need to be categorised by reviewer type. This might be a 5.3 to gen pop, but to me it's a watchable 7/10 DVD night in. For someone who has seen everything else, add it to your list.

It's not horror, it's not action, it's not drama, not even a fantasy!

I don't know how and why this movie was released.

I don't know what kind of acting is this exactly.

Most of the movies supposed to be meant something (true story or there is a wisdom on it and maybe sometimes could be funny but in this movie there was nothing but wasting time.

I don't recommend this movie to any kind of natural human no matter what their age is and specially the teen age. It will not benefits them nothing but a bad and crap thoughts and drag them to a different path.

And I am sure that many people will agree with me.

A seemingly naive and devout young woman finds her way in the underground world of truck stop sex workers a.k.a. "lot lizards.

Anti-religion slasher misoginistic exploitation movie that will put you right to sleep.

It's quite simply boring. The acting is non-existent. The senario is all wrong. It's supposedly set in 1996 but the grooming of the "ladies" is all wrong. Plus no one had 2022 tattoos in 1996. And who was drinking bottled water in those flimsy plastic bottles back then?

Billy Balwin shows up periodically as the sheriff. He has fallen quite a long way since his brief heyday 30 years ago. All around sad.

Every once in a while a film comes along that is so bad, you can't even assign it to a razzy, or a 'cult' film or even a C movie. It's so bad that you never want to watch it again because you feel embarrassment and shame for the people who made it.

That's how I feel about Candy Land.

There are so many plot holes, so much dire dialogue, and so many actual mistakes throughout it's hard to list them all. And then there's the acting, or lack of it.

Oddly the main protagonist Olivia Luccardi does a fairly good job considering what she had to work with. I could see her in the future getting lot's of B movie work to hone her skills.

Aside from that there's not a lot to say. You'll like it if you like 'very' graphic female nudity which borders on porn, and lots of blood. If you're not mad about either, don't waste any of your life on this rubbish.

Partial Spoilers: I was onboard with the premise of the movie and interesting characters it felt like a documentary, but then it went on this wild B horror exploitation tangent and I found myself loving the hyper reality of it all. I couldn't figure out who the main character was then I realised it didn't matter, all that mattered was it kept me interested because it was unpredictable and I wondered how it would end. The ending is increasingly chaotic and the last shot is a fitting ending to it all. It's a very original story which has elements of American Psycho or Scream, I'm sure there's more layers to it with religion and gender and love vs lust, good vs evil, but I feel like this movie is unfairly downvoted and should be enjoyed as a thrill ride. It's a bit like Redstate meets Coyote Ugly and for how many derivative predictable movies come out this one was really interesting storywise and fun to watch and had some good performances for how small scale production it seemed. If you like B movies with weird stories this is gold.

"Candy Land" is another entry in the seemingly never-ending stream of throwback exploitation/horror to 'back when the genre was still harsh and relentless. I normally would have passed, since too often these movies are incredibly disappointing, but gave it a chance after several friends and fellow reviewers (with whom I usually agree) said it was good and really worth checking out.

Guess what, ... it is! "Candy Land" is a refreshingly original and authentically gritty exploitation wild-ride, with strong performances from plausible actresses/actors, plenty of uncanny violence, and an extremely persuasive underbelly-of-America ambiance. Writer/director John Swab gives a realistic portrayal of a seedy truck-stop and roadside motel (I reckon, at least, it's not as if I visit those places very often).

A close group of sex workers at truck stop Candy Land shelter and care for a naïve and vulnerable young woman when she gets exiled from the fanatically religious sect she grew up in. The girl - Remy - gradually becomes a "lot lizard" herself, but the impressive wooden crucifix she carries around everywhere reveals that she might have a hidden agenda.

"Candy Land" benefices from extremely powerful and explicit opening sequences, as if John Swab promptly intends to make very clear that he's not about to conceal or romanticize anything in his film. We're talking about rough, emotionless sex sequences in filthy toilets or dark truck cabins, and brutal confrontations between prostitutes & God-freaks. The most intelligent and effective trick Swab pulls off, however, is that he patiently takes time to introduce the lead characters, and basically obliges the audience to sympathize and cheer for a band of prostitutes. And it works, too. Sadie, Levi, Riley, and Liv are sublime characters. Heck, even the cuckoo Remy and the imposing "Madame" Nora are somewhat likeable. Only the customers and sect-members are truly appalling. And maybe also William Baldwin, who puts down a courageous performance as the Sheriff.

Review title inspired by Iggy Pop's song "Candy"

Candy Land looks like a B-movie, feels like a B-movie, is a B-movie. Not that aren't good B-movies, but this one is just not one of them. The story is just a bit stupid. Plenty of murders, no investigations whatsoever, nobody slightly worried about the rising death toll, it's just bad writing. The acting is just average, certainly no award winners here. William Baldwin, the less famous one of the family, plays the sheriff, you wonder how he got that job as he's not slightly interested in doing any police work. He acts okay but his character is just dumb. I wouldn't waste my time with this one if I were you, there are much better movies than Candy Land.

First 30 minutes were good. Kinda bleak and depressing but it was realistic and well-acted. As a drama, this could work. Maybe as a crime drama too, without all the crazy stuff that happened next. Because the movie changed its tone and it was impossible to believe what was happening. Furthermore, it was not that interesting. I like a good slasher movie but it felt like a parody, like unintentional comedy. I continue to watch it, hoping for a payoff. At least, something satisfying. Nope. It was becoming more and more ridiculous. Shock for the sake of shock. First 30 minutes made me want to take a bath but it was undeniably a good movie up until then. I don't understand why it changed its direction.

I don't recommend it but i've got to admit that actors did a very good job, especially Quartin, Baldwin and Campbell. All of them were so convincing that it felt like watching a slice of reality.

Fairytail from the candy land that you might imagine, and i do for god sake not hope this come under the genre of x-mas movies, as the plot happens in those happy days of joy, and the musical score jingle all around. Its the cloaked businesses that happens to take place in every trucking pit stop or major rest areas at the vast interstate road system of america.

Its a raw and consiousless story about them sexworkers that hangs on to the trade of giving pleasure in the humongous cabins that american rigs are equipped with, until kingdome come, and the great cleansing begins.its right here youre introduced to the environment, presented in such a heartless chilly way that you wont forget...

Well it was not the sexual, erotic joyride you paid for, and its absolutely not a childfriendly piece of action, other than some overgrossed gory absolutionatory moves, if that knife is still sharp i doupt, an uncomfy view for a grumpy old man. Its a shocker for sure, and the cast are really going all in, so a little recommend.

The first few moments as they were building up the stories of the characters were actually really good. The lot lizards and the sheriff seemed to have a mysterious air to them. I thought maybe this movie was about the exit stop from hell. But instead they turned it into a dumb slasher movie. Once you see 1/2 the cast die the rest will be dead within 10 minutes. Don't waste time trying to find any deeper meaning to the events.

Seems like there were leftover props and blood from last Halloween movie. They just made this movie to finish off those extra supplies. I can't recommend this garbage to anyone.

No pun intended - what do you consider a sin? And how do you think you would be able to free those who have commited sins? Is it even your ... well job or whatever you would call it, to help those ... and when I say help ... well not sure this is what you would actually call it.

The movie starts off with a ... can we call it a bang? That clearly would be a pun - you see two consenting adults having (wild) intercourse. Nudity included - so you should be too sensitive about stuff like that ... or blood, which we will see along the runtime of the movie.

The theme or story is quite interesting. The basic idea deserves a bit of thought ... but overall there is too much mayhem and too predictable outcomes ... whether you agree with what is happening or not ... a b-movie that could have been made in the 90s ...

Failed thriller of 2022. It is specified as a genre of horror, but it is not relevant. It's a very sexual, uninteresting and very boring movie. It takes place in 1996. 4 women and 1 gay man who provide sex services to drivers in a truck park are invited by religious preachers. Later, a girl who was with these preachers escaped and took refuge with them. Soon after, mysterious deaths begin. Extremely boring. Everything is clear.

The best thing in the movie is the ending and the song Don't Dream It's Over by the band Crowded House that played with the casting.

There is plenty of sexuality and nudity in the movie.

It's 1996. Sadie (Sam Quartin), Riley (Eden Brolin), Levi (Owen Campbell), and Liv (Virginia de Witt) are prostitutes working a truck stop in the desert, locally known as Candy Land. Sheriff Rex (William Baldwin) often makes sexual demands on Levi. Nora (Guinevere Turner) is their madam. Remy (Olivia Luccardi) is a runaway from the local religious cult who befriends the group.

As an inside expose on this underworld, this has its moments. As a horror, it runs into a few problems. The biggest one is that it needs more mystery. The movie needs to deliver some red herrings to throw off suspicions. It's probably trying to suggest an unknown someone from the cult. The killer is too obvious and it's soon revealed anyways. This is partly interesting, but could be so much better.

A strange blend of themes and genre's is Candy Land.

Firstly we have a friendly bunch of sex workers that hang out at a truck stop.

Next we have some bible bashing loons who want them to repent.

Next we have a certain Billy Baldwin, yes, that Billy Baldwin, from Sliver and Backdraft, who plays a weird gay corrupt cop.

Put all of these elements in blender and you come out with a movie that is depressingly explicit in its depiction of the sex work and yet predictable in its horror slasher finale.

I must give the movie its due, it is at least original in its blending of the elements but I did need a shower after watching it.

Candy Land is another good example that it doesn't take a lot of different sets or a huge budget to create a visually appealing work - what a nice cinematography, but even better, what an incredible editing! - that, at the same time, fulfills its goals of entertaining with quality.

All this could seem like a kind of sexploitation. That's what the beginning of the first act implies. Calm down. Let those who already had stones to throw calm down. Let those who thought they were going to watch a porno also calm down. The first 15 minutes show more explicit nudity than what we're used to in North American cinema (which, truth be told, is very limited), but that's pretty much the end of it. Better yet, these women are true characters, all of them are very well built and are dignified by a story that doesn't just want to show their tits nor wants them to be seen only with pity. They do what they have to do, things are going relatively well and they form a real team with moments of real camaraderie that are very well-built. There's also a man in the same circumstances, but Candy Land's greatest triumph is that it's always interesting in the way it tells its story and explores gray areas.

Even when it commits excesses - such slaughter in such a short space of time makes us have to question our credulity in the story - it continues to be a work with something to say and very well constructed. It is in its excesses that it also has many of its virtues, but it is in its simplicity that its characters conquer us. It tells us a lot about prejudice, religious fanaticism, and friendship, without forgetting to entertain us and give us a real bloodbath.

I was expecting a great horror movie. The movie had the plot for that also. But unfortunately it turned out as a great disappointment.

A girl kills a gang of prostitutes in the name of religious belief! How come such a story be classified as 'Horror'? It's just a below average thriller movie. Don't waste your time. Just some nudity and nothing else.

It would be even considered as a thriller if the murderer was not revealed till the last scene. It can be turned to a horror movie if some supernatural thing killed the prostitutes.

The police character introduced in the movie was just pointless.

Please don't blindly believe internet reviews.