A buddy of mine came into the store that I work at the other day and told me he was off to the “Long Island Cinema Arts Centre” for an exploitation double feature. He told me one of the films was “The Candy Snatchers”, funny thing is that when I came home a few hours later, this DVD was sitting on my doorstep, thanks to Mike Watt, and Subversive Cinema. Now for me Exploitation films most of the time don’t interest me unless the story is full of great character development and the story has some kind of meaning behind the madness. “The Candy Snatchers” is one of those rare Exploitation films where the story and the characters involved are both a pleasure to watch, even though the film itself is very controversial for it’s time.
“The Candy Snatchers” is about a group of not so bright criminals who decide to kidnap a diamond dealers daughter. After demanding a ransom of diamonds for her safe return, they soon realize that this girls father is not responding, not knowing what to do, they make more demands or they will kill her. The problem is, the guy who they thought was her father, is in fact not her father but her stepfather who wants her dead. The reason being is that if the girl (Candy) dies, and he somehow is able to kill his wife, he will become a millionaire. Meanwhile a young child who does not know how to speak is making daily trips to the cabin that Candy is being held captive at. The child tries hard to help her but being to small to help, and having abusive parents that don’t care for him, there is not much the boy can do, but try his best to save Candy. I don’t want to give much of the story away, but the film spirals into one big mess, with a very shocking ending. I honestly can say I really found the script to be a bit choppy at times, but the plot was solid and the story and characters drove the script and with all the twists and turns in the plot, I found the film to be one of those films you just can’t keep your eyes off of.
Exploitation films are sometimes never known to be full of great acting, most of them are pawned off as a poor excuse for a porno, which we all know that porn acting is for the majority of the time terrible. However “Candy Snatchers” is an exception. Most of the actors in this film did a great job and made their performances look genuine.
Don’t expect to get any great blood baths happening in this movie like you would with most Exploitation films, This is a film that makes you react more on shock value than blood and guts. So special effects wise, all you get is some fake blood here and there, and some gun shots. However shock values does play a big part in this film, and their are a lot of rape scenes as well as over the top fights, there are plenty of scenes that will make most viewers uncomfortable.
Overall I found “The Candy Snatchers” to be a great Exploitation film that concludes with a very shocking, yet effective ending. It is not a film for everyone and as I stated above there are plenty of disturbing scenes, people should take caution when viewing this film. It can be offensive, and it’s not a film that takes some mature understanding to understand exactly the point the filmmakers are trying to make with this picture.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
