Search - Scalene on DVD

Sharon F. (Shar) from AVON PARK, FL
Reviewed on 6/25/2023...

I try not to read the write-up before watching a movie so I see it with fresh eyes, as was the case with this one. Now, I wish I'd read it or seen the "Special Feature" first because it was very hard to follow not knowing anything about the plot. I thought, from the picture on the cover, it was a scary movie. Instead, it flashes between the three points of view quickly and often. That aside, it was a really good movie.

Greg G. (Gregoodsell) from BAKERSFIELD, CA
Reviewed on 7/19/2015...

This reviewer sought director Zack Parkerï's previous feature "Scalene," which like "Proxy" is a Lifetime made-for-TV movie gone off the rails. In the manner of "Rashomon" (1950), Scalene tells the same story from three different points of view. Put-upon single mom Janice (Margo Martindale) must deal with a brain-damaged son Jakob (Adam Scarimbolo). Hiring pretty college coed Paige (Hannah Hall) to take care of him, Jakob is taken away from Janice after Paige claims that he raped her. The film begins when we see the blubbering, obese Janice (actress Martindale appears to be channeling Kathy Bates from Misery (1990) during an especially difficult "change of life") attempt to kill Paige after she has been denied custody.

Told from the three separate points of view of Janice, Jakob and Paige, the viewer must construct their own version of events. Scalene throws in lots of conflicting plot details that will have audiences retracing their steps. As in "Proxy," "Scalene" appears to have more than one villain that is up to the audience to decide.

If Ti West can be declared the King of Slow Burn Terror, then Zack Parker can likewise be called the Master of Next Door Horror. Recalling director Brian DePalma, who had a likewise skewed viewpoint of women, we look forward to his next feature.

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