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]

Candy Land
Directed byJohn Swab
Written byJohn Swab
Produced by
  • John Swab
  • Jeremy M. Rosen
Starring
CinematographyWill Stone
Edited by
  • John David Allen
  • Andrew Aaronson
Music byDavid Sardy
Production
company
Roxwell Films
Distributed byQuiver Distribution
Release dates
  • August 9, 2022 (2022-08-09) (Locarno)
  • January 6, 2023 (2023-01-06) (United States)
Running time
93 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

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

Cast

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Release

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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

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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]

References

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  1. ^ a b Talbot-Haynes, Michael (January 11, 2023). "Candy Land". Film Threat. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  2. ^ a b 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.
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