DVD Corner

Scorned Blu-ray Review

“Scorned” is a tedious thriller.

The story: After Kevin is caught cheating on his girlfriend (Sadie) with her best friend (Jennifer), Sadie vows to seek revenge against both of them by torturing and killing them. Unbeknownst to Kevin and Jennifer, Sadie has a history of mental trauma and this act of infidelity has sent her over the edge. While all of this is going on, reports of an escaped tattooed convict keep popping up. Can Kevin and Jennifer survive Sadie’s wrath? How does the convict storyline play into the story? All will be revealed in the end.

When cliched quotes such as “You scorned me” and “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” pop up in a movie starring Billy Zane (who is quickly becoming synonymous with modern bad B-movies), you pretty much know what you are getting with the “thriller” “Scorned.” It’s a repetitive, cheaply made psycho jealous killer film that strongly resembles a 90’s direct-to-video title. Given the fact that this low budget film is directed and co-written by direct-to-video veteran Mark Jones (best known for the B-movie classic “Leprechaun”), this shouldn’t be a surprise.

Thankfully, the movie does have one saving grace in actress AnnaLynne McCord. McCord, who dazzled in 2012’s “Excision,” gives a tremendously satisfying over-the-top loopy performance as the highly unstable Sadie. She is the only cast member in the film who is embracing her role and has no problem chewing the scenery. On the other end of the spectrum, there is Billy Zane. In the 90’s, Zane gave a number of respectable performances in “The Phantom,” “Titanic,” and “Twin Peaks” (the series), but in the past few decades, he has been languishing in little seen movies. In “Scorned,” Zane isn’t the least bit convincing in any scene as he doesn’t appear to be even trying anymore. Perhaps he just needs a challenging role in a theatrical film to jumpstart his career?

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 1.78:1 1080p. How does it look? This low budget flick has a surprisingly sharp transfer.

Audio Track: Dolby TrueHD 5.1. How does it sound? So-so.

No extras have been included.

Overall Thoughts: Simply put, “Scorned” barely has enough material for an entire feature length film. Hopefully, Mark Jones goes back to his fun-filled horror-comedy roots and takes on the rumored “Vamprichaun” as his next project.

February 24, 2014 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | AnnaLynn McCord, Billy Zane, Mark Jones, Scorned Blu-ray Review