''Summer Scars'' is a 2007 British

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

produced and directed by Julian Richards. It is based on a hostage situation that Richards experienced during his childhood. The cast includes

Kevin Howarth Kevin Howarth is a British film actor, known for his roles as Max in ''The Last Horror Movie'', Peter in '' Summer Scars'' and Viktor in ''The Seasoning House''. Career Howarth attended the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London, fro ...

, Ciaran Joyce,

Amy Harvey Amy is a female given name, sometimes short for Amanda, Amelia, Amélie, or Amita. In French, the name is spelled ''"Aimée"''. People A–E * Amy Acker (born 1976), American actress * Amy Vera Ackman, also known as Mother Giovanni (1886–1 ...

, Darren Evans, Jonathan Jones, Chris Conway, Ryan Conway and Chole Parfitt.

Plot

Six youths ditch school for the woods, where some hotrodding on a stolen

moped A moped ( ) is a type of small motorcycle, generally having a less stringent licensing requirement than full motorcycles or automobiles. The term used to mean a similar vehicle except with both bicycle pedals and a motorcycle engine. Mopeds typic ...

changes the fate of their day. They crash into Peter, a dishevelled

drifter A drifter is a vagrant who moves from place to place without a fixed home or employment. Drifter(s) or The Drifter(s) may also refer to: Films and television Films * ''The Drifter'' (1917 film), an American film directed by Fred Kelsey * ''Th ...

, who is delighted to have a group of teens to hang out with. First he gains their trust by joining in their games, but then his behaviour changes. Peter uses what he has learned about the kids against them, bullying the alpha boys, belittling the weaker ones and saving his worst for the only girl in the group. Realising too late that they are being held hostage, the kids are forced to embrace the dark side of human nature in order to survive the ordeal.

Cast

as Peter * Ciaran Joyce as Bingo * Amy Harvey as Leanne * Darren Evans as Jonesy * Jonathan Jones as Paul * Chris Conway as Ben * Ryan Conway as Mugsey * Chole Parfitt as Scott

Release

The film had a limited UK theatrical release in 2009 by the

Institute of Contemporary Arts The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch, the ICA ...

(ICA) in their screening season for 'New British Cinema'. In 2008, ''Summer Scars'' was released on DVD in North America by TLA Releasing on their Danger After Dark label. In 2009, the film was released on DVD in the UK by

Soda Pictures Thunderbird Entertainment Group (formerly Thunderbird Films) is a Canadian film and television entertainment company with offices in both Canada and the United States of America. Thunderbird's multiple divisions develop movies and television pr ...

. Other DVD distributors include MIG Film GmbH (German speaking Europe), MCF Megacom (Former Yugoslavia), Wide Pictures (Spain), Sahamongkol Film International (Thailand) and Viswas (India).

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, a

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

, reports that 70% of ten surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating was 5.6/10. The site's consensus reads: "This low budget British psycho-thriller packs plenty of atmospheric tension and suspense into its slender running time." ''Summer Scars'' has been linked with other, roughly contemporaneous, films that deal with concerns over " Broken Britain" and a fear of "

hoodie A hoodie (in some cases spelled hoody and alternatively known as a hooded sweatshirt) is a sweatshirt with a hood. Hoodies with zippers usually include two pockets on the lower front, one on either side of the zipper, while "pullover" hoodi ...

s", including '' Harry Brown'', '' Eden Lake'', '' The Disappeared'', ''

Outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them ...

'', '' The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael'' and ''

Heartless Heartless may refer to: Books * ''Heartless'' (Carriger novel), a 2011 novel in the ''New York Times'' best-selling "Parasol Protectorate" series by Gail Carriger * ''Heartless'' (Pretty Little Liars), a 2010 novel in the "Pretty Little Liars" se ...

''. Kurt Dahlke of

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rated it 4/5 stars and called it "lean, mean, disturbing and deftly crafted". Josh Winning of '' Total Film'' rated it 3/5 stars and called it a "bare-boned tween nightmare" that is a combination of '' Stand by Me'' and ''Eden Lake''. Nigel Floyd of ''

Time Out London ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 328 cities in 58 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition beca ...

'' rated it 3/5 stars and wrote, "An inexperienced cast don't always make the most of a slippery, unsettling script". Andrew Pulver of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' rated it 2/5 stars and wrote, "There's not much to recommend in this putative hoodie horror from Julian Richards, which takes the inverse position to ''Eden Lake''."

Awards

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0847527 2007 films 2007 thriller films British thriller films 2000s English-language films 2000s British films