Wow, just finished sitting down to watch 'Scum' and it's like getting off one hell of a frightening rollercoaster. There are times when a film's budget dictates the probability of how good it will be, i.e. If a film is 'low budget' then you can expect sub-par actors, writing and special effects. 'Scum' is distinctly 'low budget' and yet is the polar opposite of those tropes (not that it needs any giant computer-generated 'skybeams' and alien armies invading New York).
It's about a new boy (an almost unrecognisable Ray Winstone - believe it or not, he was young and fresh-faced once!) who gets sent to a borstal and ends up rising through the (unofficial!) 'ranks' of inmates until he's the 'top dog' (or 'Daddy' as apparently is the lingo of the time and place).
I hear it was classed as a 'video nasty' in its day and, although there's definitely worse out there, I can see how it was actually pretty shocking - especially for its time of release. It's not just the - highly realistic - graphic violence, but also language and elements which many modern reviews probably wouldn't get published if they were mentioned. Yes, it's that bad. 'Progressive' it is not.
It's hardly a 'feel-good' film and you won't finish it feeling all light and fluffy, but if you have a strong stomach and dare to take a peek into this kind of world (and in the late seventies when then world was certainly less 'PC' than it is now) then the sheer scale of how raw and realistic this is will truly blow you away. Hard to believe that one day this little Ray Winstone will play a bad guy in a Marvel movie. Films like 'Black Window' are just about as far away from 'Scum' as you're ever likely to see.
It's about a new boy (an almost unrecognisable Ray Winstone - believe it or not, he was young and fresh-faced once!) who gets sent to a borstal and ends up rising through the (unofficial!) 'ranks' of inmates until he's the 'top dog' (or 'Daddy' as apparently is the lingo of the time and place).
I hear it was classed as a 'video nasty' in its day and, although there's definitely worse out there, I can see how it was actually pretty shocking - especially for its time of release. It's not just the - highly realistic - graphic violence, but also language and elements which many modern reviews probably wouldn't get published if they were mentioned. Yes, it's that bad. 'Progressive' it is not.
It's hardly a 'feel-good' film and you won't finish it feeling all light and fluffy, but if you have a strong stomach and dare to take a peek into this kind of world (and in the late seventies when then world was certainly less 'PC' than it is now) then the sheer scale of how raw and realistic this is will truly blow you away. Hard to believe that one day this little Ray Winstone will play a bad guy in a Marvel movie. Films like 'Black Window' are just about as far away from 'Scum' as you're ever likely to see.