Scorned

Directed and co-written by Mark Jones, Scorned adds nothing new to a well worn sub-genre of horror, that of the vengeful female unleashing hell after becoming victim to infidelity etc. Approaching this with any sort of hope for a bar raiser will only induce a crushing disappointment, but if able to accept it on its formulaic terms then it's a good torture porn time waster.

Plot finds AnnaLynne McCord as the woman scorned, her beau, played by Billy Zane, has been cheating on her with her best friend, Viva Bianca. Caught out by incriminating text messages, she lures the cheaters to an idyllic retreat and subsequently tortures them at will. The narrative drip feeds a troubled childhood angle into the mix, while there's some twists and turns to keep things lively in the final third. Tech credits are more than adequate, while performances from the three principles also scrub up nicely for the material to hand. 6.5/10