Content warning: This film depicts sexual assault.

CANDY LAND probably isn’t what you think it is. At least, it isn’t only what you think it is. It’s a grindhouse slasher that takes a sensitive approach to sex work and sexual assault. It’s a surprising religious horror film that doesn’t shy away from the ugly parts of humanity. It’s a stylish, sly, and nuanced thriller that really makes you care about its characters. Most of all, it’s a refreshing new genre entry and an exciting film from writer-director John Swab.

“Candy Land” is a truck stop at exit 17, a popular spot for truckers and other travelers to find a sex worker with little police interference. Riley (Eden Brolin), Levi (Owen Campbell), Sadie (Sam Quartin), and Sadie’s girlfriend Liv (Virginia Rand) work Candy Land, and they’ve formed a family. They protect each other and keep each other company during the stretches between clients pulling up to the truck stop. One day, Remy (Olivia Luccardi), a refugee from a small Christian cult, shows up alone with nowhere else to go. The friends take Remy in and try to keep her safe from the serial killer who is prowling Candy Land and making life difficult for corrupt local sheriff Rex (William Baldwin).

CANDY LAND takes its time letting you get to know its characters. Remy’s reluctant introduction to the world of sex work gets just as much room to breathe as the serial killer storyline. The film never judges this found family, even when all the people around them do. When Remy asks Sadie how they can do what they do, she scoffs while Liv and Levi laugh and roll their eyes. “I hate that question,” Sadie tells an apologetic Remy, just before they all answer it honestly and without shame. Liv says it beats working a ‘respectable’ job for $6 an hour, and Levi half-jokingly says he just likes to party.

Each scene with the friends hanging out is naturalistic and lived-in. The characters truly feel like a family, with equal parts love and familiarity, and it’s a pleasure to watch them playfully bicker over truck stop junk food and cigarettes. The movie never wants us to pity or judge them; rather, it saves its judgment for the hypocritical Rex, who forces Levi to perform sex acts for him, and the Christian fundamentalist cult that sanctimoniously prays over Riley when she makes a suggestive remark.

Though the film doesn’t spend a lot of time with the cult, their presence hangs heavy over the story. One important detail that viewers might miss is Swab’s focus on the characters’ feet. Many Christian groups, especially evangelical denominations in the South, practice foot-washing as a religious practice. By focusing on the feet — whether it’s in a scene where Sadie, Liv, Riley, and Remy are all sleeping in the same bed, their bare feet poking out from under the blanket; a view of a corpse’s bound feet as they bounce around in the bed of a truck; or a character caressing the feet of a deceased loved one — Swab forces the viewer to question their notions of holiness. The film shows the sex workers’ feet the most often, constantly reminding us to put aside misplaced judgment and see these characters for who they really are: normal people doing what they can to survive. Swab’s film works hard to destigmatize sex work, especially in its naturalistic touches, but nowhere is this effort sharper or subtler than in its evocation of religious foot-washing.

Riley says they’re “unlocking the Bible Belt” at Candy Land, and she’s doubly right. CANDY LAND uncovers the fear and desire bubbling underneath the evangelical exterior of Christian America. It paints a portrait of sex workers who — in a world of corrupt cops, dangerous clients, and people eager to exploit them — can only rely on each other. It examines what happens when you trust the wrong people. Most importantly, it asks us to look deep inside to find out what we really mean when we say “the wrong people.” Equal parts slasher, religious horror, grindhouse film, and character-based drama, CANDY LAND is a genre film that belongs on your radar.

CANDY LAND will be released on Digital and in select theaters on January 6, 2022.

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Jessica Scott

Jessica is an Arkansas-based writer and lover of all things horror. She enjoys dogs, fiber crafts, comic books, roller derby, and haunted house fiction. You can find her at WeWhoWalkHere.blog or stalking the dollar store for Halloween decor.

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