Red Nights is a mysterious tale of death, seduction and sadomasochistic torture, oriented around the contents of an antique box which contains an ancient skull-vial that is filled with a powerfully intoxicating poison. Death seems to follow those who possess it...
Thematically, it's about the pleasure in pain...and the whole film has a sexual aura that manages to make the brutally atrocious acts contained within it, erotically alluring...in a De Sadian sense.
In the first part of the film there are two femme fatales who are at odds with one another.
On the one hand we have Catherine- a blonde, French woman- who is on the lamb in Hong Kong, after having killed the man who extorted the box from the man she is trying to get it back for; and the only one who is able to survive her original spate with death following her initial contact with the artifact.
On the other hand, there is Jade, who is the only one who can harness the dark powers possessed by the contents of the box. Her fate even seems to revolve around it, as if she was the one it was meant for. She seems to be something along the lines of a demonic reincarnation of whatever evil presence was the original owner of the ancient poison- which renders it's victims paralytically incapacitated, whilst remaining conscious and aware, as their sensitivity to both pleasure and pain is heightened. She is a downright vicious seductress who wields an intriguing jade claw and thrives on the pleasure derived from pain...of others.
Jade and her beloved believe they are living out a legendary curse. One that is reflected in the storyline of a stage play interwoven throughout the film. This drives the plot, which slowly reveals itself like layers shed from an onion.
The film has tons of great, realistically gory, special effects (though the blood does seem to look a little painty in parts), and culminates with an eerie tension driven battle sequence.
It's always comforting to know that sometimes evil prevails...
When all is said and done, Red Nights is a sexy, dark, and mysterious cult film, whose sadomasochistic gore will definitely win over the horror fan in you. It has a great blend of tension, subtle humour, and stylish deviance that make it one hell of an attention grabber. You should definitely check it out. Highly recommended.
6.5 out of 10
