Red Velvet

This is a very interesting movie being marketed in a non-traditional way. Amazon has the exclusive rights to it as I understand, and the DVDs are kind of made to order. Whatever the marketing and how it well it works for them, this horror movie with a wink of the eye, needs to be seen, especially by fans of Dario Argento and the old school slasher films. Filmed in 35MM 1.85 A/R, the movie looks amazing. The colors are brilliant and definitely an homage to Argento, as are other aspects of the movie. The first time I watched it, I wasn't sure what to think, because I had read too much hype, and was expecting a dumbed down horror comedy making fan of slasher movies. In other words, I had low expectations, and after the first viewing, it left me a little confused. That's why I wanted to listen to the commentary on the second viewing, and this time, I found it to be a very good horror film even if it doesn't take itself too serious. The story is about Aaron (Henry Thomas) who has a problem with his noisy upstairs neighbor Linda (Kelli Garner). He manages to watch through his keyhole and meet her at a laundromat, where he comes off as a big jerk of a neighbor. But he does manage to get her to have lunch with him, where she tells him she is mad because she was invited to a birthday party in a cabin by a lake, and her boyfriend won't take her. So Aaron decides to tell her a story about taking revenge on those friends with a goofy looking stalking killer, that has a Polaroid type camera on his head, and takes a picture of his victim before the slice and dice routine. Yea, the killer is pretty silly, but his killings in this story Aaron is telling, is not silly at all, and pretty gruesome. Linda gets a little fed up with creepy Aaron and leaves, but they both live in the same building, so they meet again, and then Aaron agrees to drive her to the cabin and the birthday party. That's probably as much of the story and plot I should tell, because this movie is basically a story within a story.

The technical aspects of the movie are brilliant with very vibrant colors and excellent camera work, and very good acting and direction. Listening to the commentary is important, because it is easy to miss all the homages on first viewing, and Joe Moe's producer commentary fills in all the blanks. On the gorehound level, there are two or maybe three good kills, and one excellent gore scene with a guy getting sawed in two head to belly. I definitely liked that one, and that along with at least one more would definitely eliminate an R rating, so it's good they didn't care about the rating. But outside of some pretty decent kills, I liked the whole idea of the setup and payoff, even though I pretty much had the whole thing figured out pretty early. It doesn't matter, because watching it all unfold is a lot of fun, especially with the excellent creepy performance by Henry Thomas. I would definitely recommend this movie, it delivers the goods, and is absolutely a delight to watch visually. You could say, it's a very pretty horror film, and even though it does make a little bit of fun of the slasher genre, it doesn't go too far and comes out being just plain silly. On second viewing, it came out much more to me as a good horror film, than a homage to the slasher genre. Give this one a try, it comes with some very good extras, and as I said, a very very good commentary. It's also the last time you'll see of the late Forrest J Ackerman in a brief cameo. Congrats to producer Joe Moe, and director Bruce Dickson for producing a rather unique horror film that is also a lot of fun.

I must say it's been awhile since I have seen a good horror flick, and when I had the chance to see Red Velvet, I jumped on it. The movie is so unique and different it kept me wanting more even when it was over. I admit I jumped during the movie and I laughed at scenes. It was both scary and comedic at the same time that's what makes it so cool to watch. Leaving the theater I had both a smile on my face and a feel of being satisfied, I finally got to sit down in the theater and watch something different, something original, something unique other then re-makes.. That same night I had a dream that my boyfriend was the killer in the movie and after me, so for the movie having that type of effect on me, I think that's awesome. Recommend for any Horror lover....

Reyna Young- Owner- Last Doorway Productions- www.lastdoorwayproductions.com

To lump this film in with horror comedies is doing it a disservice, as I think it's so much better than that. Personally, I don't care for horror comedies and thought this film was way too smart, clever and enjoyable to be deemed just another horror/comedy genre film. I can't wait to watch it with the commentary to see what I missed.

You need to watch this film, and watch it on Blu-Ray as it looks amazing. I'm not going to tell you the plot of the film, so go read the reviews if you want to know what the film is about, just don't overlook it, as it's a true gem. If your looking for a lame slash and gash flick with horrible dialog and predictable story plots then this film isn't for you, go watch Cabin Fever again. Solid, solid little film!

DustinL

It's like Before Sunrise meets slashers like Scream but on acid! The movie is kind of a fresh take on the genre with OK performances from the leads which to me the movie was more interesting with them talking and bickering and making up zany horror stories than when it becomes a reality. To me it fails at a horror/comedy because there weren't enough laughs and it fails at an actual horror movie because there weren't enough scares and suspense, it just becomes a typical, self aware slasher movie that it looks like it was going against. It was ambitious and there were a few nice gory bits and it is somewhat a change of pace for psychological/slashers but the ending just sucked and didn't make much sense, was it all in his head? I don't know but it could of had a much better twist. Skip it. More of a 2.5 out of 5 stars.

The independent will rise again. This movie made his way over here in Europe due to mouth to mouth advertisement. The acting really is convincing and the storyline is okay but there was just something missing for me. I was never frightened or had a creepy feeling. The killings really are okay, the blood flows and sometimes are even gory but still I expected a bit more of it. It surely is an ode to old school slashers but I guess the killer itself failed a bit. Made me think of Donnie Darko, you will know what i mean once you've watched it. But the filming and editing was okay. When you see the so-called shots of the story of the book, the colors are into those of the seventies. A lot of flare is used, something we don't see these days. Again, there is enough for everyone. Blood, a bit of suspense, humor and of course nudity. Good effort, but as said, it's the killer who let me down. And if you don't like killing by hammers, don't watch it, it's hammer time!