Red Rooms

I have been seeing this web series promoted for a while and figured it would be a typical low budget horror thing. IMDb showed it was releasing so I tracked it and watched. Red Rooms was a welcomed surprise. It completely held my attention with its interesting story and characters. It was not a shallow watch or follow at all, in fact, I watched the series in one sitting, then watched again to make sure I covered and understood all the connecting stories and twists. Creator Joshua Butler did a superb job of creating a complex story weaving all the characters together. Speaking of characters, they are limited to a small cast, but I cannot imagine having a bigger one, as there was so much story and elements to deliver, and this cast did a thorough job. I found everyone to deliver quality acting performances and was impressed with this cast of Brooke Lewis Bellas, David Alpay, Susan Lanier, Ricky Dean Logan, Noah Blake, and will be watching them again as their performances were all layered, and they tackled the script incredibly well. For a low budget virtual production, this cast and crew created a web series with professionalism and smarts. I really do look forward to watching again this weekend, as I feel like I still missed a few things.

I confess I have been a superfan of actress and Scream Queen Brooke Lewis Bellas since Kinky Killers on Showtime years back. She is a famous Scream Queen but also an excellent and diverse actress. I read an article that said So much More and I agree. I think Brooke is beautiful and always kind to her fans. She is a rare find in 2023. I saw her promote the Red Rooms web series during the pandemic and have been looking forward to its release to watch. As usual, Brooke did not disappoint as an actress or producer. I really liked Red Rooms. Everything it offered. I did not know what to expect, but it was very different with the virtual part and intense storyline. The cast was all very talented and gave excellent performances. Brooke Lewis Bellas and Red Rooms were So much More.

Hackneyed, uber-melodramatic, and filmed with a piece of red cellophane over the lens for at least the first episode, this series makes you ask the existential question: "is there ANYTHING so awful that some streaming service, somewhere won't offer it?". The first 15 minutes are used as a time filler, as each of the five characters are asked the same question in the same way by the same unseen emcee. All could have been asked simultaneously, but then the writers would have had to come up with 14 additional minutes of material. Repetitive to the point of torture and imbued with a heavy-handed sense of unearned importance, I wish the writers had expended at least a quarter of the effort in the show as they did in their bogus reviews. If I had used the phrase 'I wish I could have given it less than a one star', in my review, I would have still been twice as original as this slop.

I have watched Red Rooms a few times on small streaming platforms and I do not understand how this is not on Netflix. This is an intense mystery with drama and horror elements. Joshua Butler did a thorough job writing and directing it and the production value looks great next to a lot of low budget genre streaming and films I watch. The cast gave impeccable performances all around and this is another rare find. If you are an indie film or horror fan, you will be engaged watching Brooke Lewis Bellas (I see she also produced it and well), David Alpay, Susan Lanier, Ricky Dean Logan and Noah Blake. All really intense and admirable performances. The music score with violins pulled me in even deeper. This was so much better than I had expected, and it was emotionally chilling. I recommend it.