The Dark Red

Shout-out to Tore Says for introducing this movie to her audience. Thank you!

Decipher for yourself what resonates with you and what doesn't, this is basically how it works, so much truth in this little hidden gem.

To me The Dark Red wasn't that great, it's all been done before but then in a better way. It could have been better though if it wasn't that slow at times, and if they would have edited it better because to be honest there are some scenes that need a lot of editing. Some scenes are just too long or unnecessary, and that makes the story a bit boring to watch at times. I fought against sleep a couple times, and that would not happen if the story had my full attention. It's not that I was sitting at edge of my seat, not at all. The Dark Red is just an average movie not really worth your time.

Kind of a mix of different horror/thriller tropes. Take the secretive society in Scanners, add a little bit of The Shining, throw in a bit of John Wick revenge and sprinkle a dash cynical me-too exploitation and you have this film.

That's not to say it's unwatchable, it's a lot better than many of the reviews suggest. Yes it's a slower paced movie but I didn't see this as a disadvantage, on the contrary, I thought it gave to story time to develop. However, I would agree that this film desperately needed a massive revenge gore murder spree to liven the end up.

It kind of started heading in an interesting direction, took too long to get to its destination and then kind of flopped through the door somewhat unspectacularly.

There are a few ways that this story could have gone, and all of them could be labeled "predictable", so I am not sure that is a good reason to say this movie is "bad". If you found it boring, I guess you just didn't find it suspenseful, that would be a better criticism. On the whole though, there is one film I would compare this to from the 80's, but were Io do that, if will literally take all tension away that you may otherwise have. So yes, this isn't an original story, but it is well-executed and very well-made.

I enjoyed the entire film, it wasn't slow, it was moderately pace, but it doesn't reveal it's hand all at once, it is a thriller/mystery, that is kind of how they work. It was mostly well-acted, so I am not sure what others mean when they say ti isn't. Were there a couple of less then stellar moments acting-wise? Yes, but on the whole, it was very well acted.

Coming from someone who watches a lot of low-budget films, I can say pretty definitively that this film is very well-made, the cinematography, lighting, sound, and script are all quite well-done. There are actually a lot more closeups in this film than most, and that is a dangerous thing, meaning, if the acting is really horrible, those closeups are very risky, as previously noted, there are a few dodgy moments acting-wise, but those moments are very brief. The closeups are well-done, and do a good deal to enhance the tension in the film, so the risk payed off.

There are some interesting themes here, such as the choices we make being generational, and sometimes we repeat the same things our parents did without even realizing it, but even knowing that, the question is whether or not it was worth it? I do think that this film poses at least a few good philisophical questions, also in regards to who we let into our lives, how people who are "damaged goods" might have both a higher and lower guard than "regular" people, but I supposed these themes will likely go over most people's heads, I don't mean that to sound like I'm smarter, I just mean to say, instead of being impatient, and focusing on the few flaws this film has, take the time to look past those flaws, they are small overall, and take the time and pay attention to what is going on in the subtext of the script, because there is actually a good deal of subtext here.

God Bless ~Amy

Sybil Warren has been confined to a psychiatric hospital. She claims that her unborn baby was stolen by her fiancé's parents who gave her a forced caesarean section because they believe the baby is 'special'. She herself claims to have certain telepathic powers. Is she telling the truth or is she schizophrenic as the doctors believe? Either way when she gets out of hospital she will go after those she believes wronged her.

This isn't a bad film; it isn't great either; it is one of those average films one watches without regretting but probably forget about soon afterwards. The set-up is interesting and for most of the film there is some ambiguity about Sybil's state of mind. The end is less surprising but quite entertaining. The cast is solid enough and the rural settings are pleasant. Overall certainly not a must see but it passed the time well enough.