The Red

Aka The Red... A remote community in the Australian outback is being hunted by a killer. Young sheriff Maddie struggles to deal with the situation. It gets more shocking when the killer turns out to be a seemingly invincible giant zombie kangaroo.

The premise is dumb. The CGI kangaroo looks dumb. At least, the zombie part has a good ending. This could have been like Cujo or steer fully into camp. There just isn't anything here. None of the characters are that compelling. The sheriff is almost interesting, but I couldn't pay attention to the others. This is a small B-horror that fails to do more.

Rippy, or The Red as the title card suggests, is NOT the horror-comedy it's being marketed as. Instead, it's an incredibly dull film that borrows heavily from Jaws but fails miserably at executing any of the key plot points. The tone is inconsistent, and the script is dreadful. Michael Biehn's character swings between cartoonish and trying to channel Robert Shaw, complete with their own cringe-worthy version of the USS Indianapolis scene.

Rather than focusing on the zombie kangaroo-barely featured in the film-we're subjected to a family drama about a cop whose alcoholic father's past is bizarrely glossed over by the whole town. Despite the credits listing a puppeteering team, every kangaroo scene looks like a low-quality video game cutscene with terrible color grading that doesn't match the surrounding shots.

There's nothing redeeming about this film. Don't waste your money-it's a complete lemon with zero entertainment value.

I must be honest, I didn't expect much going into 'Rippy', thinking it was going to be a cheap B-movie. It probably didn't have a big budget, but the film surprised me with good cinematography, good performances, and good make-up.

Maddy's dad was a local hero. Now she is trying to live up to his legacy, and she is put to the test when bodies start turning up - ripped to shreds. When Schmitty (Michael Biehn) tells her about a giant kangaroo, she doesn't believe him. But when more bodies turn up, and Maddy narrowly escapes an attack by the creature, she puts together a hunting party.

The back story about Maddy's father probably wasn't necessary, but I suppose they wanted a tragic back story in order for the viewer to root even more for our protagonist. 'Rippy' is a good old-fashioned creature feature with a simple premise. Although there are comedic elements, this is by all means a horror, with some creepy moments. Being such a short film (83 minutes) it was fast-paced and I enjoyed every moment.

'Rippy' gave me a sense of 'Razorback' meets 'An American Werewolf in London', and I had a bloody good time with it!

To think I spent $11.20 on my Uber trip on All Hallows Eve to get to Limelight Cinemas just to support the Australian film industry by watching "The Red" also known stateside as "Rippy".

It was more laughs and for all the wrong reasons than horror I experienced during this almost 90 minutes screening.

The facts is some third world countries are making better horror movies than the so-called lucky country, Australia, in 2024.

Russell Mulchays' "Razorback" was a better monster horror movie and it was made 40 bloody years ago before CGI.

No, this movie relied on puppeteers in a Roo costume to scare us...what a joke!

No ones going to have a moviegasm watching "Rippy" the darn big bush kangaroo chomp his way through the imaginary mining township of Axehead.

One of the filmmakers biggest mistakes was revealing the zombie marsupial only seconds into the movie.

Clearly the word suspense isn't in their Funk & Wagnalls.

Made on a paltry 7.5 million dollar budget (costume budget for Olivia Rodrigo's World Tour) it showed.

Just like "Razorback" we had to hire an American for one of the lead roles to sell this OS.

Michael Biehn ("Aliens") as "Schmitty" is supposed to be a broken down Vietnam veteran, even though my math has him as 15 years of age in 1971 as he recounts his war stories.

"Rippy" had the chance to be scary and humorous, but under first time feature film director Ryan Coonan, failed on both counts.

Even though it's based on a short he created called, "Waterborne".

This treatment needed a few more drafts before being green lit.

"The Red" or as the Germans say whilst eating sauerkraut "Das Killerkangaru" was filmed in Queensland: around Brisbane, Cracow and Old Petrie Town.

At least these towns might benefit from the handful of film location tourists who follow this stuff.

"The Red" also lacked a killer soundtrack, which I might just make a Spotify playlist for, because I can...full of Aussie bangers (code for hits).

Zombie Roo "Rippy" was no ordinary bush kangaroo and when Rippy goes "Rogue" (another better Aussie horror flick) all hell breaks loose and you don't want to be a runner or a drunk miner after dark.

The trailer contains the best 2 minutes of this horror flick.

The towns cop gives birth to a genius plan in the final showdown, "I'm gonna blow the fu&@ers brains out!" Why that would work when guns and bullets have been useless till now amused me.

Wouldn't you be better to use an old axe hanging in the Fire &Axe pub?

The working title for "The Red" was "Zombieroo" according to Biehn, but that doesn't make it any better because this movie takes itself way too seriously and misses the campy horror cult flick it could have become.

Instead it's relegated to the skinny decaf cappuccino or why bother basket.

It's not even a "so bad it's good film".

Continuity is a disaster, the script blows chunks and First Nations actor Aaron Pedersen couldn't save it.

My love of Zombie movies is prolific, but this was a missed opportunity.

Shame because I was rooting for another great Australian camp fire story for future generations to enjoy too!

The bizarre tale of a zombie kangaroo terrorising a rural Australian village is told in Ryan Coonan's Australian horror film, which you may also interpret as a dark comedy. The movie, which is primarily set at night in the small town of Axehead, stars Tess Haubrich as Sheriff Maddy, a young police officer attempting to carry on her late father's legacy.

The townspeople are ripped to pieces by a string of horrific incidents just as she is beginning to feel overwhelmed by the demands of her work. Before it's too late, Maddy and her quirky Uncle Schmitty-played by seasoned actor Michael Biehn-must try to halt the zombie attacker. As they investigate, they find that Rippy, a massive undead kangaroo on the loose, is the real culprit. Hold on tight as we embark on this strange Australian journey into the mayhem of the outback with undead kangaroos.

The strange idea alone makes it worth seeing, but the uneven execution makes it unsatisfactory. Rippy the zombie roo can occasionally be legitimately unsettling and unsettling, but the slapstick required to strike a balance between comedy and horror can clash with heavier, more serious components. The mood is continuously changed by this schizophrenic technique, with differing results.

Coonan obviously did his research since Rippy captures the feel of rural Australia. The remote Outback location, complete with dusty country roads and dilapidated farmhouses illuminated by flickering porch lighting, feels genuine. But the erratic CGI is startling and takes us straight out of the eerie countryside. Rippy himself frequently looks more like a rubber Halloween costume than a realistic zombie. Any sense of menace is undermined by the floating fakeness when he punches or rushes with teeth and claw. It's also unfortunate because gore effects that use real makeup were not bad.

Gave it a half star extra for being an Australian film...