Red Cockroaches

I still can't get over the fact that this film's budget was $2000. The director- cinematographer- editor, (Cuban-born Miguel Coyula) has put together a very intense film that doesn't reveal its minimal resources. Here we have a very dark story with very twisted characters. I felt that there was a couple of loose ends in the subplots, but that's just a personal observation. The film grabs you to the seat for it's hour and a half min, and stays with you afterward. That's, i think , the best way to describe it without spoiling it. I doubt that Red Cockroaches will reach broad audience because of its perhaps overly artistic nature, but those looking into something really unusual will appreciate it.

It's the future again and the world is screwed up again. It seems acid rain is mutating people and a company called DNA 21 is staging a cover-up, but none of that is really much in focus as the plot concerns an unattractive guy falling in love/lust with an unattractive girl. He lives in an apartment in NYC and become his new roommate. I've only just finished watching the movie and already I find it hard to talk about the plot because there pretty much isn't one. In short, "Red Cockroaches" is a zero budget sci-fi dystopian incest movie.

People have been making a lot of noise over the visuals in this film. What they actually added up to were a few futuristic aircraft tossed into shots of the city and a few badly staged shots of the mutated red cockroaches of the title. Special effects included the movie looked like crap. The fact that the film had no budget does not change the fact that the movie is ugly. I'll admit it looks a trifle better than a zero budget movie, but that's the same as saying the CG looks bad enough for an expensive movie of ten years earlier.

There is little to be said. The two leads are ugly and their characters behave in ugly ways. It isn't a profound tragedy and it doesn't really have any good dark humor. The "story"'s unpleasant resolution doesn't teach us anything new. Come to think of it I haven't been this hard up to say something nice about a movie since I saw Brian Yuzna's "Faust". Both are thorough-going cinematic sadism.

The DVD featured another short film from the director, Miguel Coyula. The short film is also poorly paced, unpleasant and pointless. Why this guy is making movies is beyond me. The package says this film is the winner of "20 film festival awards worldwide", which makes me wonder is that many film festivals give out a last place award. This whole review has sounded cruel and negative so I'll close on the same note and say I'd have been happier watching an Uwe Boll movie.

Red Cockroaches is a freakish, bizarre, avant-garde-ish science fiction/thriller about forbidden love and mutants. Yeah, it's odd, but it's incredibly captivating. The acting is exquisite, the directing divine, and the cinematography is absolutely splendid. The most interesting thing about it? It was shot on a budget of $0 as a labor of love from award winning Cuban filmmaker Miguel Coyula.

This surreal indie features a young man living in New York in the not-to-distant future. Acid rain plagues the city making people nuts and the titular title creatures. The man runs into an intriguing woman on the subway but when he tries to talk to her all that is left is a strange tooth. Later the woman becomes his roommate and it all get's absolutely bizarre from there.

Red Cockroaches touches on a gamut of topics least of which is incest. Pretty nuts but it's a very good flick otherwise. Very well made and acted on a shoestring.

S10 Says: Acting: 8 / 10 Direction: 8 / 10 Writing: 7 / 10 Photography: 7 / 10 Production Design: 7 / 10 The Sound: 7 / 10 Music: 6 / 10 Laughs / Scares / Thrills / the Gore Zone: 6 / 10 Fun Value: 6 / 10 Overall: 7 / 10 Score: 69 / 100

I loved this film. It was stunning, shocking and graceful in its visual garden of DV special effects. Not only did it keep my attention but it drove me to think out side of the box when thinking of a future genetic power world. The acting was strong and powerful and Coyula took obvious risk in many of scenes. It had a Clock Work Orange feel but was mixed with Star Wars type visuals. I had a chance to view the film at the 2004 MicroCinema Festival and it was by far the best thing on the screen during the 4 day event. Miguel Coyula is a film maker of the future and one should keep a close eye on and I expect great work from him in the future.