|
|
 |
|
|
|
| |
|
Review
by
Doug Red
Film:6
:
DVD:7
|
 |
| SNEAK
PREVIEW | DVD
Release Date: February 1, 2011 |
| People
are disappearing from the Kentucky countryside never to be seen
again. Investigative reporters can find no evidence of what is
happening other than the fact that people are missing. Scoffing
at the rampant tales of missing people, a group of horny youths
head out for a fun party weekend of swimmin', drinkin', and lovin'.
Treasure hunters comb the woods looking for hidden treasure. Two
nutty rangers are on the job patrolling the area, with three more
back at the base. And at the center of the mystery is a decrepit,
sprawling house of evil. |
|
This
is the setup for Jacob Ennis' new film Red
River. Like a campfire tale, the plot is not something
new to the earth that will dazzle you with a plot points you've
never seen before; the story is designed to deliver shocks and
excitement. However, in the best tradition of oral storytelling,
the joy and the talent is in the telling of the tale that shows
panache, style and heart. Red River
is filled with bizarre characters and situations that breath fresh
life into the thin traditional premises that have been utilized
in previous backwoods horror films from Texas
Chain Saw Massacre to Wrong
Turn. The main maniac responsible for the mayhem is one
Roland Thatcher (ably played at full hambone mode by David Haney),
a god-fearin' fixture of the local community who is also a murderous
cannibalistic maniac. He keeps body parts and women in cages underneath
his labyrinthine house of evil, where his mammary-loving deformed
son "Hamburger Head" (Jason Crowe) acts as a guard dog
complete with dog house. He talks only with the aid of one of
those electronic voice enhancers, and makes his living selling
the best fertilizer around (what kind of critters must make up
that fertilizer is eventually answered). The churchgoing, snake-handling
Thatcher does sometimes take the time to baptize victims before
their death with a dash of twisted sincerity. Roland is the sort
of neighbor even Mr. Rogers would reject. |
|
And
what of Thatcher's prey? They are crazily memorable characters
brought to life by talented newcomers, defying the stereotype
that slasher films have uninteresting victims. It's hard not to
root for their survival. Favorites include Ranger Darcy (comely
and sassy Tucky Williams), who is new to the ranger biz and reacts
with increasing horror to Thatcher's home, culminating in a hilarious
freak-out over a jar of eyes that keep looking at her; and beer-swilling
smart-mouth Samantha (lovely Jackey Hall) who has a sequence where
she keeps drinking and roasting marshmallows, ultimately winding
up unconscious with marshmallows squished between her toes before
taking a fateful trip to her sleeping bag. The story is told with
gusto, too, featuring original kills (death by roto-tiller), fine
low-budget effects (beheadings, flesh gouging, living breast removal,
eyes in jars, heads crushed, necks ripped), bountiful nudity,
great gallows humor, and a general sense of verve. |
|
Red
River
keeps the tradition of regional horror films alive with this truly
southern production that is filled to the tipping point with carnage
and evil glee. With Roland Thatcher, David Haney has created a
Deep South boogy man who will doubtless become a legendary figure
haunting low-budget films for years to come. |
|
|
| Bloody
Earth Film's release of Red River
boasts a rather good-looking transfer for such a micro-budget
DTV production. The 1.85 non-anamorphic picture has only minimal
problems with 'blow out', moire effect and edge enhancement (in
comparison to so many of its contemporaries); the Dolby 2.0 stereo
audio track is solid if unremarkable. |
|
There
are many interesting extras. The River Runs Red: The Making
of Red River (37 min.) goes over the usual trials and tribulations
of making any film, but unlike Hollywood product, Red
River was done on a super-low budget in rural Kentucky
without the aid of any big studio machine. There are also some
interesting tidbits that make the film more remarkable, such as
the reveal that Thatcher's house wasn't a set, but the actual
residence of a local eccentric who set out to make a scary place
and succeeded, giving the production a genuinely eerie, authentic
location. (The filmmakers used to go up there as kids and get
scared out of their wits.) Tucky Williams wound up with blood
poisoning from poison oak getting in her bloodstream but liked
working on the film anyway (and mentioning ominously that "there
are worse places to get poison oak" than on one's ankle), and
Dustin Roe (who plays Wes) recounts being sent to an emergency
room, deliriously babbling about the film as if it had actually
happened and the hospital staff thinking it was true. Ronica Jones
(cute 'breast donor' Tammera) talks about the process of filming
with all the enthusiasm of a new starlet just getting into the
business, and in general this 'making-of' doc is almost as interesting
as the feature itself. In Video Blog: On Location (8 min.)
we get to tour Thatcher House up close and personal, a must-see
for independent filmmakers on how to effectively utilize a 'found'
location. Deleted Scenes include more bits with all the
ranger characters, and shots of the locals trying to explain the
disappearances to the crusading journalist, including extra footage
of the UFO nut's theories. Interesting stuff, but nothing was
essential in the cut scenes. Creating a Monster (9 min.)
details the creation of Hamburger Head, with plenty of footage
of SFX gurus Cineline Productions concerning design and implementation
of Roland's deformed progeny. Finally, the Bloody Earth Trailer
Vault showcases such films as Stash
(another 'Backwoods Horror' directed by Ennis), American
Punks, A Feast of Flesh and
Blood and Sex Nightmare. 1/23/11
|
|
HOME
| REVIEWS
| TOP
|
