2h 1m
Director: Panos Cosmatos

Not gonna lie, this is one of the most violent films I've ever seen so I'm warning you in advance, if you're easily shocked then I'm certain you won't enjoy it.

This movie is like a film student's wet dream because it uses almost every psychological device in the play book but has the benefit of a decent production team and a large enough budget to make a professional product. Nick Cage really earns his pay in this one and you will rarely see a more visceral performance.

The basic theory of a revenge flick is that the baddies cause so much harm (psychological, physical or both) in the first half of the movie that the audience then finds itself rooting for the protagonist as they watch them commit wrath in the second half. This is that theory turned up to 11!

You'll see it has mixed reviews and quite often a low score around the internet which is probably because it's quite a challenging watch. If you're into film though, you'll love it because you get to see all that theory put into practice. You certainly won't be forgetting it in a hurry if you like a visual spectacle!

Red and Mandy have an idyllic relationship and are very much in love. Mandy is spotted whilst out for a walk by a cult leader who becomes infatuated and decides they must kidnap her.

The cult take her, drug her and present her to their leader. Mandy rejects him (which emphasises her love for Red). They then burn her in front of Red who is incapacitated. That is Red's motivation for revenge and because the film shows his anguish throughout the proceedings, it is easy to empathise with him.

Cage does a superb job of portraying Red's apoplectic state and you've probably seen the meme of him in the bathroom in his underwear, downing booze whilst he screams uncontrollably. It's the kind of thing you'd never do even privately and yet Cage puts it on screen for you. It feels voyeuristic. So when the killing starts, you understand the character's motivations.

You remember I mentioned the theory of a revenge flick earlier? Well the harshness of the revenge is really proportional to the suffering of the protagonist. I'm not sure they'd pull off the level of violence in the second half of this movie if you hadn't seen Red suffer so much in the first half.

The editor likes using saturated hues to capture the mood and usually that irritates me but in this film it seems to feel quite natural. A lot of it is real lighting which is probably why it works so well. There's no shortage of unrelated imagery to help communicate the emotions being expressed throughout and it's inter-cut with cross fades so it feels quite seamless.

You can see why I said that film enthusiasts will love it? It's arty just to the point of pretension which would usually turn me off but they get away with it.

The pacing's a bit slow but bare with it, they are building things up to the point of insanity.

Red is the hue that represents the anger of his revenge and Red is the name of the protagonist, red is also of course the colour of blood, which there's plenty of in the second half.

Worth mentioning is an appearance by Bill Duke from that scene in Predator where he breaks the razor against his own face, who plays Red's friend. That scene gives Red a chance to reflect his frustrations about his traumatic experiences as well as receive a bit of exposition about the cult which raises the stakes a bit.

The soundtrack oscillates between classic rock numbers and analogue synths which works well as it's set in 1983 and it has a very retro feel. You'll notice that the music really compliments the visuals and makes each scene feel very strong, by that I mean that nothing about this film tippy toes about, it's in your face most of the way through and it never seems uncertain about the impression it's trying to give you.

Anyway, enough gushing from me. Don't watch this if you're having a romantic night in with your partner, you won't be in the mood afterwards (probably!).

It's not the kind of film I'd watch too many times personally because it's emotionally exhausting but if you love your film and don't mind it a bit arty sometimes then give it a go - I guarantee you won't forget it, even if you hate every frame!



Trailer: