If you can't guess what is going to happen within about 10 minutes, then you obviously paid no attention during your literary courses and you need some serious mental help. Of course, this movie sets itself up as being all about the journey itself, and on that note, I feel it must get a mixed review. As others have pointed out in some reviews I've read, there is some visual appeal here and there. I did love the peep hole scenes and odd camera angles. But they spent way too much time telling the 'story' of the murders at the cabin, all of which includes too much unnecessary gore. Something about the film just feels wrong, like they tried too hard and rushed too much rather than taking their time, or maybe they just alloted the time they did have to all the wrong things. The concept of a serial killer revealing his recent killing spree to someone in the disguise of a fictional story is intriguing, but I think the concept could've been executed much more effectively as a drama than a predictable, fairy-tale-like parody of already cheesy 80's slasher films. Think about it--let the characters meet, maybe let the killer be more complex and less one dimensional so he has genuine feelings for the girl, then somehow they unintentionally end up back at the scene of his crimes. In that scenario, you wouldn't know what he would choose to do. Will he kill his new love interest? Will he sacrifice himself to spare her? Maybe she is a bit dark as well, so there's even a question as to whether or not she'd turn him in anyway. Now that is a movie I'd like to see. This one, not so much. A pleasant diversion, visually, but you'd have to be a zombie to even feign surprise at the outcome. I mean, come on, a creepy guy who makes no bones about hating the girl from the very beginning? How could that possibly go wrong?
Review of Red Velvet
Red Velvet
(2008)
Interesting concept, but too contrived, predictable, and flat
6 November 2009
Warning: Spoilers