Red River marks the return of Jacob Ennis who put out 2009's Stash. Stash received mixed reviews and it seemed as though it was a "love it or hate it" affair. The supposed budget was $5000 so don't go into this expecting some kind of explosion filled blockbuster (as if you would). In the same vein of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the more recent Carver, Red River is a horror film that is all about family.
The film takes place in the backwoods of Kentucky. This morbid story follows a man named Roland Thatcher, a good ol' boy who doesn't enjoy people wandering near his neck of the woods. A group of youngsters from the big city take a trip to the small town and set up camp around the area Thatcher calls home. It isn't long before the women in the group find themselves nude in Thatcher's personal torture chamber. Many vicious acts are to take place and if anyone makes it out alive they will surely never be the same. Only to add to the insanity the slayings provide Thatcher's deformed son with food.
Films of this style can be very hit or miss, I'm sure we have all seen our fair share of hillbilly horror trainwrecks. Fortunately Red River falls somewhere in between. The movie could be paced a little better because there isn't much mindblowing dialogue to keep the watcher's attention. The acting ranges from good to terrible but one wouldn't expect much more from a flick with such a low budget.
The only thing about the acting that really takes away from the overall viewing experience is the action sequences. The chase scenes could use a bit of improvement and the moments where victims are fighting for their lives seem very robotic (if that makes any sense whatsoever). If their is one department Red River delivers in it is the gore. The effects are very well done and consist of all traditional methods, not a trace of CGI to be found. The wooden spear through the neck gag was particularly well done and it actually grabs your attention enough to take the focus off the mechanical action scenes. Another cool element is Thatcher's larynx microphone. It gives off an eerie vibe and really adds to his role as the villain.
All in all Red River is average at best. With a little more work on the writing and better execution on certain scenes this flick could be pretty good. Unfortunately Red River spends just a tad too much time developing characters the viewer doesn't really care about in the first place. Let's be honest, in most cases going into a film like this one is just looking for buckets of blood splatter, guts, and severed limbs, and while Red River does deliver those elements it takes too much time to get there. When the action is finally brought forth the viewers attention is already waning. If it's a rainy day and you are dying to see some tits and gore than Red River would fit the bill but there are quite a few other flicks out there that do it better.
Gore: 8/10
Kills:6/10
Overall: 5/10
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