When I got this DVD in the mail today I was actually shocked to see that the site was quoted on the front cover. I said to myself, I must be watching to many movie, cause I don’t even remember seeing this one, maybe Steven reviewed it. So I checked the archives. Nothing. So I did some research and found that RED MIST is actually the U.S. title for the film FREAK DOG. So I went over and checked out my fellow writers review and found out that he didn’t really enjoy this movie for it’s story, but did in fact find it to be brutal. Maybe Steven enjoyed the brutally in this flick, because (yes for all your gore fans). it does have some very sick and twisted scenes. I just can’t say they are that enjoyable. Sick, Brutal, yes; but not enjoyable.
RED MIST is about a group of medical students whom like to party a lot and play pranks on one another and other people. One such prank puts the hospital janitor in a coma, where he almost dies. One student, Catherine Thomas (Arielle Kebbel) is upset and scared about the incident and tries to make the wrong thing right by injecting the man with an experimental drug that is thought to bring the brain back to life. With this mistake, Catherine has actually made scientific break though. While the doctor in charge is not happy with what she has done, he is pleased to see that the drug works. But the treatment has a brutal side effect that makes the brain go crazy and out of body experiences occur. Deadly and strange things begin to happen and the janitor starts to take revenge on the ones who pulled the prank on him. Catherine, is the only one who knows the true nature of what has happened and is the only one that can stop what is happening.
RED MIST has a script that is flip flops in its pacing. The movie starts off very, very slow, and kind of reminds me of all those other medical student horror films that seem to drag on forever. It not only into about an hour into the movie that the story starts to take shape and the real horror begins. The script lacks in character development as we’re only given the present tense of what the character is all about and are never really given any information on their past. The film also takes this really bizarre jump of a plot twist where we find out what is really going on. But it’s this last half of the movie that is the most brutal and most interesting.
The acting in the movie is not half bad, the performances are decent. That’s about all I can really say about them. Really what gives this film its edge is it’s use of shots and it’s decent production value. But the effects and disturbing and bloody kill scenes are what give this movie it’s uneasy and horrifying effect. One scene in particular reminded me very much of the stairs scene in PSYCHO and a scene in which a bloody nose gone wrong makes it’s victim look like CARRIE covered in pigs blood. There is also a HOSTEL like scene where acid is poured down a guys throat using a beer bong. So while the kills and gore are original in the film that really the only thing the movie has to go on. To say the least it’s a movie with a very nice and polished look and good production value, which make it’s easy to watch.
Overall, I can’t say that RED MIST is a great movie, as the story does have it’s flaws here and there, but for the most part it has the elements of a somewhat original plot that wasn’t exactly executed the right way. It’s style is unique and interesting, and it does have some good horrific moments, but it’s a crap shoot. I think some people will enjoy it and others such as myself will find it to be just alright, but lacking in certain aspects of the story.
The DVD has a few Bonus features which include The Making of RED MIST, an extended interview with actress Arielle Kebbel, and a featurette called The RED MIST Cast in Northern Ireland where the production was shot.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
