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The Dark Red (2018)
Dark Sky Films
DVD Released: 4/28/2020
All Ratings out of
Movie:
1/2
Video:
Audio:
1/2
Extras:
Review by Mike Long, Posted on 5/4/2020
As someone who focuses on plot-structure, one of my least favorite story-telling
devices is the flashback tale. When
a film opens with a character who then recalls the story, it robs the movie of
suspense. These movies always show
the main individual in some sort of peril, which is pointless, because we know
that they survive. We simply wait
for the movie to catch up with the present so that we can know what ultimately
occurred. The Dark Red has
several elements which make it seem like just another direct-to-video thriller,
including the fact that the main character is asked to recount the story.
Does it do anything to separate itself
from the pack?
As The Dark Red opens, Sybil (April Billingsley) has just been admitted
to a mental hospital, where she is being evaluated by Dr. Deluce (Kelsey Scott).
They begin by discussing Sybil’s past, where, as a child, she was
orphaned and eventually adopted by her DSS caseworker.
A kind man named Dr. Morales (Bernard Setaro Clark) help young Sybil work
through her trauma. As she got
older, Sybil realized that she had the ability to read other people’s minds.
Unfortunately, her disclosure of this, along with her history of trauma,
lead to multiple psychiatric diagnoses.
Things changed when Sybil met David (Conal Byrne), a very patient man to
whom she grew quite close. However,
things got weird when David took Sybil to meet his parents, which lead to her
being institutionalized. Now, not
only must Sybil convince Dr. Deluce that she isn’t crazy, she must protect
herself from those who want her powers.
I certainly wouldn’t call The Dark Red a “kitchen sink” movie, but
Writers Dan Bush and Conal Byrne certainly have brought many elements to the
story. Along with the “is she
crazy?” mental hospital angle, we also get a romance, a paranoid thriller, and a
revenge movie all rolled into one.
And, with the finale, we get something akin to Dreamscape or Scanners.
The flashback segment (which also includes some flashbacks within
flashbacks) takes up about ¾ of the film’s running time, meaning that we do get
something beyond what would be the typical twist ending.
I don’t want to give too much away here, but once the movie’s actual story
reveals itself, it’s easy to assume that Bush and Byrne thought to themselves,
“I wonder what could have happened after the conclusion of Rosemary’s Baby?”
(Although, this idea has been explored twice before, first in the 1976
made-for-TV movie Look What Happened to Rosemary’s Baby and author Ira
Levin’s 1997 novel Son of Rosemary.)
This takes the story in an interesting direction which focuses on
maternal instinct and the extremes a woman will go to in order to protect her
child. It also steers the story
away from the supernatural and gives it more of a scientific explanation.
Thus, in some ways, The Dark Red is an ambitious film.
However, it’s the more lackluster bits which keep it from being wholly
successful. Director Dan Bush also
served as the film’s editor, so he has only himself to blame for the slack
pacing. As noted above, the
plot-structure robs the film of much-needed tension.
There is a scene in which Sybil is attempting to escape from captivity
and the fact that we know she does, makes the segment feel tedious.
While most modern independent films have a slick look, there is still
something low-budget about this project.
The acting is adequate, but Billingsley isn’t a very compelling lead.
Even with Sybil’s inconsistent nature, this performance makes it
difficult to get behind her. We
discussed the fact that the film crosses over several genres and this adds to
the unbalanced feel. There are some
good moments here and those who stick with the film will find that the last
fifteen minutes is impressive, as the story takes off in a new direction and it
offers a very nice call-back to a moment from early in the movie.
The Dark Red is one of those movies which isn’t awful or a mess,
but instead is frustrating because it’s easy to imagine how much better it could
have been with just a little bit of tweaking.
The Dark Red
over-estimates the power of a wig on DVD courtesy of Dark Sky Films.
The film has been letterboxed at 2.35:1 and the transfer is enhanced for
16 x 9 TVs. The image is sharp and
clear, showing no overt grain or defects from the source materials.
The colors look good and the image is never overly dark or bright.
The level of detail is acceptable, but the picture has a slightly flat
look to it, which is where the “low budget” look comes in.
The DVD carries a Dolby 2.0 audio track which provides clear dialogue and
sound effects. The audio is fine,
as we can always hear the actors and the music and sound effects never drown out
the dialogue. We get some obvious
stereo effects at times, especially when Sybil is in the cave.
The lone extra feature on The Dark Red DVD is a TRAILER for the film.