Search - Return in Red on DVD

FANGORIA review (by MICHAEL GINGOLD)

Tyler Tharpe | Indianapolis, IN United States | 03/19/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Midwest filmmaker Tyler Tharpe's FREAK set itself apart from other psycho flicks partially through its tangible rural atmosphere, and the same quality informs his new RETURN IN RED (Image). Tharpe's use of recurring visual motifs also helps evoke a sense of small-town life whose daily rhythms are thrown off when a covert government sound-wave experiment causes the residents to violently harm themselves and each other. The gritty 16mm lensing and marvelously moody lighting by IN THE COMPANY OF MEN's Tony Hettinger (replicated quite well in the full screen transfer) helps fuel the movie's slow-burning tension; more restless viewers may fins the pace too slow, but patience is rewarded with well-sustained suspense sequences and startling bursts of mayhem. And at 102 minutes, the release cut bears better pacing than the initially circulated 116-minute version."

A little gem

B. Oosterhoorn | Amsterdam, Holland | 07/04/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"RETURN IN RED is no less than a find. Its title may intrigue, but the packaging (borrowing from 28 DAYS LATER) is generic and for lack of marketing budget we know nothing of the movie. It's 'small', it's Americana, it's paranoia and, most of all, it starts very slow. But it has GREAT atmosphere, the - for the most part - amateur acting is not bad, actually quite fitting, and the basic assumption, however simplistic, is convincing enough.

A great little movie that deserves better than the minimal festival attention it has gathered."

Low budget WORKS for this film

J. Nipper | 04/11/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Some people claim that this film is too long for what it is. I disagree. If it was any shorter, it would've felt like the director got impatient with his own film. Fast paced films on a low budget don't work. I loved this movie for it's sheer creepiness. There's no explanation for the eerie van, nor it's intentions, which is fine by me. Movies that try to explain themselves are usually mindless bores (Re: Thirteen Ghosts, Amityville remake)that make you disappointed with the film as a whole.



I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. No-name actors set the reality mark of not knowing whats going to happen. Low budget gives the film its small time mood with a big time story. The pacing is the icing on the cake, just enough build-up to make for a satisfying ending.



I have only one complaint about this movie: 1:33!!! I hate fullscreen! But it was still enjoyable. Just would've been better in widescreen. All in all, if you prepare yourself for a non-big budget extravaganza, and go into this knowing that this a low budget film, you should be satisfied. Not the greatest indie film ever made, but fun to watch.



- Jascha Nipper"

This is a bad movie - really bad.

M. Henke | Saint Charles, MO United States | 11/19/2007

(1 out of 5 stars)

"When I read the box at the video store, I thought this sounded like a great idea. Now, however, I wish I had rented just about anything else in the store - this was easily the most boring movie I have seen in the last 5 years, no kidding. The premise is good: a government experiment on residents of a small town, utilizing sound waves on individuals to see the effects of madness and excessive violence. The idea made me think of an older movie called Warning Signs which was actually a decent low budget film with Sam Waterston and Yaphet Kotto about government conspiracies and people going insane and becoming violent. But the problem with Return in Red, as some of the other reviews have already stated, was that there was WAAAAAY too much build-up. This 100+ minute movie had too many un-necessary scenes and superfluous characters that added nothing to the story. They could have made this into a 45 minute short film and it still would have been too long. I don't think the director, Tyler Tharpe, has any sense at all of pacing or how to edit his work so that the story moves forward without completely boring the viewer.

The bottom line: promising idea but awful execution.

Do not under any circumstances waste any time or money on this movie. If you like the story concept, rent Warning Signs instead."