Feature Film Review
Film Info:
A troubled yet loving family man on a solo adventure deep in the wilderness has a gruesome accident and is the only witness to an unspeakable horror that forces him to fight for his life against a mysterious killer. Written By: Glen Schultz Directed By: Glen Schultz Genre: Horror 66 Minutes IndyRed.com |
RED TRAIL 90 ( 2014 )
An interesting name for a film and a rather mysterious sounding tag line should be more than enough to reel a few viewers into Glen Schultz's found footage styled Red Trail 90. The film opens with a brief scene showing the main character running away from a shack, all bloody before we flash back and start the actual film. Quickly then, Red Trail 90 begins to set it's pace and we begin down a much slower path to the films grim conclusion. The result is one of the slower Indie flicks you may come across and although it may have it's faults, it has enough great moments to make you wish it were a flawless piece.
The setup for Red Trail 90 is a flick that sets you up to be a great film, then makes you wait for that great conclusion. It's all about the time spent waiting for what you know will be a nice ending. At it's heart, this film is a well written "Found Footage" film that although has a lot going for it, also has some major issues standing in it's way. The main peeve of mine? The pacing and length. Red Trail 90 consists mainly of the lead character walking or 4-Wheeling through the woods. I can honestly say that the film's content consists of at least 75 percent of nothing but a lone man traveling the woods. In an attempt to break this up we are treated to flashbacks of the man's life before his trip. Not nearly enough though. However, let me put this into a positive perspective. Most of the film is one man in the woods. The fact that it remains watchable for over an hour is because there are enough interesting shots and good editing to keep you tuned in. At the end of the day though it's still a good 45 minutes of a man walking or driving in a forest. The best post work in the world couldn't change that. My other main gripe was a strange addition to the audio track. Constant and demonic sounding whispers. I'm guessing it was to beef up a few of the scenes, but I kept waiting for something Supernatural to happen. Anything. Nothing happened though. It turns out the "Whispering" actually served no purpose that I could see. None at all. Funny thing though... When watching Red Trail 90 the whispering helped keep me watching as I tried to figure out what it was. As the credits began to roll though, it really bothered me that I spent so much time thinking about something that had nothing to do with anything. Red Trail 90 is not a perfect film but it's not a bad film either. There is enough good content here to keep you interested... just not enough to make it spectacular. I can't shake the feeling that if this same film were edited into a 30 minute short it would be amazing. Take out all the pointless wondering and get right to the point so to speak. Aside from filler though, I just don't see a point in 45 minutes of wondering with the occasional meaningless whisper thrown in. Writer / Director Glen Schultz presents an interesting world and a good story with Red Trail 90. It's acted well and put together neatly. A great ending that get's your heart slowly pumping then jolts you into realization! For the cost of a good cup of Coffee now days, you are treated to a little over an hour of pure Indie Entertainment. That's money well spent. -MC Other Reviews That May Interest You
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