Customer Reviews

Red Victoria

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Anthony Brownrigg, son of cult filmmaker S.F. Brownrigg (DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT, KEEP MY GRAVE OPEN, SCUM OF THE EARTH), wrote, directed, produced, and starred in this film. He spent very little money to create this film, originally as a "resume" piece to help him secure funding for another project. However, his film is so well done, the acting is so superb, and the story so fantastic, it has become a breakout hit and is generating a lot of buzz. I was fortunate enough to attend the screening at Texas Frightmare Weekend 2008, where the film was made available for sale on limited distribution DVD, and it was awarded the coveted AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD.

Arianne Martin plays an undead muse who comes to inspire Tim to write a good horror screenplay. Tim believes horror is low-brow opiate for the masses and hardly worthy of his intelligence. Victoria, the undead muse, inspires him by killing a few people, working to induce horrific situations, and teaching him about the emotion of horror. Carl, played by Edward Landers, is a horror fan and a friend of Tim's who is also enlisted to help Tim gain the knowledge necessary to write this horror film. Arianne, Tony, and Ed create memorable scenes, their acting is supreme, and their interactions are natural and very believable.

Memorable moments include a horror film adaptation of the infamous Who's On First, a finger poked deep into an eye socket, and the ending which I will not reveal here.

I will be purchasing the released DVD for the many new extras including a very fun "zombie dance" by the lovely Arianne Martin that are not available on the limited distribution DVD I currently own.

This film is a must-see for horror fans, comedy fans, and fans of great independent low-budget cinematic brilliance.

My friend in NY told me about this movie and how good it is. He was right!
If you like movies that are uniquely original that are well made you'll love Red Victoria. This guy will be on the A director list soon. Also, the DVD extra's are great. Loved the special effects section..

Comedic horror films are a fine balance; too much comedy can overwhelm and kill the horror. Films that achieve this fine balance -- films with great laughs and true scares -- include AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, RE-ANIMATOR, and EVIL DEAD.

RED VICTORIA fails as horror. It doesn't even try to scare.

Jim (played by Tony Brownrigg) is a mainstream writer who is pressured by his agent into writing a horror script. Jim hates horror, but does it for the money. Along the way, an evil muse appears in the form of a corpse (zombie?) and kills Jim's friends and associates to "inspire" Jim.

Some have compared RED VICTORIA to a sitcom, and it is -- a bad sitcom. The soundtrack is thick with upbeat songs and peppy music. Brownrigg's notion of acting is lots of zany mugging for the camera. "Ain't this wacky?!" he seems to be winking at the audience.

Jim talks to himself when he's alone in a room, as if he were Woody Allen, or stuck in a Neil Simon play.

The film is full of clichés, misconceptions, and old satirical targets. For instance, the cliché of the greedy agent who pressures a talented writer into doing horror, because it's a "surefire money-maker." In truth, agents don't need to pressure writers to create horror -- horror writers are everywhere. And the market is glutted with indie horror films seeking distributors. Hardly a "surefire" money-making genre.

RED VICTORIA is also marred by self-indulgence. Since Brownrigg is the writer, director, producer, and star, nobody on the set held him back. Almost every scene runs on too long. Several times, I fast-forwarded, having gotten the gist of yet another "scene that wouldn't end," and anxious to get on with the story.

Arianne Martin is much better as the muse, because, for whatever reason, she doesn't mug or overact. She's a subtle foil to Brownrigg's mugging -- but the contrast only makes Brownrigg look worse.

Christian Taylor has a funny bit role as Blake, Jim's pseudo-intellectual friend. Taylor delivers his satirical lines (which he improvised, according to the DVD's special features) in deadpan fashion -- a funnier choice than Brownrigg's mugging.

Yet despite Martin and Taylor's good efforts, RED VICTORIA needs less of Brownrigg, much less of Brownrigg's mugging, shorter scenes, and less peppy music. It needs more darkness to balance the humor.

The first 70-75 minutes are a straight (and unfunny) comedy. Then about 5 minutes of romance. And then 5 minutes of darkness, where it actually begins to get scary. Then the end credits.

I'm being generous with the 2 stars, but the film did get a little interesting toward the end, as the romance and darkness finally began to emerge. And the film's not so bad, provided you have a trusty fast-forward button on your DVD remote.

Wow, the other two reviewers really enjoyed this......

I kinda enjoyed it, but it has one fatal flaw.... it totally loses it's way in the final ten to fifteen minutes and just about everything goes wrong...

This is a low budget flick, and the actress playing Victoria isn't truly up to the job. The two males leads are quite good though. The plot about a writer being forced to compose a horror title gets pushed to the side for the most part - instead the film is really about the writer trying to get rid of Victoria.

It tries to be all culty, and funny.... but it's just not happening. There's no over-the-top gore, or really any great one liners. And no nudity either. Sorry, it's what I'd have expected of a cult movie wannabe (and if it's not trying to be a cult film, just whom is this for?!?!)

Look, you're got to see Shaun of the Dead, or Slither if you want to see how horror comedy should be done. Because this one really doesn't work all that well.

And what they were thinking with that final ten minutes I don't know - way to bring the audience down dudes!