Rent Red (2008)

Justice for Red. - Red review by CP Customer

Avery Ludlow is a small town grocery store owner who lives alone with his constant companion, a 14 year old mongrel name Red. When Avery takes the day off work to go fishing at the local lake he’s approached by a group of three teens out hunting. While the conversation starts off as friendly it soon becomes menacing in tone as one boy points his gun at Avery and demands money. When all he is offered is the 20 dollars in the glove-box of Avery’s truck, he calmly points his shotgun at Red and at point blank range shoots the dog in the head. The boys then calmly walk away, laughing at the old man and his dying dog. After going home and burying his dog, Avery visits a local gun store and through their records identifies owner of the shotgun as Danny McCormack, the son of wealthy businessman Michael McCormack who despite his respectable facade is little more than a redneck with political connections. And in his search for justice it’s not long before Avery and the McCormack’s enter a bitter feud. ‘Red’ is a film which suffered terrible setbacks during its production, Angela Bettis was originally cast as local reporter Carrie Donnel, the female lead in the film. Though the producers were so unhappy with her performance she was sacked after the first few weeks of shooting, Director Lucky McKee, making a stand for Bettis then resigned taking key members of the crew with him. Production came to a halt, Kim Dickens was cast in Bettis’ role and then the rest of the film was shot by Norwegian director Trygve Diesen. Despite all the behind the scenes drama ‘Red’ is a pretty good revenge thriller with an engaging storyline which slowly builds in pace. Cox is excellent as the mild mannered Avery who stubbornly stands his ground against a dangerous and well connected family. Overall, ‘Red’ is a well written revenge drama which is very similar in tone to a Stephen King novella, and despite a slightly sappy ending this tense, slowly paced and powerful film is well worth renting.

Red revenge. - Red review by NP

I was surprised to read ‘Red’ had a fairly fractious history. Original director Lucky McKee pulled out in support of his long-term collaborator Angela Bettis, who had been removed from the project. Kim Dickens had the awkward task of replacing the wonderful Bettis, and is very good in the role of Carrie.

The resultant film is surprisingly good considering the circumstances. Brian Cox is his usual reliable self, giving Avery Ludlow a quiet dignity belying a resilient determination – and I defy anyone not to sympathise with him completely when he and faithful dog Red are confronted by protected local hoodlums, also very well played, especially the relentlessly self-hating Harold (Kyle Gallner) and truly irredeemable Danny (Noel Fisher. Fisher is probably a lovely guy in real life, but his performance here makes you want to throttle him). Robert Englund and Ashley Laurence also pop up briefly, adding to a terrific cast.

My only problem is that the story relies a little too much on the stupidity of the villains. If they didn’t over-reach themselves quite so fully (as I suppose braggarts are prone to do), things would have turned out a lot differently. Also, there is a back-story for Avery that doesn’t really achieve anything except add an extra layer of tragedy for the poor fellow, as well as giving Cox and Dickens a good opportunity to showcase their excellent acting. My score is 7 out of 10.

Red or dead - Red review by CP Customer

To be honest me and my wife couldn't get into this film at all.It's quite slow,the dog (red) is killed within the first 5 minutes and not much really happens after that.

Other people may like it of course but it just wasn't my thing.