[Red]
Plot:An older, reclusive man's best friend is his dog RED. When three teens kill his dog for no reason, the man sets out for justice and redemption within whatever means possible, legal or otherwise.

Cast:Brian Cox, Noel Fisher, Tom Sizemore, Kyle Gallner, Shiloh Fernandez.

My Thoughts:Well acted and well written.

Review:Lucky Mckee's horror/thriller pic "Red" is an adaptation of the Jack Ketchum novel, where an old small town man, has his dog killed via shotgun...by a kid from a prominent family that lives within the town. The man, Avery Ludlow...tries to do the right thing and go through the proper channels to get justice for his dog, Red. But the boys parents hold so much clout in town due to their prominence financially and politically...that no matter what Avery does, he simply cannot get anyone to hear him. Soon...he is driven to more "direct" measures to get justice.

Now I know what you're thinking...this is gonna be one of those films where a guy resorts to blood "Kill Bill"-styled violence to get retribution on those who murdered his beloved dog. But it's actually not, and the films horror elements...while not that strong when transferred from the novel which is definitely horrific, are there in the psychological sense. It's really a story about a man who is driven mad by an unfair system...and Avery Ludlow is played wonderfully by Brian Cox.

Ludlow is an easy going guy, who tries his best not to step on anyones toes. Even in the scene where Danny (Noel Fisher), and his friends Pete (Fernandez), and Harold (Gallner)...first meet Avery and Red, and pretty much stick up Avery for any valuables that he has...he responds to them with kindness, and ease. Whereas most people would've been scared or angry, thus escalating the situation...Ludlow is just relaxed and calm, willing to give the brash teens whatever they want, yet at the same time...maintaining his dignity and self-respect by not pleading for his life.

And even after his dog is killed, he still remains calm and collected. But in this story, he is really pushed into a metamorphosis of a desperate man forced to do desperate things. This itch becomes even more impossible not to scratch when he talks with Danny's father (Sizemore), who pretty much takes Ludlow's sob story about his son murdering his dog, and shrugs it off nonchalantly. This is also the response of Pete's father played by Robert Englund in a cameo role. And this lack of empathy for Ludlow just makes that crack in Ludlow's psyche grow larger.

There's alot of similarities between "Red" and Lucky Mckee's "May", which was Lucky's first horror film, and was what gave him his name in the genre. We watched May slowly lose her mind as people kept rejecting her friendship, and we watch Ludlow slowly lose his calm and mental stability as people keep rejecting his cries for justice and punishment against the kids who murdered his beloved pet. Also...like in "May", where May kept stalking Jeremy Sisto's character, Coxes character Avery Ludlow keeps watching the punks who killed his dog from afar, confronting them every now and then..letting them know that he doesn't plan to let what happened go.

But what makes this film work are the performances. Cox is a guy who you just can't help but fele sorry for, and cheer for....and Sizemore and Fisher's characters are people who you just can't help but root against, and hope that they get what's coming to them in the end. Everyone plays their character very well in the movie, creating a scenario where there's no gray area or inbetween. The characters are clearly on one side or the other, and this makes the story and what transpires alot easier to digest.

Ludlow does get some help in a local newswoman, who offers to give the story some exposure, hoping it'll catch on and get the public angry...but when that doesn't work, Ludlow is forced to go the route of more harsher measures. And when Ludlow is harassed in the form of bricks through the window, and having his store burned down...in response to his constant persistence that the boy who murdered his dog gets punished...Ludlow takes the fight to the boys home, which leads to a pretty decent finale, although in some areas the finale is weak as well.

For one thing...it doesn't end when or how it should end. There are some unfair things that happen to Ludlow, and there's kind of an anti-climatic feeling that comes out when the film makes you believe it's on it's way to ending during a car chase scene down the tail end of the movie, but that only comes as a set up to the films very end...which can be described as sloppy, disappointing in some ways, and just not harsh enough on the villains of the movie.

"Red" however does manage to deliver in most areas, especially in the performance arena...as well as the story which will tug at the heartstrings of even the hardest heart. But the ending needed some work, and that takes away not too much, but just a little bit from what proceeds it.

Positives:Excellent performances and a solid story.

Negatives:The ending as I said was not hard enough on the villains, and it was sloppy in some areas also.

Overall:Three out of four stars.





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