First, let me open by saying I'm a huge fan of horror, and have been since I was 13. Some of my favourite films are ones some people regard as too disturbing to watch more than once – Martyrs, Inside, etc – so you know I'm no wuss.
About a month ago I watched Simon Rumley's 'Red, White & Blue'. The director had previously made 'The Living and the Dead' starring (the now, sadly, late) Roger Lloyd Pack, who readers might know from UK TV's 'Only Fools & Horses'. He delivers a sterling performance too. Now, if I'd have KNOWN the same director was responsible for 'Red, White & Blue', I probably wouldn't have bought it; not to say 'The Living and the Dead' isn't a good film – it's bloody great, but very disturbing, unsettling and ultimately extremely sad. You can watch the trailer here:
So, unknowingly, I settled down to watch what looked to be a straight revenge flick – think 'The Horseman' (and any of you who have yet to see THAT Aussie classic, I advise you to get onto your favourite site right now!). Red, White & Blue turned out to be something much more disturbing.
For starters there are no good guys and bad guys here, the lines are extremely blurred, and you find yourself sympathising with everyone. The small cast are excellent, but Noah Taylor ('Shine') steals the entire show. His brutal revenge is explained in the final – absolutely devastating – closing shot. You can watch the trailer here:
It took me three weeks to exorcise this film from my mind; I carried it around with me as it bludgeoned my brain with images day after day after day. Now I've typed this, it's come back, and I know I'm going to have to put up with those images again! You have been warned.
Elizabeth (I am from England so my spelling is English) M.
UNK SEZ: Elizabeth, you truly are a kindred spirit! Here is my reaction to RED, WHITE & BLUE over HERE, THE HORSEMAN (2008) around HERE and MARTYRS smack-dab HERE. I never wrote a review for THE LIVING AND THE DEAD because I was bound and determined to forget it as soon as possible in order to protect my well-being. Thanks for writing in!
As I mentioned in Unk's post on R,W&B, if you want to see a work of Rumley's that makes all his others seem tame by comparison watch his segment "Bitch" in the movie "Little Deaths."
Here, I'll make it easy for you: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/27518902/Bitch.m4v
Wow, this guy is the king of feel-good films. I just watched "bitch" and I have to admit that I'm a little torn about whether it was more savage than RW&B. Both firmly inhabit the infernal plane and I'm not sure if you can really go any lower. I get the feeling that Rumley may have some strong feelings about revenge, but I'm not sure what they are. My general take-away message: not worth it.