DVD Review: Red Hook
Red Hook (2009)
DVD Release Date: February 16, 2010
Directed By: Elizabeth Lucas
Cast: Christina Brucato, Hollis Scarborough, Tate Ellington, Terrence Mann
Review By: Kayley Viteo
So despite my better judgment (and my boredom), I waded back into the murky waters of Netflix Instant. This one caught my eye because of its female director, who had jumped from an award-wining musical short to horror of all things, but the plot seemed relatively simple and entertaining, and I always like an entertaining slasher movie.
Red Hook follows a freshman in college, Jenny, who is struggling to find her way after witnessing the brutal slaying of her older sister when she was a young girl. Agoraphobic and generally awkward, Jenny struggles to place herself in the college social world and (of course) wins some self-esteem when she meets a cute boy, but things go rapidly downhill when she signs up for a scavenger hunt that turns out to be a sinister game.
First off, I would be willing to bet that any practiced horror fan would be able to tell me the entire plot and “surprise” twist of this movie after reading only the plot. That’s not necessarily a doomed aspect to the movie, though – most slasher films are terribly derivative, but they work for a reason … and that’s because they’re also terribly entertaining. Red Hook is more terrible than it is entertaining, but I hesitate to completely dismiss it.
The film is quite obviously made with some serious love for both horror and New York City (both things for which I have insane affection), and regardless of the film’s numerous problems, the effort shines through onto the screen. Still, the film has some serious problems, the most disturbing of which is the hellacious ten or twenty minutes that felt like an hour where the film seemed to take an odd leap into being a romantic comedy complete with cheesy pop music. I nearly gave myself whiplash turning back to the screen in my shock – not only did it completely disrupt any eerie tone the film was trying to build, but it was downright laughable.
Still, I’ll admit that, despite the weirdness in which it was displayed, the two leads did have some serious chemistry, although the script was just too stilted to give them anything real to work with. The acting is right on par with what I expected (not terrible, not great) and actually, there are a few moments that are surprising in a good way when the script shines and the actors have some real material to showcase some skill. In particular, I think the lead actress has some genuine potential for the horror genre – she reminds me of Angela Bettis (of May fame). Generally, like with most really independent horror (in my humble opinion), there’s a whole lot to find fault with – but if you pay attention and take off your “horror genius” hat for 90 minutes, there are some good things here, too.
I have to admit to enjoying Red Hook if for no other reason than it was simple, relatively entertaining, and it did have some fun moments. The kills aren’t great (but some of the characters are so annoying, you just don’t care as long as there’s blood), and there is one absolutely awkward and uncomfortable sex scene that was horribly, horribly written, but there’s something about this movie that feels genuine and I like that. Nowadays, anyone with a phone could make something and call it a horror movie if they wanted to, but it takes some skill and love for the genre to make a full-blooded (pun intended) feature that has a real soul behind it. Although I certainly don’t like everything (or even a lot) about Red Hook, I appreciate that it actually tries to be something decent and doesn’t downplay itself to PG-13 for a wider audience of teenaged girls at slumber parties.
