Red River Road – Review
91 Minutes, Not rated
Written and Directed by The Schuyler Family
Synopsis:
A family of four, isolating themselves against a pandemic virus that spreads through the internet and robs you of your ability to perceive reality–often violently–begins to unravel as they suspect one or all of them might be infected.
Red River Road won two Independent Spirit Awards (Stony Brook Film Festival and A Night of Horror (Sydney, Australia)), and was written, directed, crewed, and performed by the Schulyer family over 20 days during the 2020 lockdown.
Oh, goody, you must be thinking: another lockdown movie.
I know how you feel. But this one is a bit different.
Instead of a generic virus, we learn, as the film progresses, that we’re in full-on, sci-fi, conspiracy-theory territory here, with a virus that is literally network-based. While they never explicitly say 5G, it’s implied from the discussion of using networks that are “3G at best.”
Also interesting is the use of all-the-way-to-Big-Brother type governmental monitoring through microchips that cause excruciating pain if you try to leave your designated boundaries: in this family’s case, the property line.
Daily deliveries of barely adequate foodstuffs and extras such as movies and clothes (as requested, though not always immediately), mean that a minimum level of subsistence is achieved so long as a maximum level of compliance is maintained.
Great conspiracy-theory stuff, isn’t it?
So in this case, the otherwise old-hat plot is freshened up a bit from what we’ve all gotten used to seeing in the last couple years.
It is especially impressive in that this was literally done by a single family, doing all aspects of the production.
Makes me believe I can pull off my one-man short film shot in my house. But I digress.
Without spoiling too much, I can say that the deterioration of perception, due to either the “virus” or something else lends itself to allowing us to slip deeper into the simultaneously small yet incredibly well-defined world we’re watching.
I wasn’t sure how this was all going to shake out when I sat down to watch it, but I’m glad I did. It’s nice to be surprised by a film, especially in this era of sequels and reboots.
Check it out.
Red River Road is now available to digital platforms and stars Paul, Jade, Shaw, and Quinn Schuyler.
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