Red River Road (Schuyler, 2020)
Red River Road is a challenging movie to critique because of how kitschy it is. It’s a low-budget
horror film that preys on universal and ubiquitous fears: pandemics and authoritarian
governments. Cue yawn sound effect…
However, the movie manages to take a cliché trope and present it in a fresh and novel way by making it a family affair, literally. Paul, Jade, Quinn, and Shaw Schuyler comprise the entire cast of the movie for the whole 90-minute runtime, save for one cameo by, what I’m assuming is, a neighbor! They also serve as the film’s crew, producers, and post-production team! I can’t think of another instance where something like this has ever been done before. It’s an impressive feat. The end product is a competent feature-length film admirably produced under the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic. Anyone that watches the movie should view it through that lens and give the film credit for what it’s able to accomplish.
Ultimately, however, Red River Road is a low-budget horror film, and that fact is apparent from
start to finish. Low-budget horror movies have a tendency to be obviously cheap and
somewhat lazy even if they’re commercially successful. Think Saw (2004) or The Purge (2013).
They effectively appeal to the basest instincts of viewers, and they seem to put very little work into
their scripts. While Red River Road exceeds expectations of the genre script-wise, it firmly falls
into the category of low-budget horror otherwise. Scenes that call for tense and emotive
dialogue push the family’s acting ability beyond its skill limits. More seasoned (expensive)
actors probably would do a slightly better job of telling the movie’s story. Aside from some interstitial
B-roll, the entire movie basically takes place at the family’s home. The COVID-19 pandemic
obviously precipitated this, but the set design feels a little stale after about 30 minutes because
of it. And scene transitions feel a little stiff at times, as if the movie was edited on a home
computer, (which it might have been due to the pandemic). All of that withstanding, I think the
movie is actually an artistic success.
As an aside, the movie does excel in one technical aspect, however. The sound and score are really, really good. The film’s music provides an element of impetus that drives the film even when the acting or pacing of the film falter and the technical sound feels Hollywood caliber.
The film excels in other ways too by being surprisingly relatable despite its financial limitations.
In the opening scene of the movie, the Witten family is playing a game of Monopoly and their
laughter and whimsy take you back to every (civil) iteration of the board game that you’ve ever
played with your family. This is cleverly relevant because families all over America were
blowing the dust off of classic, almost anachronistic, Hasbro favorites at the height of the
COVID-19 pandemic. The family’s utilization of its collection of DVDs is another pandemic time
machine moment in the movie. Netflix and Hulu have made DVDs basically obsolete, but there
are American families all over the country with tomes of discs in their basements like the
Wittens and I appreciate a nod to those of us that hold onto them like relics. At one point, it
felt like the Schuylers made this movie just to show off their collection of digital video discs and
I was all about it! The cherry on top of all of this nostalgia is an antique, but necessarily functional, rotary phone that sits in the Witten kitchen. No smartphone will ever be able the sense of satisfaction you get by successfully spinning the dial of a rotary phone to make a call!
There are several other moments throughout the movie that will leave you yearning for simpler times, but they’re hard to reveal without giving too much of the movie away.
The best part about Red River Road is its use of suspense. Each reveal builds on the reveal
before it. And it’s for that reason that I’ve intentionally chosen to not reveal too much about the
plot because the success of the movie really hinges on viewers putting a puzzle together as they
watch the movie. It’s not like an M. Night Shyamalan film where the final reveal neatly wraps
up the movie for you. Red River Road asks you to play along throughout the 90-minute runtime
and stay engaged. I don’t think it’s too much to ask considering a family of novice actors filmed,
produced, and distributed a whole movie during a pandemic!
Red River Road is available on most streaming platforms beginning October 4, 2022.
