Reviews
Are you seeing “Red White & Blue” at an upcoming event or film festival? Be sure to let us know on Twitter (@rwbmovie) or our Facebook Page (here).
Reviews – Other
“Despite the movie’s unchained emotions and visceral punch, Rumley’s unflinching precision allows us to sink into his storytelling, and quietly interlope amongst his characters – even as darkness slowly envelops and extinguishes the last breath of hope that lit their way.”
***
FrightFest 2010 Reviews
“The penultimate film of Frightfest saw the return of Simon Rumley, and his bleak, realistic American indie style, with Red, White & Blue. This desperate tale of revenge is heartbreaking and devastating, leaving little in its wake.”
“…a horrific, powerful film of real moral complexity.”
“…there’s also a seedy magic to Rumley’s movie, the sick, slick visuals gleaming with a feverish intensity and the dust and neon painting Austin as a twilight netherworld.”
“Despite his relatively low profile, Rumley is one of the most important and intelligent British filmmakers working today – and Red White & Blue finds real, harrowing, politically resonant horror in places where no-one else is looking.”
“Simon Rumley’s ‘Red White & Blue’ is one of the most difficult and disturbing films I’ve seen this year and that’s saying quite a bit. With movies like ‘The Human Centipede,’ ‘A Serbian Film’ and other horrifying gems from around the world recently trickling into our theaters and TV sets, it’s pretty tough to be shocked by anything these days. While the aforementioned films are all the rage, I think the best, most brilliant and most twisted slasher/horror/stomach turner of the year is Simon Rumley’s under-the-radar film ‘Red White & Blue.’”
“…fascinating and uncompromising”
“If you enjoy slow burning stories that hit hard when they hit, then Red, White & Blue is a movie you’ll love… Personally I found this one of the best movies of the festival, and one I’ll always remember.”
“Unknown Amanda Fuller gives a vulnerable, heartfelt performance and Noah Taylor again displays the chameleon range that makes him one of the most enigmatic and underrated actors of this particularly generation. This is hard hitting stuff…”
“…never stops being gripping in its second half.”
“… unsettling tale of revenge and retribution”
“Raw and at times very real its a story of lost dreams, brutal emotions and lost people.”
“Rumley’s carnival of lost souls, everyone is already tormented and traumatised long before the knives come out, and the result is the finest film of the festival – a slow-burning tripartite drama that spirals inexorably towards parallel acts of misdirected vengeance, as well as a trip through the darkest corners of the American psyche.”
***
Fantasia 2010 Reviews
“Although not fantasy, nor technically horror-at least by Noel Carroll’s ‘art horror’ definition-the film attains a truly horrific, emotionally charged, literally skin-peeling climax.”
Read the full Chris Chang Film Society of Lincoln Center Review
“Red, White, and Blue was shot with a hyper clarity and detail that recalls David Lynch’s Blue Velvet and P.T. Anderson films like Boogie Nights. In its bursts of kinetic energy, the film also hearkens back to Sam Peckinpah, while showing the obvious influence of Korean visionary Park Chan-wook’s vengeance cycle.”
“Simon Rumley is without a doubt one of the most interesting and talented directors working in genre cinema today.”
“Simon Rumley’s slacker thriller Red White & Blue was the highlight of a mixed programme in Montreal… by far the best of the festival.”
“My expectations were not only justified but they were not high enough. Red White & Blue is phenomenal and a must see film of 2010.”
“Engrossing, moving and terrifying by turns, Simon Rumley’s fifth feature is a fantastically atmospheric slice of Americana, a beautifully scripted character drama, a horrifying revenge thriller and ultimately even a profoundly affecting love story.”
“Five minutes into RED, WHITE & BLUE, I knew I was watching something truly special.”
“Red White & Blue is slow-burn thriller from Simon Rumley that’s sure to leave you with your jaw on the ground.”
“While it’s hard to say you’ll enjoy it, you’ll definitely come out of RED WHITE & BLUE affected in some way. As I wrote earlier, Rumley is one hell of a filmmaker, one who should be getting much more exposure. If you’re a fan of heavy, difficult cinema, you’d do well by seeking him and RED WHITE & BLUE out.”
***
Danger After Dark 2010 Reviews
“Red White and Blue is the British directed, Austin set Audition for 2010 and I mean that in the best way possible. As challenging as the film may be, I expect it to slowly gather a devout audience that’s going to turn this into an iconic cult item in the years to come through word of mouth.”
***
Boston Underground Film Festival 2010 Reviews
“… not for the weak of heart.”
***
SXSW 2010 Reviews
“So beware. RED, WHITE & BLUE can possibly break your brain. Is your brain strong enough? Your psyche healthy enough? Because if it is, there is an extremely powerful and emotional film experience there for you to see.”
“Shot in and around Austin, this film makes quite a lot out of very little. This is low budget film making at its finest. Built entirely around ideas and characters rather than flashy edits or splashy horror effects, this film will take you on a journey to some dark and bitter places and you will come out on the other side very effected – one way or the other.”
“Gut-twisting and soul-troubling, Simon Rumley’s latest film fires a stun gun into the heart of horror.”
“So while Rumley’s Red, White & Blue is in no way a “fun time” horror film, it is absolutely a ferocious and fascinating piece of independent filmmaking.”
“It is not spiteful; it is not hateful; but it is beautiful in a supremely unnerving, macabre way. Red, White & Blue does not just get under your skin, it flays it from your very bones.”
“Red, White & Blue remains an impressive achievement on many levels, a product by a director in control of his characters, story in mood, matched by (two) great performances. Simon Rumley is a name to look out for.”
“With his follow-up to the cult 2006 effort The Living and the Dead, writer-director Rumley has made a startling, incredibly powerful film, a terrifying portrait of brutality, and a sensitive character study all at once.”
“… a masterful piece of storytelling from a filmmaker on the rise.”
“… a seriously well-made movie.”
“… Simon Rumley is far more interested in experimenting with form than pleasing genre classicists.”
“… deeply affecting, on an emotional and visual level.”
***
2010 International Film Festival Rotterdam Reviews
“As he proved in the haunting The Living And The Dead (2007), Simon Rumley is one of the great British cinematic outsiders, a gifted director with the know-how to puncture the conventions of horror with sophisticated interwoven time frames and unpredictable acts of violence by individuals in crisis.”
“Engrossing, moving and terrifying by turns, Simon Rumley’s fifth feature is a fantastically atmospheric slice of Americana, a beautifully scripted character drama, a horrifying revenge thriller and ultimately even a profoundly affecting love story.”
“Meanwhile, “Red White & Blue” continues to haunt me with its staggering combo of psychological insight, visceral brutality, and sophisticated shifts in temporal structure. His British film “The Living and the Dead” was impressive enough, throwing off any illusions of stability in a fading artistocrat’s stately home, but the new film is much ballsier.”
“The first half is pure montage, foregoing slick visuals so the characters’ personalities, coupled with a disturbing stillness, take root. Especially good is the sound design, in which brutal moments go mute, replaced by gentle music.”
“It’s a film of two chapters that differ wildly in tone: the first is observational and gently revealing, the second is frenetic and violent. It’s a chilling film, part character study, part thriller…”
“‘Red, White & Blue’ is a tight little thriller which looks great, is interestingly scripted and structured, and most of all features stellar acting. The real revelations here are Amanda Fuller as a major talent to keep in sight, and Noah Taylor who through his role as Nate summersaults straight into my shortlist of favorite actors.”
“Red White & Blue proves that the horror genre can be a suitable vehicle for scathing political commentary.”
“Noah Taylor and Amanda Fuller don’t just look the part. They are the part.”
“Iron strong. If you during the International Film Festival Rotterdam just time for a movie, let it be this. Prophete Un, Dial M for Murder, Soul Boy and Valhalla Rising, which also run all great films. But Red White & Blue is just better. Point.”
“A surprisingly good horror movie.”
Read the Cultuurblog at NRC Review (some spoilers) | Google Translation
Red White & Blue is a slacker revenge movie set in contemporary Austin, starring award winning actor Noah Taylor (Shine, Alice in Wonderland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Vanilla Sky, The Year My Voice Broke, four-time winner of the Film Critics Circle of Australia Best Actor Award.), Amanda Fuller (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Bones, Womens Murder Club) and award winning Marc Senter (Screamfest 2006 Best Actor Award for The Lost, Cabin Fever 2).