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| Rated: 5.00/5 | Votes: 5 | Views: 445 |Submitted: 06/15/09 |
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THE HILLS RUN RED Review
By Heather Wixson I recently had the opportunity to screen the upcoming Warner Home Video film THE HILLS RUN RED by director Dave Parker. Starring Tad Hilgenbrink (AMERICAN PIE BAND CAMP), Janet Montgomery (the upcoming WRONG TURN 3), William Sadler (TALES FROM THE CRYPT DEMON KNIGHT), Sophie Monk (DATE MOVIE), and Alex Wyndham (RED MIST), THE HILLS RUN RED centers around film geek Tyler (Hilgenbrink) whose obsession with finding a complete print of a controversial slasher movie leads him and two friends on a soon to become horrifying journey where they realize that filming for the project has never ended. It’s up to the trio to survive their hellish experiences in front of the camera before they soon become part of the legend. The initial plot doesn’t sound all that revolutionary and the truth is-- it’s not. What saves the movie from itself is both the cast’s ability to own their material and director Parker’s eye for delivering a devilishly fun roller coaster ride of a horror film. Parker, whose previous credits mostly fell into the editor category (he did also write HOUSE OF THE DEAD), really shows that he’s ready and more than capable of helming a major motion picture. Contrary to the shooting style in a lot of recent horror films, THE HILLS RUN RED looks stunning in certain shots and gritty when the scene calls for it. Cinematographer Ilan Rosenberg, who has worked on a lot of the Power Rangers TV series, demonstrates a sharp eye for capturing the story and setting the tone through his visual style. In terms of being the lead in the film Hilgenbrink has definitely made strides in his acting abilities since his AMERICAN PIE days, that is for sure. What I liked about his character of Tyler was that he was just as geeky over horror films as many of us are but wasn’t this obsessive stereotype either. Montgomery demonstrated just why she’s a new talent to watch on the scene with her portrayal of Serina. Most “final girls” in horror have a slight vulnerability and innocence, and the character of Serina was definitely not innocent and in the third act, forced to shed her vulnerable side in order to survive. While Sadler doesn’t really show up in person for most of THE HILLS RUN RED, the legendary character actor makes the most of his screen time and just owned all of his scenes. I know he generally keeps busy in the industry, but I just wish more people would use his talent more wisely because after seeing what he’s capable of doing with a villainous character in THE HILLS RUN RED, it made me realize he’s still underutilized. The other female lead, Alexa (played by Monk), was a revelation for me as I really wasn’t familiar with the actress before seeing her in THE HILLS RUN RED. The character called for Monk to go to some deep and dirty places and she pulls it off with ease. I look forward to seeing more of her because she certainly pulled her own weight in her scenes with Sadler, and that takes some talent. What I liked about THE HILLS RUN RED is that while there are very few things that tend to surprise me these days in genre movies, THE HILLS RUN RED managed to keep me guessing up through the credits. The movie is the perfect blend of horror, gore, drama, mystery all tied together with an even balance of wit that doesn’t have the film feeling too campy or silly. While THE HILLS RUN RED isn’t going to revolutionize modern horror, what I can say is the flick is ten times better than most of the films that have been getting theatrical releases over the last several years and I am a bit bummed that it is going Direct-to-DVD for Warner Bros. THE HILLS RUN RED will hit shelves on September 29th but the movie is hitting the festival circuit over the next several months. To keep up on all HILLS news, click here. Rating: 4 out of 5 stars |
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