Review by David J Howe
We stumbled across Red 11 on Prime … at the time it had one 5 star review and we smiled and said, yeah, like that’s from the director’s mum! But then we looked closer and saw the director was one Robert Rodriguez, the man behind one of the greatest zombie films, Planet Terror … and also the man who brought us From Dusk Till Dawn and Machete! So we thought … nothing to lose!
It turns out that Red 11 is something rather good. It’s a sort of sci fi thriller set in a hospital where a chap volunteers to be part of a medical trial – earning $7k at the end for his trouble. The issue is that the trial seems very suspicious, with the various people taking part in different trials being given different coloured t-shirts – his is red, and he is number 11 in his trial, hence the title.
As we progress, so it starts to get wierd with some of the people starting to display telekenetic powers … and what is it all about, who is running it … and why … and will Red 11 get out alive!
Red 11 is an accomplished and enjoyable thriller, well made and directed and with some great moments. I loved the subverting of the ‘wall’ by the inclusion of a character called Score, who has a small keyboard and who actually provides the music for the film as it progresses … with themes for the characters and action and so on …
But there’s more … in a short intro to the film Rodriguez explains that he made the film himself, with only his son, for $7k … all the actors, crew and so on presumably all worked for nothing, and he also wrote, directed, produced, edited, and did the music himself. There are no other credits, so presumably he also graded it and did the titles and … and … basically EVERYTHING.
Now that’s impressive. Very impressive.
So if you’re interested in the genre, and want to see how a low budget film could be put together for next to nothing … give it a look!
There’s also a series on Prime called Rebel Without a Crew which breaks down his production process and shows just how the film was made … again, excellent stuff for any would be film maker …