Red Mist AKA Freak Dog: A Movie Review and Alternate Movie Poster

A young doctor in a US hospital administers a powerful and untested cocktail of drugs to a coma victim. But instead of curing him, it triggers a powerful "out-of-body" experience and enables the patient - a depraved and dangerous loner - to inhabit other people's bodies and, through them, take revenge on the bullying medical students who were accidentally responsible for his condition. The doctor, who was herself a part of this group, is also targeted and as her colleagues are singled out and relentlessly picked off, she realises that she can trust no-one - friend or stranger - as this comatose killer moves in and out of bodies at will, getting ever closer as his murderous supernatural powers increase (Internet).

Release Date: February 10, 2009

Rating: Restricted for sexual suggestiveness, violence, and gore.


Cast: Arielle Kebbel, Sarah Carter, Stephen Dillane, Andrew Lee Potts, Alex Wyndham, Katie Mcgrath, and Christina Chong.

Director: Paddy Breathnach

Writing: Spence Wright.

Composer: Stephen Warbeck.

The plot of "Red Mist," revolves around themes of revenge, murder, and the supernatural. The main message of the film is pretty confusing, but probably involves concepts of Karma. or of not kicking a "Freak Dog," when he is down. After watching "Red Mist," most people will walk away laughing at the silly story of a man, in a coma who is able to attack and kill people from his hospital bed. Kenneth, the main antagonist or protagonist, depending on your approach to the film is the only character in the film who gets even a small back story. His mistreatment from a handful of doctors, who are his peers, seems overly brutal and somewhat unbelievable. Andrew Lee Potts, acting as Kenneth slightly stands out as being better than average in his portrayal. In addition, a Mandy Moore look-a-like (Arielle Kebbel) pouts through more than half of here scenes as she looks to right the wrongs of an earlier murder. The relatively large cast of characters, who get little to no character development, unsurprisingly get taken out one by one by a vengeful Kenneth. Somehow the "Freak Dog," with the help from an experimental drug is able to possess the bodies of the living (don't ask)) to accomplish his task.

Only Kenneth forms any depth of personality with some initial scenes of childhood trauma and the story seems to want viewers to route for the underdog or "Freak Dog," instead of the supporting characters. Yet, it is difficult to route for someone who places hidden cameras in the nurse's change rooms and stammers or stutters through four to five lines of dialogue before dying on screen through self-abuse. Then again, once the story starts to develop and the action gets under way some of the twists and turns in the writing add a curious appeal to the film, while pretty, B-movie list actors die gruesomely in the film.

The music in the film suits some of the sombre themes in the film and the lighting adds to the horrifying tone of the film. The original music from composer Stephen Warbeck does its job of highlighting certain key scenes within "Red Mist," and the compositions, while overly sad manage to stay subtly in the background. Warbeck seems to have a sense for the character's moods and matches his music to the actor's performances. As well, the lighting, which is often dark in tone, manages to become an element that heightens the visual aspect of the film while the directing techniques try to dissuade from the viewer's enjoyment of the film. Dark hallways, and flashing lights, that go out at inopportune times, for the characters create a dark element to the picture that comes across as somewhat intriguing. While staying within an eerie, mysterious theme throughout the film the lighting at times can become too dark; yet, Breathnach seems to be taking a surrealistic approach to the film probably due to the unbelievability of the script.

Director Paddy Breathnach, from "Shrooms," fame is still a relative newcomer to horror filmmaking, despite this second straigh-to-DVD flick, and Breathnach's minimalist approach to directing focuses more on character interactions than creating an interesting visual lens. Nothing really stands out in Breathnach's visual telling of this film as there are few transitions between scenes, a mostly static camera, and far too many simple medium shots of character's talking. Only a couple short shots, that occur outside with Kebbel's character running would require tracking or a steadi-camera and the over use of low angle shots seems to be a feeble attempt to keep the visual sphere interesting. The director only includes a couple brief scenes of outdoor sets that add little contrast to the vast amount of claustrophobic, interior shots. Possibly due to the expense or the complications of outdoor shooting, Breathnach takes the story of the film mostly to darkly lit parking garages, empty hospital hallways, and the interiors of rundown taverns. Unfortunately, Breathnach does not fully utilize his position, as director to tell a fascinating visual tale.

Overall, the pacing, continuity and development of the story clip along at a quick pace; it is only the strange, unrealistic story, with poor directing techniques that detract from the enjoyment of the film. If you see "Red Mist," prepare to see too many shots of Kevin (Andrew Lee Potts) clenching his fist while this actor's talents along with the character waste away in a hospital bed. "Red Mist," deserves a do-not-resuscitate rating, but something about the story, of a man killing his friends, only with his mind has a certain dark appeal that might entertain some of the more devote horror fans. The interesting story, while unbelievable makes the film slightly recommendable, even with the formulaic telling of the tale.

4.5 Gasping Skulls out of 10.

A trailer and original poster for "Red Mist," can be found by clicking on any of the "Red Mist," links in the text.

Sources:

Red Mist at IMDB

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