Rojo sangre (2004)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Christian Molina

Writer:

Paul Naschy (writer)

Release Date:

23 April 2004 (Spain)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

Veteran actor Pablo Thevenet (Paul Naschy) has no luck: His daughter has been murdered, his wife has left him...

Plot Keywords:

Murderer | Female Nudity

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Paul Naschy	...	Pablo Thevenet
Bibiana Fernández	...	Dora Grizzel
Menh-Wai Trinh	...	Tic-Toc (as Mehn-Wai)
Miguel Del Arco	...	Reficul
José Lifante	...	Camilo
Teresa Manresa	...	Berenice
Saturnino García	...	Cuchillero
Guillermo Montesinos	...	Herr Fuchs
Francisco Algora	...	Martin (as Paco Algora)
Vicente Gil	...	Enrique Arjona
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Carles Arquimbau
Alfonso Azpiri	...	Cameo: customer at Pandora
Miquel Bordoy
Hèctor Claramunt	...	Chema
Pedro Gutiérrez
Laura Manzanedo	...	Colaboracion especial
Rosa Maria Sardà	...	Herself (as Rosa Mª Sardà)

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Certification:

Germany:16 | Spain:18 | Canada:13+ (Quebec)

Company:

Canonigo Films

Trivia:

When Pablo (Paul Naschy) mentions the movies he has made, most of them are from Naschy's own filmography.

Great, great, GREAT! Hooray for rancid exploitation!

Paul Naschy, star of an innumerable amount of Spanish exploitation classics (including the "Hombre-Lobo" cycle) returns in this wondrously bizarre and imaginative film that premiered at the International Festival of Fantasy Films. I'm pretty convinced that "Rojo Sangre" won't be very successful and that's a damn shame because it finally is a truly odd and eccentric Spanish horror effort again, and the fans have seen far too few of these recently. The premise is a variant on the legendary "Faust" tale but, as much as every other aspect in this film, it's a very VERY demented take on Goethe's classic story. Naschy shines as the veteran actor-in-low-water Pablo Thevenet. He despises the young generation of actors and actresses for being untalented and he's frustrated about the fact that new and arrogant casting directors don't know him. Desperate for work, he accepts a job as a living sculpture in a fancy brothel ran by extravagant people. But something seems to have snapped in Pablo's head and he starts a violent killing spree, focusing on those who were responsible for artistic downfall. The plot really gets complex when Pablo's employers turn out to be unworldly and ultimately messed up. The story doesn't make much sense half of the time (and the other half is downright confusing) but still you love what you see because it's so vivid and nostalgic. You fancy yourself back into the glorious days of euro-exploitation and that's a feeling I personally missed enormously. "Rojo Sangre" features a lot of old-fashioned sleaze, good music and adorably insane characters (a transsexual business lady or a millionaire snuff-fanatic, anyone??). The dialogues are exceptionally well-written and the cinematography is astonishingly beautiful!It actually doesn't look leak a cheap exploitation film at all, as the camera-work is ingenious and the visuals are very creative. The gore and make-up effects aren't as outrageous as I expected (or hoped!) them to be, but there certainly are a couple of marvelous gruesomeness-highlights, including nasty images of a cut up corpse, multiple stabbings and professionally slit throats! Despite the devastating material, the screenplay also makes room for genuine black comedy and a couple of very comical anecdotes. The film opens with one, when Pablo gives a detailed description of his bizarre sexual fetish! That sequence is hilarious and you already consider "Blood Red" a success before it even properly begun! Paul Naschy is brilliant as Pablo Thevenet (it might even be his best performance ever) and maybe that's because he really feels related to his character's situation. No worries Paul, I can assure you that the godly Paul Naschy is still worshiped by a limited group of cult-lovers! Watch "Blood Red" when you've got the chance!