Red Rooms(Review)

Nowadays, everybody knows someone who is obsessed with true crime. There are numerous outlets of podcasts, Netflix documentaries, and things of the ilk that deep dive into unknown and notorious crime stories through history. But what we have here is a story that reflects more on the obsession than it does on the crime itself.

‘Red Rooms’ is a Canadian film from director Pascal Plante. It centers around two main protagonists: Kelly-Anne & Clementine. Two strangers who meet each other while attending the court hearing for a man accused of brutally murdering three young girls on the dark web in a red room. As the trial goes on for days and weeks, they camp out outside of the courthouse to make sure they are early in line to get a limited seat in the room, and begin to bond when they are not attending the hearings.

Kelly-Anne is a model and online gambler, whereas Clementine is more of an anomaly to the viewer since we don’t know too much about her. Their motives are mysterious (to each other and to the viewer), and we realize shortly after starting the film that we have entered a spider’s web where each step must be taken delicately.

This film is brilliant on many levels. It plays out like a combination of a court-room drama, mixed with a psychological thriller. It also goes into detail explaining the horrendous images presented in the recorded videos without ever showing us any of the violence. Joe Lynch of the Movie Crypt Podcast actually referred to this as an “Anti-French Extremity film” which I feel is a very appropriate label. It says a lot about intense violence and the psychology involved with it, without actually forcing us to be complicit in the acts. The characters are very human with a believable chemistry, and the movie does a good job of never pointing blame at anyone involved, and even being very ambiguous on whether the trial-suspect is in fact guilty or not (we do get a clear conclusion, but the path there is slippery).

And the film takes some sharp turns towards the middle-to-final acts, which really kept me on the edge of my seat. I could not predict where we were headed, and it’s a big stomach-punch by the time all is said and done. It’s probably the dirtiest-feeling film I’ve seen this year besides ‘The Coffee Table’ (which was in my top 5 of the year).

Approach with caution, but the water itself is quite calm. Again, you will not be subjected to any visuals that will really upset you, but the sound design and the description of the acts are enough to force your imagination into some very disturbing places. It’s absolutely worth the ride.

4/5
“Red Rooms” is currently streaming on Shudder.

‘Til Next Time,
Mike Cleopatra

The Gruesome Gazette

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