The Redsin tower (2006)

ToeTag Pictures is a small independent moviestudio in the US that produces lowbudget goremovies more or less without any story, focusing on extreme gore. Their August underground trilogy is a series of movies that are seen from the point of view of a couple of serial killers and from what I hear very gory and violent. They're even from what I hear decently made, way above average for the genre but that is only hearsay. I like plot with my gore. I'm oldfashioned and therefore have been ignoring the studio. In 2006 they released The Redsin tower which is their first attempt to make a movie with an actual plot, while still having large amounts of gore which meant I had to check it out. And their future looks bright.

The movie has a simple but functioning story. A young girl, Kim, has just dumped her slightly suffocating boyfriend who has begun deciding their future for them even though they're still both in school. Her best friend takes her to a party but it is interrupted by the police, with the help of a phonecall from her ex. The partygoers decide instead to go to The Redsin tower, an abandoned building in the nearby woods to party some more. The psycho exboyfriend follows suit, pretty pissed after having been beaten up by Kims friends. And if that wasnt enough, The Redsin tower have some nasty forces mucking about in its walls...

There is nothing that original about The Redsin Tower. The plot is lifted straight out of Evil Dead and ripoffs like Night of the demons, you've seen it a hundred times before. Fortunately, most of those times were a lot worse than this. Fred Vogel, the director, and ToeTag Pictures obviously didnt have a lot of money to spend but you do get the feeling that they sat down and planned this thing really well, making sure that they only wanted to show things that they actually could pull off which really makes a difference. The story may be full of clichés but it never feels silly or corny. ToeTag are fans of the genre and it shows. We've seen the characters before and I dont see any of the actors winning any acting awards yet, but they all feel natural in their characters. The Redsin Tower itself is a great location and the cinematography is surprisingly good, especially since most of the movies is set in dark corridors. Vogel is a competent director miling the mood for what its worth and there are quite a few moody scenes of the partygoers exploring the dark, dusty halls. The only problem with the movie is that it takes its sweet time getting to the tower, 40 minutes goes by before they reach the damn place! Those 40 mins are well spent introducing the characters but when the movie is only 85 mins long, that is a bit too long. Never boring, but when you are waiting for gore, it can feel longish. Because that is what you really are after. So, how is the gore?

It's excellent. Yes, you will have to wait for the good stuff but when it finally happens, it's all out. People are hacked to pieces with an axe, throats are messily slit, intestines are torn out, you name it, all with excellent practical makeupeffects. As an added exploitation bonus we even get some nudity so for the gorehounds with a bit of patience the last 30 minutes of the movie are well worth the wait. All in all, this is a more than decent little goreflick that manages to deliver both mood and gore, which is more than I can say about most of the straight to dvd flicks I've seen in the last ten years. I didnt have any realt expectations of this and I was positively surprised on how well made the movie was. It's not perfect, but if this is ToeTags first movie with a real plot, the future will be very interesting.