It turns out this is the second feature of filmmaker Steve Rudzinski that I've watched. I quite enjoyed 'A meowy Christmas' as it leaned into the absurdity of the screenplay, and 'Red Christmas' very much mirrors that piece in its craft: very low budget, very blunt and direct, and very abbreviated. Clocking in at only 55 minutes, this is distinctly ham- and heavy-handed in nearly every regard. Dialogue, characters, scene writing, narrative, direction, camerawork, lighting, acting, effects, and essentially all else feel terribly contrived and artificial. For all that, I do like the concept behind the film, of a young serial killer enthusiastically making a home movie about her exploits.
However, 'A meowy Christmas' benefited from a sense of humor echoing Internet sketch comedy circa 2010, compensating for its rough production values and low acting skills and making the end result feel like a full-length rendition of a smaller idea. Except for a short sequence near the very end, 'Red Christmas' lacks the same robust liveliness and jocularity that would allow its offbeat dark humor to land, and that leaves us with the horror of the violence on hand. The scenario and protagonist Tara's nonchalant malevolence should inherently provide some manner of visceral thrill, but the meager resources and uncareful consideration for the film's construction means that this element is severely dampened.
Short and simple as the story is, I think there are some good ideas here, including Tara's motivations, reasoning, and logic as she herself delineates, and the holiday-themed tortures she devises for her victim. Maybe I'm being overly generous, yet while severely limited by the nature of 'Red Christmas' as we see it, I'm inclined to think star Amie Wrenn would demonstrate fine capability as an actor, given the opportunity. Even considering the weak build here as context, though, the sense of inauthenticity is overwhelming, some scenes are unnecessarily long, and others are still generally overdone by comparison. In fairness, I suppose if this were a major big-budget production, the blood and gore would be too realistic and grotesque to be enjoyable. But that doesn't do much to help this picture's case.
I think there are entertaining, worthwhile aspects of this film. I also want to like it more than I do. I see potential in the premise, but what Rudzinski was working with to bring his own screenplay to life was insufficient to truly sell it. Call this a swing and a miss - I appreciate the effort on such an obvious shoestring budget, but there's just not enough value here to outweigh the deficiencies. 'Red Christmas' isn't entirely bad, but there's no especial reason to watch this, either.
Recommendable if you're open to features of any level of quality, and especially if with that in mind you're looking for something to watch but are short on time.
