To think I spent $11.20 on my Uber trip on All Hallows Eve to get to Limelight Cinemas just to support the Australian film industry by watching "The Red" also known stateside as "Rippy".
It was more laughs and for all the wrong reasons than horror I experienced during this almost 90 minutes screening.
The facts is some third world countries are making better horror movies than the so-called lucky country, Australia, in 2024.
Russell Mulchays' "Razorback" was a better monster horror movie and it was made 40 bloody years ago before CGI.
No, this movie relied on puppeteers in a Roo costume to scare us...what a joke!
No ones going to have a moviegasm watching "Rippy" the darn big bush kangaroo chomp his way through the imaginary mining township of Axehead.
One of the filmmakers biggest mistakes was revealing the zombie marsupial only seconds into the movie.
Clearly the word suspense isn't in their Funk & Wagnalls.
Made on a paltry 7.5 million dollar budget (costume budget for Olivia Rodrigo's World Tour) it showed.
Just like "Razorback" we had to hire an American for one of the lead roles to sell this OS.
Michael Biehn ("Aliens") as "Schmitty" is supposed to be a broken down Vietnam veteran, even though my math has him as 15 years of age in 1971 as he recounts his war stories.
"Rippy" had the chance to be scary and humorous, but under first time feature film director Ryan Coonan, failed on both counts.
Even though it's based on a short he created called, "Waterborne".
This treatment needed a few more drafts before being green lit.
"The Red" or as the Germans say whilst eating sauerkraut "Das Killerkangaru" was filmed in Queensland: around Brisbane, Cracow and Old Petrie Town.
At least these towns might benefit from the handful of film location tourists who follow this stuff.
"The Red" also lacked a killer soundtrack, which I might just make a Spotify playlist for, because I can...full of Aussie bangers (code for hits).
Zombie Roo "Rippy" was no ordinary bush kangaroo and when Rippy goes "Rogue" (another better Aussie horror flick) all hell breaks loose and you don't want to be a runner or a drunk miner after dark.
The trailer contains the best 2 minutes of this horror flick.
The towns cop gives birth to a genius plan in the final showdown, "I'm gonna blow the fu&@ers brains out!"
Why that would work when guns and bullets have been useless till now amused me.
Wouldn't you be better to use an old axe hanging in the Fire &Axe pub?
The working title for "The Red" was "Zombieroo" according to Biehn, but that doesn't make it any better because this movie takes itself way too seriously and misses the campy horror cult flick it could have become.
Instead it's relegated to the skinny decaf cappuccino or why bother basket.
It's not even a "so bad it's good film".
Continuity is a disaster, the script blows chunks and First Nations actor Aaron Pedersen couldn't save it.
My love of Zombie movies is prolific, but this was a missed opportunity.
Shame because I was rooting for another great Australian camp fire story for future generations to enjoy too!
