The Redsin Tower

My immediate reaction to The Redsin Tower was this: ToeTag is going places. Watching this pitch black horror film, i was amazed that the makers of August Underground, which i consider to be the most disturbing film experience i have ever had, have made something completely 180 this time. Redsin Tower will earn them an enormous following. They have made a great, sinister, hard edged movie that has mainstreme appeal, but without sacrificing their dark integrity.

It's hard to gauge Vogel's actual directorial talents from the August films, of course, but he proves a natural behind the camera in his first "traditional" attempt. It is one of the most ambitious independent horror films of recent years, and Vogel and crew take the narrative into astonishingly diverse and original directions. As a filmmaker he has a great eye for Americana, subtle character interactions, color pallete (lots of eerie, Argento esquire blues and reds), pace...and of course, BLOOD AND GUTS!! The movie is on the surface throwback to teen body count films like Slaughter High, The Evil Dead, and Night of The Demons, but i link it thematically to films like Carrie and The Exorcist. This is the most perceptive teen horror film in ages, understanding that all the horror is an extention of awkward young feelings and tumult. Which isn't to undercut the other macabre places this film goes. ToeTag juggles a lot of different themes and styles here, and almost completely succeeds. If this were relased nationwide i can imagine it becoming as successful as Hostel and Saw-it's that professional and well made. I already think Vogel should be placed at the forefront of the "Splat Pack", and this film is just further evidence of his sinister genius.

I won't say anything about the plot. I'll just say any expectations are going to be totally destroyed+the ending is absolute genius. ToeTag is one of the most important genre forces today, and this awesome film should catapult them far past the underground (not that i would ever want them to leave!).

The Redsin Tower is a throwback to the teen horror films of the mid to late 1980's. The movie that it takes its major cue from is Night Of The Demons. We all know the story…bored young people decide to go to party in a place that they really shouldn't be hanging around. In this movie that place is an abandoned structure known as the Redsin Tower. There are stories that it is haunted and that makes it an even more enticing place for our group of potential victims to go to and party.

The first 45 minutes of Redsin is your standard fare, seen before in countless other films. What stands out this time around however, is the realistic partying that takes place. I mean, there is a lot of dope smoking going on. And it's not just two characters sneaking off to catch a buzz…everyone is getting high. In one scene two characters in a reefer induced haze talk about the best way to roll a joint. I found this very realistic because I have been involved in that very same conversation more than once in my misspent youth. Unlike in any other film before it, the folks in Redsin Tower really look like they are getting pretty wasted.

Another riff the film rides in its first act is the jilted, psychotically jealous boyfriend of one of the partiers. Once again we have all seen this character before, but the portrayal here is totally unsympathetic. This guy is a real asshole and you can see why the girl dumped him. I found his over the top performance to be one of the highlights of the first half of the film. The rest of the acting is pretty decent for a low budget film cast with a bunch of unknowns.

Once our group of stoned out party animals get to their destination is where the Redsin Tower begins to differ from the films that it is obliviously riffing on. The murders are very graphic. These are not your typical 'gore gags'. They are nasty ultra violent attacks that haven't been seen in a slasher film since the early eighties heyday of Lucio Fulci. There are also some of the most intense scenes of demonic possession that I have ever seen. I mean, it really looks like it hurts and in one disgusting scene I actually cringed. Only one special effect didn't do the trick for me, but other than that, hats off to FX guy Jeremy Cruise for grossing me out on more than one occasion.

The other thing that separates Redsin from the rest of the splatter pack is the look of the movie. The set design is excellent, as is the cinematography and direction. Give these talented folks more money and a more original concept and I think you will really see them shine.

The Redsin Tower is a low budget shot on video horror movie that is heads above the rest of the crap that is being released on a weekly basis from companies such as Lionsgate, Brain damage and Asylum. Is it a great film? No, but it is very entertaining and I can confidently recommend it to any hardcore horror fan out there looking for a good time.

Fred Vogel, director of the (mostly) effective faux snuff August Underground trilogy, takes the basic plot of Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead—a group of people travel to a remote abandoned building where, one-by-one, they fall victim to an evil spirit that possesses their bodies—and gives it the ToeTag treatment: the characters are universally loathsome; there is plenty of swearing and female nudity; and, of course, Vogel (with help from make-up FX guy Jerami Cruise) delivers oodles of violence and general nastiness.

Unfortunately, despite sounding like a gore-hound's dream-come-true, The Redsin Tower is actually a rather disappointing film that suffers badly from an uneventful beginning (a good 40 minutes pass before anything really interesting happens), some rather confusing moments and an unnecessary sub-plot (featuring a psycho ex-boyfriend of one of the girls), and bloody awful lighting that often makes it impossible to see what is going on.

Vogel would have done much better if he'd 'borrowed' more than just the plot from Raimi's 1982 masterpiece for his first stab at a 'real' film. Had he emulated the actual structure and pacing of The Evil Dead, which was a non-stop horror roller-coaster ride, then the result might've been much more successful. Instead, the first half of the film is wasted watching a despicable bunch of losers do nothing but take drugs and talk about sex; the second half is spent watching them stumble around an old building in the dark before being killed. And with absolutely no-one likable in the whole movie, it's hard to give a damn what happens to them anyway.

Even those viewers who settle down to watch this film purely for the gore will end up feeling a tad cheated. Although there are some violent deaths (my favourite being when a pretty goth chick gets axed), everything is shot in such poor lighting that it's almost impossible to see any of the bloodletting clearly. It's a shame that the only special effect that really sticks in my mind is a very silly looking bat creature.

With his undeniably powerful faux snuff movies, Fred Vogel certainly made a name for himself on the underground horror circuit. However, if he wishes to create such a stir with fans of more 'traditional' horror films, then he really needs to come up with something better than this.

I'm not sure where to start with this one, i just watched the august underground trilogy and am still unsure if i hated or loved it; but i knew that i loved toe tag pictures talent for realistic gore, I also read up a lot about Vogel, and knew these weren't the types of films he had the desire to make, so with Redsin Tower i did have quite good expectations. I am a fan of low budget and underground, most mainstream horror is a joke to be fair, but only when they get it right. Red sin was definitely not a film that deserves praise. The over used cliché'd plot of a "haunted" house or tower in this case, with a few annoying teenagers deciding this is a great place for a party and realise they are mistaken when they start to get killed one by one. How boring, however i knew the story before i watched and still went into the movie with an open mind trying to look past the terrible acting and embarrassing script writing. Basicaly, thats all the movie really is, just another boring over hyped low budget stupid film that didn't give itself any help to begin with, with such a terrible plot and script. The only things i liked about this film was the gore, but sadly there wasn't nearly enough of it to make this film worth a watch. If reading this and you still feel like watching- i'd only watch the last half hour as it was probably the only part that was a little entertaining. There was only one scene in particular that i enjoyed, but frankly Redsin just does not cut it. I wont write Fred Vogel off completely though and will continue to watch his movies and hope he learns how to write a good story to match his talent for creating gore.

"The Redsin Tower" is, for me, the most disappointing film of 2007. Hyped as a major underground genre film, the release on DVD was a much anticipated affair. In fact, I held off watching the movie for several weeks until I was really in the mood for what I believed would be a splendid treat. I wish I hadn't bothered.

While the opening credits promise stylish production values, the film soon starts to descend into a chaotic mess. While early scenes are okay, the moment the film intends to start building tension, everything falls apart.

This is a poorly executed vehicle and a lapse in form for Vogel and the Toetag gang. Coming across as a poor man's "Evil Dead meets Dark Waters", this is a film that will disappoint many, including die-hard Toetag fans.

5 out of 10 for the stylish opening credits, a decent soundtrack and solid effects. While some of the dialogue is entertaining, the film immediately starts to suffer as it enters genre territory.

A genuine wasted opportunity.