The Meatlocker – DVD Review: Red Canyon

Genre: Horror

Director: Giovanni Rodriguez

Writers: Laura Pratt, Giovanni Rodriguez

Cast: Christine Lakin, Tim Draxl, Norman Reedus, Ankur Bhatt, Justin Hartley

MPAA Rating: R (for strong violence including rape, language, some drug and sexual content)

Summary: Regina and Devon return to their family home in the badlands of Utah to face the memory of a brutal attack – and put it behind them.

Run-time: 81 minutes

View the Trailer HERE

[This Review Contains Spoilers]

Norman FUCKIN’ Reedus? Are you kidding me? Boondock FUCKIN’ Saints Norman Reedus? Seriously? Hell yeah, I’m down for that!

Red Canyon begins slow and is loaded with super fast, almost undiscernable, flash backs. Seems a young lady was brutally raped while exploring a cavern with her brother. All the while said brother watched the whole thing and never tried to help. Oh and the parents get killed.

Bounce up a couple years and the brother and sister leave the big city to return to the desert and try to get over what happened. Sort of an immersion therapy if you will. Of course they take along a group of stereotypical friends including another hot chick, a dumb jock and a smart guy.

They spend their days riding motor-cross bikes all over the desert, getting drunk and making fun of the locals. The neighbor even has a pissed off dog who goes nuts every time they drive by.

All the while, the girl keeps having flash backs of her attack and freaking out at every little shadow and bump in the night. After a while it really begins to grate on the gangs nerves. No worries though, they all are soon relieved of their pain by a gruesome death delivered by a local desert-neck (patented phrase).

The duo find themselves back in the cave-o-doom only to find it is, and always has been used as a manufacturing/storage space for drugs.

The inevitable chase through the desert, hunt, kill, hunt, kill goes on for a while until most everyone is exhausted and tired of making the movie. The duo gets re-captured and there is a HUGE incestuous twist at the end.

It’s actually not a bad movie for what it is. It has the mind of a Hills Have Eyes, without the freaks. The acting all around is superb. I have a hunch Reedus brought everyone’s game up a few notches. The scenery is visually stunning. The D.P. couldn’t have picked a better place to shoot a movie.

My biggest complaint is the lighting. The night scenes lasted for hours while the day scenes only lasted minutes. I realize it saves budget on props and décor, but film makers should at least show something of their set design. This movie was ripe for weirdness that just didn’t show on screen.

The twist at the end of Red Canyon, easily beats any of the twists in the SAW Franchise to date!

I give “Red Canyon” Three Out of Five Cleavers