Truly Dreadful Film

Overrated

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

When Nicholas Hope appeared on the big screen with a demonic smile that would rival Jack Nicholson in The Shining, the audience went nuts.And so does the image of a Glad-Wrapped cat. That dead feline co-starred with Hope in the award-winning in Rolf de Heer's 1993 brilliant shock flick Bad Boy Bubby which won AFI Awards for Best Screenplay, Best Lead Actor and Best Director.So it's great to see Hope return to a black comedic horror - again with something to say and this time it's about the everyday slavery happening right across the modern world.He plays Thomas Reddman – the Regional Manager of Redd Inc and he's the star of this next cult film set to be a future hit. It puts a whole new macabre slant on Groundhog Day and provides great social commentary on what it means to work in order to stay alive. Redd is a convicted serial killer known as The Headhunter who hacks to death bad CEOS, corporate pigs and fat cats that probably should be Glad-Wrapped. He breaks out of the asylum that imprisons him, kidnaps the people whose contribution in court got him convicted and forces them to find the real killer and thus, clear his name. He chains them to desks in front of computers in a cube farm, welcomes with a creepy 'hello workers… ' then orders them to 'get back to work!'Never have these words been so insidious, formidable and funny.First world countries claim to have abolished slavery. That is not true. Go to any corporate office and check out the cube farms – cramped conditions, mindless repetitive movement and the endless processing of red tape. The reality is first world countries just changed the word 'slavery' to other words such as 'mortgage'. Timed dunny breaks, clocking on, clocking off, that feeling of being chained to a desk doing pointless, menial tasks designed to keep unnecessarily complicated workflows in perpetual motion – this work 'ethic' is forced on many people who need money to afford the basics of food and shelter in the affluent world.Welcome to capitalism - a term that is a reminder of the sign over Auschwitz 'Work Makes One Free' – as long as you work yourself to death.Tom Savini is a US makeup and SFX artist as well as an actor and has a great history dating back to (and beyond) the greatest social comment on modern life at the time – Romero's Dawn Of The Dead (1978). It was a great joy to see no CGI but real, physical special effects like the way Romero does them. And this is why Redd Inc is best seen in a cinema first. Horror movie buffs like seeing their genre of choice on a big screen first and at least once. In the olden days, people went to church to worship gods, they broke bread and connected with other like-minded folk in the local community.Horror buffs do the same. They congregate at the altar of the silver screen, they share popcorn and absorb the sermon coming from on high. Complete strangers connect with groans and screams and the hiding of the eyes behind the hands. It's exciting and thrilling and scary and a divine experience all rolled into one.Redd Inc delivers this divinity.While abiding by certain horror conventions – it also breaks new ground with story twists and turns that elevate this film into the highest echelon of the genre.The soundtrack is superb, the editing seamless, the direction sublime. Dan Krige is the director who took the script by Anthony O'Connor and Jonathon Green and gave it a modern visual style that feels like it has moved the genre forward. The script itself is laugh-out-loud and suitably gruesome as office life often is.When Romero's Dawn Of The Dead was released in 1978, it predicted a time when people would work for money on weekdays then be drawn to giant shopping malls on weekends to spend that money as a form of entertainment and relaxation – and he accurately depicted this prophecy with zombies.Around that same era, the Ozploitation genre was in full swing with classics such as Turkey Shoot and Dead End Drive In with Mad Max being the most famous and successful of all Aussie genre films. And when filmmaking special effects surged ahead with the explosion of technology in the 90s, the horror and sci-fi genres enjoyed a renaissance. Stories were easier to tell because improbable worlds became fully realistic on the big screen. And Ozploitation has enjoyed its own evolutionary leap. Since 2003 the Saw franchise has racked up several films making Jigsaw a very successful and sought-after villain who has generated millions of dollars. But here's the difference – Redd Inc is funny.Redd Inc is one of the smartest films of its genre and worth seeing on big and small screens everywhere. It'll sure give you a different view of modern human resources and a disturbingly accurate one too.

This film was quite well done and with great special effects by Tom Savini, the movie is really good. The story has some similarities to some of the SAW movies with its kidnap/torture scenes, but thats where the similarities stop as it gets you guessing and thinking that maybe Redd is not the killer. But you can never rule him out after the things he does to his kidnapped victims. Nicholas Hope (who also starred in BAD BOY BUBBY) plays the role of the disgruntled boss very well, you want to hate him but with the underlying fact that he may be innocent, you also want to believe him. So you are torn between what looks like the truth and what could be the a lie. There is a bit of a twist to it but if you look for the clues you can almost work it out before you get to it. But apart from that this is a great little movie. I give it a solid 8 out of 10. Recommended.

Surprisingly tight and entertaining little Aussie thriller, ticks all the boxes for the horror genre. Very well made and the story moves along at a good pace and avoids horror movie clichés as much as it can for a low budget inde flick. Pretty scary with some really great scenes will have you watching through your fingers! Good to see a cameo from Tom Savini the master of gore, and some really great performances from the cast. Nic Hope must surely be one of the most under utilised actors around today and he gives a good performance as the maliciously murderous boss from hell. Also stand out performances from Sam Reid and Hayley McIlhenney, make this a very enjoyable way to spend a creepy night on the couch with a box of popcorn which may end up on the floor by the end credits.

When I was invited to the preview of Redd Inc, I like others was not sure what to expect. Having seen Angst a few years ago on TV I at least knew I'd be getting a witty film, and I wasn't wrong. I'm a fairly picky horror fan, but I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed this film. It almost feels like a comic book in a lot of places, due to the colourful way it is shot and executed. It was unexpectedly funny, had characters I related to and I found myself rooting for their survival. The female lead is spunky and has character, she's not a cardboard cut-out. I enjoyed Redd Inc from start to finish, I felt it broke free of many of the flaws and traps that horror films seem to fall into. To go into more detail would be giving too much away. I highly recommend that horror fans see this one for themselves. It's not big Hollywood, it's definitely got that indie feel about it but there's fun to be had here.