Bizarre 'Red Mist' gets freaky, dog

May 22, 8:54 AMPhoenix Movie ExaminerJoseph J. Airdo

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Anchor Bay Entertainment's direct-to-DVD release
Red Mist offers home audiences a bizarre - and
bloody - ride.

With horror flicks often making their biggest splash in rentals, the direct-to-DVD market is being saturated with new releases. And although home audiences are not nearly as fortunate as they were back in the late 1980s, a few notable exceptions have been popping up lately – including Red Mist – that preserve the honor of the format.

Arielle Kebbel (The Grudge 2, The Uninvited) takes the lead in Red Mist. She portrays Catherine, a medical student who hangs out with a group of ambitious – but immoral – young men and women.

One night, Catharine and her friends are out partying when loner Kenneth (Andrew Lee Potts) shows up with hopes to be included. However, Kenneth is met with only ridicule. The group calls him “Freakdog” and attempts to usher him out.

Feeling emotionally scarred, Kenneth calls out the fact that the group is in possession of illegal prescription drugs. Trying to spare themselves trouble, the group invites Kenneth to join in on the fun. But when a strobe light triggers an epileptic seizure in Kenneth and sends him into a coma, the group makes a pact to keep quiet about the ordeal.

Things start off going quite well with most of the friends distancing themselves from the incident. However, Catharine is riddled with guilt and becomes determined to save Kenneth's life. She covertly administers a powerful and untested drug cocktail to him.

But, instead of curing him, the cocktail gives Kenneth's mind the ability to inhabit the bodies of others and, through them, take revenge on those responsible for his vegetative state.

For a direct-to-DVD release, Red Mist is quite the decent little horror flick. Director Paddy Breathnach is certainly no stranger to hallucinations and out-of-body experiences considering he was responsible for the international horror hit Shrooms. He does better here than with that previous effort yet it is still a little too strange for its own good.

Kebbel is the best part of the movie as she elevates it to a watchable state. She is a fairly talented actress and makes the best of the unusual material in Red Mist. The rest of the cast (relative unknowns) are OK but no one stands out as being anywhere near above average.

There really are not any genuine scares in Red Mist and the finale gets far too simple. But, again, for a direct-to-DVD piece, it is not too shabby. And the horror-junkies who rent it for a quick – and bloody – fix will not be disappointed.

Just be prepared for some bizarre stuff.