SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Palaest recommended

Mjeteconer Just perfect...

Helllins It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

jadavix In "Rojo Sangre", that god of Eurohorror, Paul Naschy, plays a thinly veiled analogue of himself as an actor in the twilight of his career. At one stage he lists some of the movies he has made, and Naschy fans will instantly recognize many films from Naschy's own career. Sadly, as Naschy is here portraying an actor whose career has gone to seed, those titles aren't the only glaring reference to the actor's real life.Pablo Thevenets is an actor who the world has sidelined due to his age. He is ridiculed by casting directors, all younger than him, who regard him as a relic of a bygone and embarrassing era. When he finally lands a role, it is humiliating, and doesn't even involve acting on stage or screen: rather, he is relegated to dressing as macabre historical figures in front of a restaurant - and generally in the pooring rain while passers-by jeer at him.This job pays well, but for Thevenets - who has recently lost his daughter to murder and wife to another man - it is a final straw, and it begins to feel a bit like Naschy does "Death Wish", only with the criminals being puffed up showbiz hacks. Before we take Thevenets as a Paul Kersey clone, however, there is also the fact of his new boss, Mr Reficul, and what that name spells when reversed.This is all, of course, a treat for Naschy fans, for whom "Rojo sangre" is unmissable. If you have never seen a Naschy film, this one might not sell you completely - there are a ton of films from his back catalogue that are required viewing for anyone who is interested, particularly "El Caminante", "Night of the Werewolf", "Inquisicion", "Panic Beats", "Horror Rises from the Tomb", "The People Who Own the Dark", "The Werewolf Woman Versus the Vampire Woman". "Rojo Sangre" is a fans-only must-watch, but is a must-watch, nonetheless.

lastliberal One of the great Spanish horror actors, Paul Naschy plays the role of Pablo Thevenet as if it is autobiographical, and it may very well be.He is washed up as an actor. Current directors want only pretty faces and lots of silicone. He lands a job as a doorman that allows him to use his prodigious talents as he was meant to.It is obvious that Pablo is entering a deal with the devil, but when the devil's assistant looks as good as Bibiana Fernández (Almodovar's Matador & his La Ley del Deseo), who cares? Apparently Pablo had some unpleasant experiences in life besides his downward fall as an actor and he snaps. This is where the horror begins. He is to spill blood copiously to get revenge.Christian Molina, in his first directorial project has managed to give us a new view of horror in a very stylized way, almost as good as Argento. I am looking forward to seeing his other films.

unlimiteddevotion I rented the Seven Samurai and Rojo Sangre was in the box. Not wanting to drive all the way back to the video store, I watched it. Rojo Sangre is absolutely terrible. The plot is pulled along on a fishhook, with no reason for one event to follow the next.Key plot points are introduced with lines like: "here is the address of where to buy the finest cutlery". Jumping all over the place. Rojo Sangre tries to do too much with too little. What begins as an investigation into one man's rejection and subsequent madness turns into a quasi-spiritual hacker slasher which fails at both. Rojo Sangre draws the worst parts of Devil's Advocate, Eye's Wide Shut, and I Know What You Did Last Summer into a contrived flop. Rojo Sangre attempts to make up for this failure by including needless cruelty, and an affair that goes nowhere. The opening scene has the main character describing putting a live mouse in his ass. And yet no mention is made later of any sexual issues. The movie is laden with cheap tricks of this sort. And and the photoshop transitions ruin even the thin mood this film was able to muster. Not worth a bother.

udar55 Naschy has stated in interviews that the film is semi-autobiographical and you can't help but feel sorry for the guy (both Thevenet and Naschy). With today's fickle movie audiences and industry, a certain sense of history and respect for the older generation of horror actors seems to be missing. As a young girl bluntly tells Thevenet, "I wasn't even born when you were making films" (to which he replies, "Just remember more silicone helps mask a lack of talent."). It may be a cliché, but Naschy has pretty much done it all when it comes to the horror genre and not a lot of people remember that. Naschy is awfully angry at that fact and the script (which he penned himself) definitely reflects that. Heck, when Thevenet throws out the titles of some of the films he has made, they are all real Naschy titles! To know that ROJO SANGRE debuted the same year as the miserable Fred Olen Ray/Naschy vehicle TOMB OF THE WEREWOLF is telling. Comparing the two side by side, it appears that Naschy knows all too well the plight of his main character. But it is nice to see this level of bitterness being used as a creative outlet instead of festering in Naschy's mind. If this film had not been made, perhaps Naschy would really have gone on a killing spree. ROJO SANGRE is a beautifully filmed and stately in terms of scale. Director Christian Molina (no relation to Jacinto "Paul Naschy" Molina) delivers a one of the best horror debuts in recent memory. He has an interesting visual sense that reminds me a lot of a young Russell Mulcahy, Jan Kounen and, to a lesser extent, Dario Argento. Some of his scene transitions are pretty darn clever (unfortunately, some are also a bit distracting) and the editing is first-rate. He is definitely someone whose future projects I look forward to.