Red Eye is a successful crowd-funded, indie-horror that takes a group of horror fans and spreads it’s message like a sawed-off shotgun. Young Director, Tristan Clay and writer Destine Orndoff bring their knowledge of the genre in front of the camera. The dialogue tackles main themes such as depression and anxiety in young adults, however it becomes long-winded and drifts away from the plot. The story follows 4 young adults as they venture to make a documentary on an urban legend called Red Eye.
Even with experienced actors, such as Jessica Cameron and Heather Dorff, it seems as if their roles couldn’t save the viewer’s 60 minute journey that is Red Eye. With out giving spoilers and such, I will say one thing; For how young Clay and Orndoff are, they made a visually appealing film that forcefully struts its way into the horror genre ( I have sat through a tremendous amount of garbage and Red Eye is no where near as bad than half of the movies I have seen)
The dialogue has great intentions, but so did the dialogue from Miami Connection AND THAT MOVIE HAD COCAINE NINJAS! The good news is that Clay and Destine are at the beginning of their careers and are in the right direction. It is hard to make a passion project that everyone will love. This review isn’t me spouting out negativity because Red Eye has some really decent moments and the moments that were painful to watch WILL be revitalized in future projects. These filmmakers know their horror and sometimes when delivering a passion project, filmmakers tend to add their own personal life experiences into the dialogue, forcing a message on to the viewer (especially if the filmmaker is so passionate about the context).
Let’s look at some positives. Clay’s direction is just the beginning of his film-making boiling pot. The fire just started for Clay and, at his age, he makes some veteran genre directors look novice. The principal photography is exceptional, making Red Eye look as if it was done in post production by a line of editors.
I can’t wait to see future projects from the Deranged Minds Entertainment team. This is just the beginning.
