Rojo sangre (2004) Reviews

• Great, great, GREAT! Hooray for rancid exploitation!

  Coventry2005-03-19

  Paul Naschy, star of an innumerable amount of Spanish exploitation classics (including the "Hombre-Lobo" cycle) returns in this wondrously bizarre and imaginative film that premiered at the International Festival of Fantasy Films. I'm pretty convinced that "Rojo Sangre" won't be very successful and that's a damn shame because it finally is a truly odd and eccentric Spanish horror effort again, and the fans have seen far too few of these recently. The premise is a variant on the legendary "Faust" tale but, as much as every other aspect in this film, it's a very VERY demented take on Goethe's classic story. Naschy shines as the veteran actor-in-low-water Pablo Thevenet. He despises the young generation of actors and actresses for being untalented and he's frustrated about the fact that new and arrogant casting directors don't know him. Desperate for work, he accepts a job as a living sculpture in a fancy brothel ran by extravagant people. But something seems to have snapped in Pablo's head and he starts a violent killing spree, focusing on those who were responsible for artistic downfall. The plot really gets complex when Pablo's employers turn out to be unworldly and ultimately messed up. The story doesn't make much sense half of the time (and the other half is downright confusing) but still you love what you see because it's so vivid and nostalgic. You fancy yourself back into the glorious days of euro-exploitation and that's a feeling I personally missed enormously. "Rojo Sangre" features a lot of old-fashioned sleaze, good music and adorably insane characters (a transsexual business lady or a millionaire snuff-fanatic, anyone??). The dialogues are exceptionally well-written and the cinematography is astonishingly beautiful!It actually doesn't look leak a cheap exploitation film at all, as the camera-work is ingenious and the visuals are very creative. The gore and make-up effects aren't as outrageous as I expected (or hoped!) them to be, but there certainly are a couple of marvelous gruesomeness-highlights, including nasty images of a cut up corpse, multiple stabbings and professionally slit throats! Despite the devastating material, the screenplay also makes room for genuine black comedy and a couple of very comical anecdotes. The film opens with one, when Pablo gives a detailed description of his bizarre sexual fetish! That sequence is hilarious and you already consider "Blood Red" a success before it even properly begun! Paul Naschy is brilliant as Pablo Thevenet (it might even be his best performance ever) and maybe that's because he really feels related to his character's situation. No worries Paul, I can assure you that the godly Paul Naschy is still worshiped by a limited group of cult-lovers! Watch "Blood Red" when you've got the chance!

• A fitting vehicle for Naschy

  udar552005-03-27

  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.

• One of the great comeback films in horror history

  HEFILM2005-06-15

  Paul Naschy for years was among the top John Belushi look alikes in the world. He of course was also a big horror star in Spain and re-edited versions of his best known werewolf films played on chiller theater TV packages as I, and many other horror fans grew up. Most of the stars of 60's horror films are gone sadly and now that horror films are again very popular they aren't around to enjoy a final film. Christopher Lee of course is alive and well, but has so far "only" been in non horror films during this new interest. Vincent Price was in some films for Tim Burton, but these too were small parts in non genre films. And lets not think too hard back a few years to Bela Lugosi going on working for Ed Wood or those last few lousy Boris Karloff Mexican productions. So congratulations to Paul Naschy for being in what is a very creative horror film and showing that he's a better actor and still a very cutting edge writer all these years later. This is a slick film, gruesome and creative on many levels. It's a good and or better than anything he's ever been in or made. Though he's playing a character somewhat like himself, a former horror icon, there is little trace of self consciousness in his performance. Naschy had recently been in two American Horror films, but let's admit that they are two lousy films from two lousy filmmakers. He also had a fun small role in a not so bad Spanish film SCHOOL KILLER a few years ago. But for him in his native land to get this film made,let alone for it to be a good film, it's just well almost unheard of triumph. There is little nostalgia in my thoughts towards this film. It stands on it's own even if you aren't a Naschy fan, or if you think of him as sort of a camp figure from the past. If you haven't heard of him this would be a great introduction. Most actors could only wish for a comeback film like this in any genre. Let's hope this isn't the final film for Naschy because he shows he's still got it in him to do cutting edge horror.

• Paul Naschy "The Legend": still alive and...kicking!

  armando_mariani2005-02-11

  When I started to watch "Rojo Sangre", Jacinto Molina's aka Paul Naschy ("The Spanish Horror Legend") last movie, on a beautiful Spanish DVD transfer, I didn't know I was in for a big and pleasant surprise. I just got "burned" by "Tomb of the Werewolf" (2003), which I couldn't bear for more then 10 minutes and ended up straight into the trash-can. I wasn't sure I should give Jacinto a second chance during the same evening... I'm glad I did! If not his best movie, this is certainly one of his most important works and, for sure, his most personal in many ways. He gets involved here as the leading actor, scriptwriter and I suspect, he also exercised some influence on young and talented Director Christian Molina (no relation to Jacinto), at his first and, so far, only directing experience (lets keep an eye on this fellow). The main character: Pablo Thevenet, an aging and struggling actor, who is not getting jobs anymore, has no money left, is turned down by friends, directors and his own agent, tries to convince an arrogant casting director what a good film and stage actor he was and still is. He starts mentioning movie titles which, in reality, belong to Naschy's own filmography. A part from that, Jacinto Molina is also an "aging actor" in real life. It may break your heart to see, what has become of the guy which, in his prime-time, was an athletic and handsome typical "Macho Latino", as he appeared, for instance, in "Blue eyes of the broken doll". Now he is almost bald, wrinkled and walks with the help of a cane... but, as an actor, believe me, he is alive and kicking big time! Surely he can fully relate to the Thevenet character and understand, better then anybody else, what it would mean, for a once famous actor, loosing his audience and being forced to go from one humiliating and hopeless casting-call to the other, just to survive. This knowledge helped him to craft this complex and powerful character. There is no intention from my side to spoil your pleasure, if you decide to watch this movie, by giving you in advance the whole plot or too many details. I will only say that he keeps sinking towards his final humiliation, until he finally snaps and the inside growing rage pushes him to kill all the scumbags in the entertainment industry, he considers responsible, in one way or the other, for his misery. As a skilled actor, he does it however in a stylish manner, impersonating, one after the other, a gallery of infamous madmen, like Ivan the Terrible, Jack the Ripper, Rasputin and others. He "gets busy", using mainly a precious collection of assorted Japanese sharp blades, just perfect for the gory slashing, but a handgun comes also handy at times. The killings are bloody and brutal but, cinematographically, exceptionally well crafted. Gore-hounds will love them and love this movie. In his descent to the lowest level of dignity, he gets also involved in the production of a "snuff-film". I consider this horrifying and savage sequence being, cinematographically, one of the best of the whole movie. Earlier in the movie, he signed a "Contract" with a bizarre character named Mr. Reficul (read it backwards...does a bell ring?), who offered him a humiliating but well rewarded job. This will be the starting point of his brutal career as a deadly agent of the Dark Side. A part of Naschy's acting performance (which I consider superb), it is worth to mention a young fellow named Miguel del Arco, who delivers a remarkable mean-spirited performance as Mr. Reficul. The dialogs are clever and, sometimes, very amusing. Right in the opening scene, Thevenet gives to a friend a detailed description of an odd sexual-aid technique he finds quite effective..... His friend is embarrassed to death and his face shows it all. This monologue is absurd but Naschy is capable to make it sound almost logical and perfectly acceptable. The scene is a blast! Beware, unless your copy has subtitles (avoid dubs at all costs), you need to be in full control of the Spanish language, to completely appreciate the dialogs and the movie in his entirety. The cinematography and the visuals are awesome. Director and cinematographer have probably seen Argento's "Suspiria" and Bava's "Kill, Baby Kill" and have learned the lesson. They successfully apply all the technical marvels available from today's technology, to create a kaleidoscope of dizzying chromatic visuals, in which "reds" and "yellows" provide an extra kick, during the most atmospheric and dramatic sequences. The camera moves rapidly, morphing from one sequence to the next, the accurate and swift editing ads tension, all this supported by an appropriate and atmospheric original soundtrack. To me this is a highly recommendable stylish and gorgeous "fantastic-horror" movie. So please, grab your pop-corn (or cup of Spanish Brandy if you prefer), sit back, relax and go for the ride but please, don't forget Thevenet's words, concluding his "El Murillo Movie Award" acceptance speech:"...be very careful with what you sign...!!!" I give it a 9 out of 10.

• Weird and compelling - an excellent swan song for Naschy's career!

  The_Void2008-06-22

  Paul Naschy is certainly a big contender for Spain's biggest ever horror star; with a great deal of cult films under his belt, most notably his "Homo Lobo" series. However, since the seventies his fame has dwindled somewhat; but on the evidence of this film, his acting and writing talent certainly hasn't! Rojo Sangre is a strange and wayward film that won't appeal to all tastes; but it's certainly an interesting cult film and the fact that it's a semi-autobiographical film for Paul Naschy makes it all the more interesting. The plot focuses on Pablo Thevenet; a down and out actor with nothing but bad luck. His daughter was murdered and his wife left him, and despite once being a big star; he now can't find any sort of acting work. He gets something of a break when he's offered a job as a 'living statue' at a Stag club, and although he finds the role demeaning; he takes it because the money is good and no other offers are coming his way. His hatred for the modern movie business is overwhelming, however, and it's not long before he begins a murderous tirade against all those that have stopped him from getting work. The thing I liked most about this film is the way that the plot moves. It's never obvious where the film is going and Naschy's script always allows some surprises. The direction is taken up by Christian Molina, and I'm sure the last name will be familiar to Naschy fans as it's his son! Molina's direction is always assured and he manages several stylish moments. The film is perhaps a little too flashy, but everything in the direction bodes well with the way that the story is presented. The film is bolstered courtesy of an excellent performance by Paul Naschy; perhaps even the best of his career. The fact that the role reflects upon his own career aside, you can't fail but be impressed with Naschy here; he absolutely becomes the central character and you can never doubt him for a second. One of the many subplots of the film features the central character slashing up various people while dressed as historical characters and this provides the film with some of its best moments. The gore is actually quite restrained but it's still nice to see. There's not really a defining point to the film and the ending contains more questions than answers but it does at least bring some closure to the plot. Overall, Rojo Sangre is an excellent swan song for Naschy's career and I'm sure that fans of the great Spanish actor's career will appreciate it.