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Overall Rating : 6/10
Directed By : David Pike
Bilal Mir
Sho Aikawa (Night of the Demons (2009) )
Carol Cardenas
Paul E. Clinco
Supplied By : ISTI Films
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : March 31, 2009
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| PLOT Todd Transona has a problem. Todd Transona is trapped. He is trapped in an office with a door that leads to hell. What did Todd do to deserve his horrific fate, and can he outwit his own destiny? Red Door is a film where every shot, every line, and every object has meaning in a world where nothing is what it seems. |
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| THE REVIEW In RED DOOR Todd Transona reports to his everyday job wearing a neat black suit, armed with a briefcase and an tape recorder in which he recites almost all of his thoughts and actions. His office, is a room with wood panels, very plain and dull, the only thing standing out in the room is a vivid red door to right. What we gather from Todd is that he believes his life to be just as dull as the office that he works in, but as he tells his tape recorder, he believe that "today will be different". And for the outside world, indeed it is. Shortly after arriving at the office, Todd receives a call from a co-worker named Elliot, whom warns Todd of a bombing attack and urges him to turn on the radio - and when he does, all he hears are frantic reports of a terrorist attack that is targeting the key major cities. Todd decides to stay put, with only his thoughts to keep him company, and soon his thoughts are fixated on the strange red door, locked with a padlock, no one seems to know what's behind it. We find out more about Transona through flashbacks. We see as hr is hired by Charlotte Reverie, to do what she says it to "protect the west office", but strangely, when she hands him a contract, it appears to have been written in blood - could Todd be signing a deal with the Devil. When the camera cuts to a shot of Charlotte's face is drenched in blood, we are persuaded to think so. What does the mysterious red door mean? Well whatever it is, it somehow seems to hold the answer to Todd's destiny. RED DOOR is a 34 minute short film, that really leaves a lot to be interpreted by the time the film end and it's likely that everyone that sees it will in the end draw their own conclusion. My own conclusion is that the office in which Todd works, symbolizes his isolation and seclusion from the outside world(which is what the chaos occurring outside the walls of the office symbolizes - Todd isn't at all affected by it.)/ Furthermore, I think that Todd's isolation could mean that he is in some sort of purgatory, that he has already committed suicide or died(perhaps, because of the guilt caused by his wife's murder that we also learn about in the flashbacks.) and that the mysterious red door is his "gateway", if you will, to either heaven or hell. In the film, Todd himself questions if what's behind the door is Hell itself, or some sort of salvation, it's this that lead me draw this particular conclusion. However, the film's ambiguous symbolism could lead viewers to believe many different thins. Although RED DOOR is a short film, it's production value is high, as it is a film directed with both style and precision by the film's Director, David Pike. Pike, previously directing only music videos, with RED DOOR directs his first short film, and it is very promising of good things to come. Technically it's clear that every element of RED DOOR was handled with care and equally thought out. From it's story that is so diverse that it's outcome can be very different from one person to the next, directing to it's haunting score, everything nearly seamlessly meshes together to create a world that is dark, and sometimes hauntingly surreal. Also who would have thought that a single red door could ever be a menacing character in itself? |
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| GORE
METER 4.5/10 There is a cut to the hand, that creates a good amount of blood, a slit throat, and a face dripping in blood. |
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| MUSICAL
SCORE 7/10 RED DOOR has a synthesizer/electric score that I found to be truly great. It at times, took a somewhat interesting scene and give it a really haunting atmosphere. |
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM RED DOOR tells an interesting story that has no real conclusion, which is the way I believe it was intended. Some will make there own interpretations as I said, while others may be left scratching their heads. Witch this said, although RED DOOR isn't truly clear and can be confusing it is very well shot and executed, and if anything, it leaves you eagerly waiting to see what's next for the Director, David Pike. |
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