Red Velvet

Director - Blake Simon (The Passage, Cosmic Chaos)

Starring - Alisha Erozer (Dr. Death, Hands of Destiny), Austin Lynn Hall (Nothing But the Blood, Wild west Chronicles), and Olivia Lee (Ellipses and Semi-Colons, Isabel's Garden)

Release Date - 2023

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "No peeking"

Format - Streaming (Online Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

      I’m always impressed by the creativity I find in my mailbox on a daily basis. So many talented filmmakers, actors, actresses, and so on reach out to me to review their hard work. I’ve been doing this for over ten years and I still find it exciting when someone reaches out to me to see their finished product. A few weeks back I was contacted by director Blake Simon to review his short Red Velvet. When I saw the email I thought someone was contacting me about the 2008 horror film with the same name starring E.T.’s Henry Thomas. However, it was quick to see this was a very different film and I couldn’t wait to check it out. I want to thank Blake for sending this one over for review. 

      The film follows a man who suspects that the end of the world is approaching. He decides to get a hotel room and have an escort meet him. Things start out innocent enough when she arrives and goes into the bathroom. Before long there is another knock at the door and when he answers it he finds the same woman standing there. He panics and quickly learns that something sinister is at work. 

      I knew nothing about Red Velvet before diving into it but I was very impressed by this effective short. The film makes great use of it’s short run time and the look of the film really works. The colors used mixed against the location and story really gives this short a look of it’s own. The acting in this is great. The cast is very small which gives them a better chance to get a feel for each other. The films main focus is on Austin Hall and Alisha Erozer’s characters and they have great chemistry together on screen. They work very well together and do a fantastic job carrying the short. The story for this one works very well with the setting it takes place with and is very effective. I love the backstory of the reactor failing and the main wanting to have one last fling before the world ends. I also love that this is not the terrifying part of the film. We are given something much more terrifying as the film unfolds. This is beautiful writing and very effective in this short format. Finally, the film doesn’t shy away from the blood. We get a great kill with classic effects but those of you looking for some serious gore will be very disappointed. You can’t win them all. Overall, Red Velvet is a very enjoyable horror short that stuck with me for some time after I initially watched it. I loved the colors and location of the film along with the cast and story. I highly recommend checking this one out.