Blog

Mother’s Red Dress is the second film to come from duo writer/director Edgar Michael Bravo and producer John Paul Rice to feature a darkly themed, social issue storyline. Paul is a young man who witnesses his mother shooting and killing her boyfriend and it sets off a chain of events that force him to explore his murky past, and abusive relationship with his father.

Mother’s Red Dress is not always easy to watch, in fact some scenes are downright difficult (in part due to the subject matter, but occasionally due to pacing or acting choices), but the overall picture is compelling, if dark. Timothy Driscoll depicts Paul in a very quiet manner, almost underplaying the role, which is a plus for the complex and somewhat confused character whose home life and past trauma’s, that he doesn’t really remember, have had a measurable effect on his personality. Paul abruptly leaves home after witnessing the shooting, and almost as if in a daze he finds himself in some part of L.A., staying in a motel and inquiring at a local coffee shop about colleges.

This is where he meets Brenda (played by Amanda Reed) and closely after Ashley (Alexandra Swarens), Brenda is obviously initially interested in Paul but she gives up the instant Ashley turns up and it’s clear that Paul is more interested in her. Brenda’s character is almost as tragic as Paul’s, from being attacked by an abusive customer to her obvious attraction to Paul, self-loathing, and drinking problems, the viewer can’t help but feel a bit sorry for her – despite her sometimes highly obnoxious personality. Swaren’s and Reed do an admirable job filling the roles, but overall the acting is a little spotty with a preponderance of slowly delivered lines and pained looks meant to convey deepness of character. The stand out performance comes from Alisha Seaton as Paul’s mum Laura (wearer of the titular red dress) whose appearances on screen are always punctuated with violent emotion.

The main concern to raise against the film is the slowness with which is progresses, it’s definitely a slow thinking film rather than fast paced. The first half in particular is a bit of a slow haul. As the movie progresses, what is real and what has happened in regards to Paul, his mother, and his past, becomes less clear and then eventually resolves itself in the final act. The ‘big reveal’ and the ending are somewhat bleak, particularly for Paul, but the final moments try to pull it around into a hint of a positive ending. All in all Mother’s Red Dress is perhaps not the best film, it’s an indie movie whose complicated, if occasionally muddled, story of social issues builds a character study – it won’t be for everyone, but for those of you that enjoy cinema with an issue or element of realism then this will probably be worth checking out.

You can find out more about the film HERE, and it’s also available to watch VOD HERE.

Set in and around the sewers of Sydney ‘The Tunnel’ follows a group of journalists as they investigate the labyrinth beneath the city.

Borrowing styles from the ‘found footage’ genre, Carlo Ledesma’s film in many ways achieves a consistency and believability that other more Hollywood offerings, such as ‘Chronicle’, have failed to deliver. The fact that the characters are a film crew whose main source of light in the tunnels is the high powered torch mounted on their professional news camera allows you to forget the ‘why are they filming this?’ contradiction that can often take you out of theses sorts of films.

As for the characters they are the typical mixed bunch. The crusading female journalist Nat (Bel Deliá), her producer Pete (Andy Rodoreda, think of an Australian Michael Fassbender), cameraman Steve (Steve Davis) and sound recorder ‘Tangles’ (Luke Arnold) are all given a key part to play both in the narrative and, in the case of the crew members particularly, in the actual documentation of the events.

Starting off as a political news story surrounding an abandoned government project to use the sewers of Sydney as a water recycling plant, the film makes sure to set up a level of realism as conversations are captured on CCTV or used as ways of the crew checking their kit. The opening of the film also allows the characters and their relationships to take shape, and while this would usually involve the characters themselves interacting with each other (in the car on their way to the cabin, or abandoned town or wherever) the film also employs another technique in order to get to know the characters.

Interviews are cut to throughout the story and provide personal accounts from characters as the events unfold (in much the same way as ‘District 9’). While this does allow us further insight into the characters and what they think of each other, discerning viewers may find it spoils the film somewhat as things start to go wrong down in the sewers.

As for the horror aspects they are mostly played brilliantly. While there are no particularly gory images (save one or two) Ledesma cunningly employs the ‘Alien’ philosophy (its not what you see, its what you imagine thats scary) which is used to great effect in the often pitch black setting.

To give away the threat itself would ruin the suspense of a horror film like this but I will say there is one particular reveal that is so damn creepy the image is likely to stay with you for a while.

‘The Tunnel’ definitely a good watch for horror fans, but don’t be put off if this isn’t usually your sort of thing. With a well thought out premise, solid cast (with a particularly good performance from amiable Steve Davis, who is in fact a cameraman ‘giving acting a go’) and genuinely creepy horror, ‘The Tunnel’ is a great example of Australian independent film.