It’s the 19th of December and there is less than a week left until Christmas. We still have some movies left to look at and the last 5 days are going to be a blast. For day 19 of our Awful Advent Calendar we are taking a look at another low budget horror. Poking fun at some of the more common vampire tropes. Red Snow is a bit of a different take on the genre.
Set during the Christmas holiday. It sees a novelist who writes vampire novels find an injured bat at her door. Taking it into her garage, it soon transforms into a human with some suspiciously pointy teeth and a desire for blood. Bringing both romance and disaster in to her life for the festive period.
Some people have described this as being Misery with vampires. That description couldn’t be further from the truth. If you are checking the movie out for that, don’t. There is no Annie Wilkes here. Just a bit of a lonely woman with the hots for low rent vamps. With that said, let’s take a look.
Vampire Themed Horror Laughs
Red Snow is a vampire themed comedy horror. While not leaning into the laughs too heavily, it has its tongue placed firmly in its cheek throughout. It takes a bunch of the usual vampire tropes we have come to know. Garlic, crosses, stakes through the heart, weakness to the sun, etc. And basically has a bit of a chuckle at them.
Our heroine, Olivia, is obsessed with vampires. She writes novels about them for a “living”. Olivia even decorates her Christmas tree with vampire teeth. She seems like a bit of a lonely person who yearns for some company, be it from her family or a handsome, wounded, vampire with a very chiselled jaw. It just so happens that, while reading a book one day, one turns up at her door. Once she manages to get a hold of him, she isn’t overly willing to let him go.
Focusing on the developing relationship between Olivia and Luke, this is a story of two very different worlds colliding. Olivia has her preconceived ideas of what being a vampire would be like. I mean, she has loved vampires her whole life, how could she not? Luke aims to correct her on a few of those assumptions. While he is at it, he also wants to help her with the draft of her most recent book. The big question is, can she trust him? He is a vampire, after all.
Misery With Vampires?
Some have described this movie as Misery with vampires. Being entirely honest, Red Snow is absolutely nothing like Misery. Olivia is a kind person. She is fascinated by Luke and wants to learn more about him. She doesn’t want to force him to stay and I doubt she could if she wanted to. There are none of the elements found in Misery here. Luke is a very willing guest and there is a complete lack of slow burning, psychological horror. In fact, when the horror element actually comes on. It is far more of the action packed variety.
Luke is being pursued by a group of vampire hunters and, also, by a pair of his former friends. When they finally work out where he is, the movie devolves into basic action horror. By this point, however, we are over 50 minutes in and the film is nearly done. It is very much lacking in the thick sense of tension present in movies like Misery. There is no atmosphere at all to speak of and it simply doesn’t feel very much like a horror movie. Expecting tense horror will leave you disappointed.
Lacking Character Development
Character development takes something of a back seat in Red Snow. Olivia is a facsimile of your typical, down on their luck, romance novelist. She even looks how you would expect this type of character to look. A stranger to success, numerous publishers have already rejected her. The fact that she is sitting in, what looks like, a $500,000 house doesn’t make it easy to lend much sympathy to her. Still, she is what you would expect from this character type. Beyond those tropes, Olivia lacks in development and is a little bit boring.
Luke is something of a low rent Edward Cullen. I haven’t watched, or read, Twilight and I never will but everyone knows Edward. He is every young girl’s fantasy. A potentially deadly creature that only the right person can tame. Luke comes across very much like that. Some of the laughing at the typical vampire tropes seem a little bit like spitting into the wind. Still, he is, again, underdeveloped. Luke completely fits the modern vampire mould. There were no chances taken here and the result is two fairly boring characters.
Luckily there are a few laughs here and there between the two characters. Though they lack chemistry, there are a couple of moments that will make you giggle. Some of the dialogue is quite amusing and Luke dressed in Olivia’s mum’s clothes is a hilarious visual. Some of the pair’s back and forth regarding vampire tropes are quite fun, as well. Though we never really get into the real meat of the vampire experience. The conversations are fun.
Well Acted
Acting is generally really good. Dennice Cisneros, as Olivia, does a lot with a little. Olivia is an underdeveloped character but Cisneros makes her work. She is likeable and her facial expressions will garner a few laughs. I like that she is not completely static when talking, as well. This is something you see inexperienced actors do a lot. Cisneros actually uses her hands to express herself and has a good sense of physical comedy.
Nico Bellamy, as Luke, is a little more uneven. He can be a bit stiff and seems somewhat uncomfortable playing the cool, aloof vampire. His delivery can feel unnatural at times. Despite this he warms up as the movie goes on. He isn’t afraid to laugh at himself which is always good. Judging by his IMDB page he is very inexperienced so its hard not to praise him for how well he did. Especially when you consider said lack of experience.
Should You Watch Red Snow?
It really depends on what you enjoy. If you like light horror with some laughs, you may enjoy this one. This is one of those movies that would be perfect for a group of girls at a sleepover. It has a handsome protagonist, a light romance element and a likeable lead. The horror takes something of a back seat so it works for non-horror fans. The humour here feels very much like that of rom-coms, as well. I think non-horror fan women are the target audience here so more traditional horror fans may struggle to enjoy Red Snow.
Still, it has to be said, Red Snow can feel a bit lacking. As a horror movie, it doesn’t really do much. As a comedy, it is a little light on the laughs. Characters are underdeveloped and the plot is paper thin. Misery with vampires it most definitely is not. For an easily digestible comedy horror with likeable characters and a few laughs, though. It definitely does it’s job. Just don’t expect too much.