PopHorror Let's Get Scared
As any horror fan knows, some tropes have been positively done to death, but every so often, someone comes along with a genuinely fresh take on a familiar theme and blows you away with their unique approach. Red River Road just may be one of those takes. Directed by Paul Schuyler (Wasted 1996), Red River Road also stars Schuyler along with his real-life wife and two children. It also happens to be a pandemic-themed piece shot entirely under lockdown last year at the family’s home.
The storyline of Red River Road is about the Wittens: Stephen, Anna, and their two sons, Wyatt and Sean. They’re living under lockdown conditions very similar to the COVID ones everyone’s all too familiar with at this point. But instead of COVID, the Witten family is quarantined from a mysterious Wi-Fi-borne virus that spreads via the internet. Once infected, sufferers begin to lose their grip on reality and can no longer tell facts from fiction.
The quarantine conditions in the film are much stricter and more heavily enforced than the familiar COVID ones. Each family member has been fitted with an implant that makes any attempt to leave the property physically unbearable. A barcoded box of food and supplies is also left in their driveway each day. The only time they have contact with the outside world is during a daily check-in call from the authorities. Items like cell phones are kept under lock and key. However, each member of the family has been sneaking surreptitious looks at theirs on the sly.
Naturally, when things start to go south within the Witten household, it’s nearly impossible to figure out just how much of what they’re experiencing is real. For instance, Anna suffers from odd dreams. And eventually, the family dog disappears, followed by Anna’s husband and sons. But how much of what Anna experiences is accurate, and how much is simply delusion created by her potentially infected mind?
It doesn’t seem quite adequate to describe this film as impressive, but that’s precisely what it is. A family-created project like Red River Road easily could have turned into something not worth the audience’s time, but this film shines instead. What the Schuyler family has accomplished here is nothing short of amazing, and the execution is truly top-tier.
There’s a lot to unpack here, and amazingly, all of it works. Red River Road plays perfectly off of fears, frustrations, and concerns everyone in the world is all too familiar with at this point. However, it raises the stakes even higher by making the internet—most people’s lifeline during the COVID lockdowns—the means by which the virus spreads. The added sci-fi touches lend an otherworldliness to the film that’s perfectly balanced by the timeless approachability of everything else. This is an uncomfortable world, to be sure, but you can picture yourself here and can’t help but sympathize with what the Witten family is going through.
The lines of reality are even further blurred in that you don’t quite know where the real-life Schuyler family ends and the fictional Wittens begin. For instance, Anna’s dreams are bits and pieces of the Schuylers’ real-life home videos. There are also many similarities between each member of the family behind the film and their onscreen counterparts. The result is stunning, sobering, and wholly compelling.
Red River Road is the sort of film no dedicated horror fan will want to miss. It’s relatable, well-written, and chilling, and it keeps you guessing right up to the end. It’s also the type of film that has “future classic” written all over it, as it’s relevant now and will serve as an uncomfortable reminder of this chapter in our own history. Pick up a copy of the film here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qdut7F36LLM
