A slinky young hooker finds her true destiny by discovering an old crate of magic venom, which leads to her revenge against her biggest nemesis who took the life of her most beloved.
Directed by Britton Stebbins, "Red Venom Kills" is a love letter to 70's cult film grindhouse era of indie filmmaking. It stars Alexa Rae, Deana Hernandez, Britton Stebbins, David Bonandrin, Brian Kasgorgis, Melissa O'Brien, and Niki Haze.
The story is a simple retribution, payback thriller like "Angel" and "Hobo With A Shotgun", but with a comic book edge. More antihero than superhero, the heroine is as hard to swallow as the bad guys she puts down. And the big bad bitty she goes head to head with is more "mirror mirror" than polar opposite. So there is an overall lack of character development that exists.
Now for the good ole fun stuff. Told throw the the nostalgia of 70's poor quality filmography with scratchy frame , crackling sounds and color bleeds, Stebbins checks off all the boxes for retro-effects. It does seem a bit overkill but entertaining none the less. Had the story had more substance, or the characters more death, "Red Venom Kill" would have killed it!
There are very few horror or violent effects on screen, most happen as the frames step away. Still most are effective in kicking in the imagination. I do wish Stebbins would have gotten a bit darker or grittier at times just to shake up the subject matter and squeeze out more emotional depth from the viewer. Still this film will definitely appeal to a big indie grindhouse audience, so check it out. (2.5/5)
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