Redwood (2017) Poster

(2017)

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4/10
Irritated me...
michaelant55526 March 2018
A couple go into the woods for a camping trip and are told to stay away from the gray zone areas and stick to the green zone. It's pretty simple, really, but you know how these things turn out - in a moment of stupidity and after being warned a couple of times the guy's like, "Hey! I know, let's take a short cut!"...Next thing you know they find themselves in vampire territory.

Very Low-budget horror where the fear is generated by a combination of over-acted emotions and creature screams. You don't see much of the creature and when you do they're extremely lame and cheap. The only thing that saved this for me was that it wasn't a found-footage film. I saw the 6/10 rating so I was expecting something good but I ended up very disappointed.
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3/10
Give it a miss
bigspuds-627132 April 2018
I'm not sure what is worse in this film, the story or the acting. Both are fairy bad but I think the acting might just edge it because in some parts it is nothing short of terrible, to the point I wasn't sure if this was meant as a joke. If you made this or was in it and watched it after completion and thought you had done a good job you really need to consider another line of work. I gave it 3 stars out of sympathy and think I was over generous, don't waste your time with this, it's poor.
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3/10
Vampire seclusion
TheLittleSongbird27 June 2018
Was drawn into seeing 'Redwood' with a cool poster/cover, a very intriguing and creative premise and as someone with a general appreciation for the genre as said many times. That it was low-budget, which from frequent personal experience is rarely a good sign due to that there are so many poor ones out there, made me though apprehensive.

'Redwood' is a film it doesn't do enough with its potential (although there are far bigger wastes of potential in film) and could have been much better. 'Redwood' is very weak with a lot of big problems. It certainly could have been far worse, considering the large number of films seen recently being mediocre at best and terrible at worst.

Lets start with the positives. The setting is atmospheric and spooky and 'Redwood' could have looked far worse visually, was expecting a cheap looking film and to me that wasn't the case here.

'Redwood' has some creepy moments early on.

Albeit, there is nothing new here, the film doing nothing fresh with something creative in concept. The second half also takes itself far too seriously and gets incredibly idiotic, a very completely different film feel here. Far too much is revealed too early too, with the opening sequence giving almost everything away that it kills the suspense. The creepiness dissipates completely fairly early on, with the horror, suspense and tension being nowhere near enough. Things start not making much sense and gets silly, with one of the most ludicrous and easily foreseeable endings ever. The acting is not amateurish from the leads but is weak from the supporting cast and laughable for the cheaply rendered and far from threatening vampires.

Further issues are that it was clear that it was written in haste. There is a very rushed and careless feel to the story, especially in the second half where confusion and choppiness can be found in editing and narrative, and the underdeveloped and scrappy script with far too much talk likewise.

Then there is some padding and aimlessness that also gives the film a dragging sensation. The characters are flimsily developed, annoying and bland, the direction lacks focus and the music and sound editing are far too intrusive and obvious. Nicholas Brendan's role and inclusion were pointless.

Overall, weak with not much going for it. 3/10 Bethany Cox
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2/10
Sigh
PsychoBeard6663 January 2020
Filmed on a potato. Written by a 5 year old. Acted by rank amateurs.

It takes 50 minutes for ANYTHING to happen. The vampires are big unscary smurfs. This will probably be the worst film I watch in 2020 and it's only 3rd January!
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1/10
Bad horror, bad actors
allesmussnixkann26 March 2018
Theres no plot, not anything of relevance happening. the girl tends to tease her tits, but thats it.

just another student film, not even worth being called horror.

do yourself a favor and save the time
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1/10
Josh has cancer (in case he didn't mention it)
gavinmcdevitt-1738616 May 2020
Wow...

Ranger Steve and his bizarre accent should have been a warning that this wasn't going to live up to the "Must Watch" billing this movie gives itself.

Firstly, our protagonists, Josh and Beth are easily the most toxic couple ever to share a screen. Sadly, neither one of them starts the movie as particularly likeable and both of them roll down hill from there. Clumsy exposition takes the place of believable character depiction as the writer seemed intent on reminding the viewer *EVERY THREE MINUTES* about Josh's cancer diagnosis. Nothing this pair do throughout comes even close to being understandable from the perspective of a regular, thinking human being. This pays off in the worst way imaginable at the conclusion, where I was left scratching my head about anyone's motivations. Also, Beths flip flopping between her American and Irish accents is distracting at best, mind numbing at worst.

The first two thirds of the runtime is a painfully slow trudge up a hill with this pair, where they complain at each other incessantly. I found myself hoping they might stumble upon a hungry grizzly bear who might put us all out of our misery. The third act finally remembers that this is meant to be a vampire movie and just drops them in to no apparent effect. Seriously, take the vampires out of this movie and it has zero impact on the plot other than taking away the painfully predictable post credits scene.

Feels like it was written by a high school child, but probably less entertaining that it would have been if it was.

Garbage. Avoid. Petition for its destruction.
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1/10
What a MESS
ferdmalenfant21 December 2018
Such an interesting idea for a movie but it fails in everything it tries to achieve starting with the dialogue. This script, given to the right film crew could really be a good, creepy little film...But nothing happens for at least 50 minutes. During some parts of this movie, I actually laughed out loud. example; You're in the woods and you see creatures approaching, so what do you do? You hide in your tent for security! COME ON? Why did someone ever think this film would work, as it stands. IT COULD HAVE BEEN GOOD!
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1/10
Embarrassing to watch
marvin_cottam27 February 2021
What an absolutely awful film. All those involved should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. It wasn't scary and the plot was terrible.
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6/10
Passable Horror
Pairic9 February 2019
Redwood: A couple hiking in creepy woods, heard it before? This one has a few twists and at least it's not found footage. also there are vampires. Josh (Mike Beckingham) has leukemia so he and Beth (Tatjana Inez Nardone) decide to spend some quality time in taking in the mountain air among the tree of and trails of a National Park. They meet a rather goofy Ranger, Steve (Muzz Khan), later as they make camp they meet a more serious Ranger, Vincent (Nicholas Brendon) who warns them about unspecified dangerous wildlife. He also tells them to keep away from the" Sanatorium" ruins, apparently some folk believe miracle cures are available there ...

The location is spine-chilling at times and there are some great overhead camera shots but too much time is spent on the petty squabbling of the couple as they traverse the park. The frights when they come make up for this to some extent but the vampires look more like inbred hillbillies. Tom Patton wrote, directed and edited this just about passable Horror Film. 6/10.
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4/10
Shot well but extremely predictable
terrencepatrix27 March 2018
This is a difficult movie to review because the description along with the opening sequence is essentially one big spoiler for the entire movie...it literally reveals the entire plot. So the actual meat of the movie is basically just a couple going for a long hike in the woods and constantly bickering until they eventually run into the aforementioned vampires.

It's a simple low budget movie but the natural beauty of the redwood forest makes for a very nice looking movie. The acting of the main cast is adequate but nothing special although early in the film there's a scene with a park ranger where the acting is particularly cringe inducing. Also the introduction of Nicholas Brendon (of past Buffy fame) was just kind of weird and poorly written. He doesn't play an important role at all, just kind of pops up out of nowhere to say his lines, act a little creepy, then isn't seen again until the end. On top of that his last line of the movie is cheesy and completely unnecessary, it seems it was included to make sure you knew they were vampires. As in he literally pops up to say "Not another vampire...". We know man, we saw it. Thanks anyway.

The biggest flaw in the movie, aside from completely spoiling the plot 5 minutes in, is the complete lack of suspense. There are no twists here, what you think is going to happen is exactly what happens and then the movie ends which is ultimately just really unsatisfying. So this movie, while it looked nice, just falls flat and honestly kinda lame. It's definitely not scary by any means. Give it a watch if you want to see a well shot but ultimately pointless movie, just don't expect much from it.
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8/10
It's always interesting reading reviews.... but make your own mind up!
I've had a quick read through the reviews which sit in two camps... Firstly, those who have a certain expectation of horror - expecting clichéd monsters, gore and jump scares, and nothing involving a brain, who tend to complain about "nothing good happening... " or "you don't see much of the monsters" because they have the attention span of a peanut.

Then you have those who actually understand pacing and build up and antici..... pation. Those who actually have an open mind and understanding that there's more than one type of horror out there.

For me, I've never been one for gore/splatter/jump scares, simply because they don't actually scare me. I've always preferred my horror a bit more thoughtful (or comedic, as I must confess harbouring a soft spot for those).

Redwood for me, is a great example of a horror film that has a lot of thought provoking ideas and imagery, ISN'T something that requires my full attention ALL the time, and isn't just the general clichéd idea of the monsters in question... The question I was left with at the end was actually who is the bigger monster? I'm still not sure... The location chosen for the film is a great mix of beautiful with an edge of danger, and the cinematography does bring this out quite nicely. It's not by any means a big budget flick, so don't go in expecting the moon on a stick and loads of CGI work, and you won't be disappointed. I think a lot of people have forgotten what creature acting is now Instead go in with an open mind to a story that over the course of the screentime brilliantly shows not only that first impressions can be wrong, but sometimes not all is as it seems. The reviews on here I have read seem to focus on the creatures we see - not considering that the films endgame hints at a bigger badder, or even what the 'monsters' once were...

But that's just my two penneth - go watch it and make your own mind up!
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6/10
Life deals you lemons and then vampires
nogodnomasters31 March 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Josh (Mike Beckingham) and his Girlfriend Beth (Tatjana Nardone) go hiking in the Redwood Forest...the one that has vampires in it that only stay in the gray areas on a map and never go into the green areas. We already know there are vampires from the film description. We don't get to see much of them and only late in the film. Josh has leukemia and maybe 6 months. They meet Vincent (Nicholas Brendon) along the way because they want to have at least one person in the film with a vampire name and BTW Vincent tells us about a miracle cure in the gray area on the map...but it doesn't work. To no surprise, Josh and Beth take a shortcut through the gray area.

There is an opening scene that ties into the end. The vampires are far from the Bela type and are feral. Film was fairly predictable. Scares come toward the end.

Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.
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1/10
Just awful!
Boxerbullygeorge21_239 January 2022
If it wasn't for the constant over dramatic B rate acting this movie may have sustained my attention. The hyperventilating Beth who was as irritating as a wasp at a picnic spoiled what could have been a decent film., Josh, suffering leukemia, is quite endearing but..... like most horror films set in the woods it really didn't offer anything original. I wanted to mute the TV when Beth was gasping for air.. She was an annoying noise from start to finish...
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1/10
Absolute Garbage
DreadVideo12 March 2020
How can the trees be the least wooden thing about this film?

The acting is terrible, to the point where one believes they're deliberately trying to be obtuse to the point of surrealism with their delivery of the script.

I would denigrate the plot, but there didn't seem to be any, this film literally made no sense.

It baffles me (and slightly depresses me) that film like this get made, calling it amateur or badly produced doesn't do it justice.

It's utter garbage, watch the trailer before wasting your life watching such trash.
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1/10
Sucks and then sucks some more
philnwv22 February 2021
Steve the ranger sets the acting tone for this early on, the main male character who is simon pegs brother is unbelievably bad which seems to explains why pegg hasn't managed to get him a break anywhere. The shooting is actually really well done and the location is amazing so there are some positive points but I've been at kids school plays with better performances.
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1/10
Lost the will ......
csbarry7 May 2021
Possibly the worst film I've seen and continued to watch.

If you are looking for that great horror to watch, this isn't it, if you are looking for mediocre, this isn't it. If you are looking for bad then this may just about work.

There are some nice trees in this film but that's about it. Script shocking, acting shocking, 'vampires' shocking, plot I'm not even really sure of. There was no flow, no tension, no atmosphere, no humour, no likeability for the characters of which there was no connection between.nothing seemed thought out or deliberate. For a film a a fair few tears they could have got actors who could actually cry, it was uncmfortable to watch.

Just everything was wrong even down to the final twist and the weird music to end the film. It's a b movie of school level production. Even Xander couldn't pull this one back from the dead. I'm sorry to be so negative but I've had better hour and a halves in A&E.
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1/10
There's some time I'll never get back...
marrin-1337215 May 2020
Premise:

Couple fo for hike, disturb nest of vampires.

Initial thoughts?

Sounds enjoyable, as a dan of the vampire genre, I love different kind of takes on it.

Watched it.

After thoughts?

WTF was that. Awful actors, tame vampires, long boring scenes of just, quite frankly, nothing. The sound is terrible, the scenes shakey and ill planned. The casting director needs to go back to school as, even as a Brit, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WHY CHOOSE A BRITISH LAD IN A HORROR!!!??. They just don't fit.



This sounded promising. 30 days of night promising. Instead, it just felt like I was actually watching something for 30 whole days.
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3/10
Little here to recommend
Leofwine_draca14 December 2018
Warning: Spoilers
REDWOOD is a typical indie horror film without much in the way of plot or originality to recommend it. For the most part it involves a couple hiking through the woods, gradually finding themselves worn down by sinister events and noises, finding out that they've strayed into a den of age-old vampires (which turn out to play next to no part in the proceedings). Tatjana Nardone's effective performance is the only decent thing about this. Elsewhere, expect a random cameo from Nicholas Brendon and a letdown climax that goes down the usual unsurprising route.
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7/10
Interesting Concept
broganfraser27 December 2018
All I can say, is some of the less educated, less learned people who have reviewed this film...may have missed some things here. It is not a jump scare movie, nor is it really a vampire movie. If you want that, go watch Underworld, or freaking Twilight.

Yes you can definitely see where it was going. But it doesn't give you the ending you really expect.
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5/10
Strong first half, but from then a fast downhill ride.
johannes2000-118 March 2019
Warning: Spoilers
The first half of this movie is actually not bad at all. A man and his girlfriend make a hiking trip of a few days in a big forest nature reserve, apparently as a last opportunity before the man will start with a heavy chemotherapy due to a diagnosed leukemia. We see them pant and puff, talk and bicker, making-out and then (of course, or we wouldn't have this movie at all) they change the safe official pathways for the dangerous and strictly forbidden routes right through the forest. At some point they meet a mysterious man who tells them of some kind of monument at the top of the hill that should be renowned for its supernatural healing power. In the following night they are besieged by aggressive creatures and are barely able to escape.

Up until this moment I was totally involved and entertained, the whole atmosphere was very creepy, full of anticipation of bad things to come, and the attack by the creatures was extremely scary and chilling, very well done. But after that things went quickly downhill. To my surprise the couple refers to the mysterious creatures as "vampires", but it's totally unclear why, I just saw figures in the dark that jumped and crawled around at all fours, they seemed more like The Hills Have Eyes-like deteriorated locals. In spite of the husbands obvious very bad health they run like crazy uphill and when at last they reach the notorious monument the story takes an extremely improbable twist. It's evidently supposed to be the climax of the film, but to me it was the final let-down.

In short: on the positive side some decent acting, beautiful visuals, and a strong first half of the movie, but afterwards more and more disappointing and improbable.
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9/10
Film with a twist
andygray-1792917 April 2018
I really enjoyed this film and it's twist, it may not be to everyonesend taste, so try it out ur might be surprised
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7/10
Cracking taut, tongue-in-cheek survival thriller with Vampires!
mrmirate2 November 2017
There's an emotional core to Redwood which kind of blindsides you when you go in expecting a gory B-movie. Having said that, the resonance is welcome alongside real tension and chills built off of the oldest trick in the book: character development. Performances are on point and the cinematography is both resourceful and beautiful.
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1/10
Illuminati Rituals
LordCommandar28 March 2018
This movie had nothing to do with vampires. It was an portrayal of Illuminati ritual blood sacrifice. Hollyweird is not even trying to hide it anymore. Its right in our faces now. One more reason why I don't purchase movie tickets. I stream everything online. BTW, this movie sucked major a.... So don't believe any of the good reviews of this piece of sh....
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2/10
Predictable
LoremIpsum32115 December 2018
This cheap flick is turned out to be so predictable it's almost unpredictable again... It's hard to believe they couldn't manage to come up with at least something to add a little flavor.

Also, those vampires were ridiculous, and what's even worse, totally incompetent.

The 2. star only because the shown wood was kinda alright. That should say enough about the overall quality. Who voted this a 10 got to be somehow affiliated with this flop.
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1/10
Predictable
martgym15 March 2021
Dear me literally nothing that isn't spelt out from the start happens.
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