RED SNOW
Directed by: Sean Nichols Lynch
Starring: Dennice Cisneros, Nico Bellamy, Laura Kennon, Vernon Wells
A few days before Christmas, struggling writer Olivia Romo is attempting to redraft her vampire romance novel after yet another publisher's rejection. In the middle of the night, a bat flies into her window, but soon reveals itself to be an actual vampire, called Luke…
Red Snow is a modern take on vampires which doesn't punish the viewer for wanting to see a modern take on vampires. We have had a couple of examples of the "post modern" vampire movie (Rose: A Love Story and My Heart Won't Beat Until You Tell it Too). Both of these films strip the vampire of all the mythicism and treats the "condition" as a virus to somehow be overcome. Red Snow is set in a world where vampire fiction exists - in fact our heroine is writing a vampire romance novel herself - and the vampires themselves are self aware of their place in modern culture.
Our protagonist is Olivia, a young woman trying to make it as a writer but finding her vampire romance novel being constantly rejected by publishers and continuously redrafting her manuscript. A Nicely edited montage shows her quiet, idyllic routine, living in the snowbound lodge that her deceased grandmother bequeathed her. The montage pushes far enough into her routine to show that it is exactly that: a routine, and its starting to get monotonous except for that one joyous moment of receving a letter from a publisher, the moment just before opening and reading yet another rejection.
A wounded bat hitting her window then is a bit of a blessing, a distraction. She doesn't rescue it straight away, instead she consults the internet before picking it up and keeping it in a box in the garage. Some time later the bat transforms into the naked vampire form of Luke. It’s a nice touch that the shredded box bat-Luke was kept in is visible.
Olivia is a great protagonist. She's vulnerable and naïve but has a fascination with vampires which allows her to overcome most of her fears. Its only when Luke actually drinks someone's blood (as opposed to the pig blood she'd been feeding him) that she sees what he represents and what he is capable of.
Through Luke, the film is able to establish its own set of vampire rules for the modern age. Sunlight burns but doesn't kill. Garlic irritates. Holy water depends on the devoutness of the priest who blessed it. These rules will become important when Luke's former friends come looking for him later.
Red Snow is very well paced and the tension hardly drops throughout, despite moments of humour. Even when Olivia and Luke are the centre of attention, we are aware of others on the periphery, be they vampires or vampire hunters. Olivia does find the resolve to fight back against each and the results are both surprising and nicely gory.
The film's low budget is only really apparent in the lack of characters and settings. A lot of the film takes place in Olivia's garage which is a thinly dressed set but you'll hardly notice because your attention never wavers from the central characters.
THE VERDICT
Red Snow delivers a modern take on vampires without being miserable about it, instead if mixes tense scenes with wry humour. Olivia and Luke make an interesting pairing, and Luke's vamp girlfriend looks and sounds she's just come from the cast of BIT.