A screenwriter taking the reins of writing a beloved horror film reboot takes to a secluded cabin in hopes of finding inspiration, only to wind up encountering the horrors of the killer from the script itself.
The slasher genre can be really redundant. I love when a film tries to do something different with it, of course, but The Red Mask unfortunately isn’t anything new to be had. While I appreciate the modernized elements and the representation of a queer lead, overall the film is a really run of the mill, formulaic slasher that feels like a retread of the same material we’ve consumed for years. The whole goal of representation in film is supposed to be to not only have characters of varying identities in lead and supporting roles, but to also continue with forward momentum in an attempt to be unique and noteworthy. The Red Mask’s only “new feature” is having an LGBTQ+ female of color in the lead, and to me, that feels like more of an attempt at garnering attention instead of actual representation.
And to be honest, this really isn’t Ritesh Gupta’s story to tell. He has a good eye and a style that’s all his own, but a film with a representative cast really should have a representative crew, too. The writers are at least in part a bit more diverse, with a female voice from Samantha Gurash alongside Patrick Robert Young, but it’s still not quite enough to justify the plot, and it unfortunately winds up coming off exploitative of LGBTQ+ characters instead of representative. Not to mention how derivative the film feels of other, faintly superior films, without much in the way of originality. Worst of all, it runs on “idiot plot” one too many times, with things only happening to the characters because one or more of them made a stupid mistake, and even the twist ending is rather uninspired.
I will give the film props for the performances, though. Everyone does a fairly stellar job, especially our lead, played by Helena Howard. She’s interesting and heartfelt, and she plays the character with as much depth as she can offer, even if she doesn’t have a whole lot to work with from a script perspective. Inanna Sarkis is also wonderful as Howard’s fiancée, and their chemistry is absolutely believable as a soon to be married couple, which makes the fact that the rest of the film is so flat and uneventful all that much more painful. It’s a waste of what could’ve been wonderfully representative castmates. Everyone else is pretty alright, too, though I could’ve done without some of the horror influencers who felt like they were added in just for fan service.
Effects that are shown look decent, though this is yet another case of the “dramatic cutaway” type of horror, where the most gruesome and creative of kills happen off screen, and that’s something that always annoys me. The cinematography is gorgeous, though, with every scene being well lit and uniquely colored. The film looks professional from a production standpoint, but even the mask and costume design is bland and forgettable.
The Red Mask is a wannabe slasher that does nothing for the genre aside from attempting to shoehorn in a black female LGBTQ lead without any form of representation behind the camera, in turn coming off as exploitative while having nothing new to say.