Skip to content

Redville

Written by: Scott Thomson |   Directed by: Sean Cranston |  Genre: Thriller

 Starting its story 20 years prior, Redville is the story of teenage friends turned adult… and minus one friend. Back when the group was throwing a final hurrah, Tony witnesses his friend Joe kissing his girlfriend, and the two fight resulting in Tony cutting Joe from his life. Actually, he cuts all his friends out of his life. One could argue that Tony’s action was for the best because of his explosive temper, but fast forward to the present, and the original foursome is coming back together. Not because Tony wants that to happen, but because when his wife is killed in an accident, mayor Julian – one of the original four, decides Tony needs all the emotional support he can get. Julian brings everyone together, and eventually, they all end up at Tony’s house.

 But things don’t immediately get any better. Inside, the trio finds that Tony has an unconscious man on the ground. Sam, who was having an affair with Tony’s wife. Tony, prone to his temper, is going to kill Sam and his friends stop him. But soon after, the unthinkable happens, and Mayor Julian ends up in a massive amount of hot water. I’m not going to spoil any more of Redville’s plot details, but sometimes, things are not quite as they seem.

 This is a pretty ambitious story for a micro-budget film, and I’m happy to write that Redville mostly pulls it off. You’ll never confuse this with a big-budget studio production, but Sean Cranston knows how to direct a film and lean into the fact there’s not a lot of money. Redville is really gritty and lacks any substantial amount of spit and polish, making this feel more like a reality show than a scripted thriller. It all works well, and the grit mixed with the micro-budget compliment each other nicely.

 So, yes, expect some hard to hear audio and some wonky technical elements or blunders, but also expect a tightly written script from Scott Thomson that does a great job with the dialog aspects. Redville also boasts some pretty decent acting for a micro-production. I’m not saying it’s all perfect, but the large cast gets the job done. I was a little iffy on some of the movies’ pacing, but because it’s not overly long, those issues are quite minuscule.

 Redville is for those who love micro-budget movies. Hell, it may even win over a few casual viewers as well. It’s not perfect, but that’s alright, it never claimed to be. For a DIY production, Redville stands tall among its peers and may surprise more than a couple of indie nay-sayers. A solid film, three and a half stars.

Find this title online

Back To Top