Red Rooms has been receiving a lot of great (and well-deserved) praise recently, and I have some thoughts about it. It’s kind of one of those movies that is teetering on the edge of horror/thriller, but its arrival on Shudder puts that debate to rest, for me at least. I will be getting into slight spoiler territory in this one, so if you haven’t seen it yet, go grab your free trial to Shudder and give this one a go, and then continue reading.
We are immediately thrust into a gut-wrenching court case as our main character, Kelly-Anne, sits in on the trials of Ludovic Chevalier, who is accused of broadcasting the murder of three girls in a “Red Room”, a chat room on the dark web where people pay to watch snuff films. We’ll visit this courtroom frequently throughout the movie as we sit in on the weeks-long trial, joining the families of the victims in a desperate search for justice.
Along the way, Kelly-Anne will befriend (or at least attempt to befriend) one of Chevalier’s fans, named Clementine, who insists that the accused is innocent. Real quick, let me be clear; this is a slow-burn with most of the intensity residing at the end of the film, and the slowness is intensified by Kelly-Anne’s awkward attempts at fitting into society and building a friendship with Clementine.
While it’s clear that Clementine is sitting in on the trial as a supporter of Chevalier’s, Kelly-Anne’s motive is hidden from us as the viewer. We’re shown that Kelly-Anne is a bit of a techie, swiftly navigating her pc, developing her own AI, and eventually cyber-stalking one of the victims’ mother, for reasons unknown. We’re taken on a captivating journey as we witness Kelly-Anne’s experience with the trial.
The cinematography is mesmerizing as the camera does most of the moving for us. Frequent slow pans keep us on the edge of our seat as we impatiently await the truth to be revealed. We’re stuck in limbo for most of the movie, unsure if we’re watching an innocent man being framed for these murders, or if these families will get the justice they deserve. The movie says a lot with little dialogue, and there’s a bit of a dystopian aura around it, similar to something like Possessor.
At the end of the film, Kelly-Anne’s true intentions are still ambiguous, and the filmmaker leaves it up to the interpretation of the viewer. Was Kelly-Anne seeking to solve the case from the get-go, or was she harboring sinister vices and searching for a way to justify them?
If you’re a fan of detective thrillers like Prisoners, Possessor, or even true crime docs like The Jinx, Red Rooms should be at the top of your watchlist. Watch it now on Shudder.
