There is a lot to admire in this low budget revenge drama. The story unfolds in three segments from which the strands and characters come together for the final bloody third. I have to say despite attempts to evoke sympathy for the characters predicaments i found all of them extremely unsavoury and unlikeable. The film is shot with the look and feel of independent cinema and the sombre piano score is used to good effect for the disturbing scenes at the end.Its clear form the off that Nate is a very disturbed individual. Claiming to be an honourably discharged veteran who tortured animals as a child he forms an unlikely friendship with a seemingly cold hearted emotionally scarred nymphomaniac called Erica. As the movie progresses we discover that Erica has HIV and is on a mission to infect as many men as possible. Of course there is a childhood rape back story to explain her dysfunctionality.The final third of the movie is taken up by Nate searching for Erica's kidnappers (a young rock group who had communal sex with her),one of whom has become infected. Cue revenge, psychological torture and gore as the movie descends into an indie splatter fest. The version i saw was 100 minutes long and i suspect some of the gore had been cut, yet the final murder was still extremely graphic. And so it pans out that Nate may have been telling the truth - those pesky Gulf War veterans all unhinged with nowhere to go.

The horror genre seems to generate far more than its fair share of absolute duds - and this is definitely one of them. The opening scenes, which would do a 1970's soft core porn flick proud, set the (very low) tone for this film. The filming also put me in a nostalgic frame of mind - it is reminiscent of a 1960's home movie. The plot is wafer thin and not worth wasting either my time writing about it, or your time reading same. The cast? Noah Taylor is suitably psychopathic, although he seems a little weedy for an Iraq war vet - perhaps he was a computer geek in intelligence. And what luck, he works in a DIY store - that would explain the seemingly inexhaustible supply of duct tape! The balance of the cast would appear to have very promising careers - flipping burgers in some fly-blown truck stop on route whatever just outside Nowhereville, USA. This little disaster was written, produced and directed by Simon Rumley - a combination of roles that challenges even the genuinely talented. Filled with dread, I checked the list of credits for Mr Rumley - I am very pleased to say it is mercifully short. Long may it remain so.

Incredibly dark indie deals with Erica, an emotionally empty young woman who has unprotected sex with anyone she can, including a four-way with a garage band and it's lead player, Franki. Enter Nate, an oddball stranger who helps her find work when she's about to be kicked out of her apartment. The two form an unlikely bond. Meanwhile, Franki is caring for his cancer-stricken mother. After he gives some blood to help her, he's soon informed that he has HIV. Horrified not only for himself but for what he's given his mother, he and his bandmates set out to find Erica. Bad choices are made and revenge is brutally dished out.Simon Rumley's film is one of the bleakest I've seen in a while. Austin is the backdrop as we watch damaged characters making choices that lead to their undoing. It's hard to say who's to root for here, and a revelation regarding Erica midway through adds a whole new layer to the proceedings. I respected that Rumley left in numerous ambiguities throughout, as it made for a more intriguing structure.The acting is strong across the board with Noah Taylor, Amanda Fuller and Marc Senter all vying for the title of most disturbed. Senter, who played memorable nutjobs in "The Lost" and "Cabin Fever 2", actually gets outdone this time around. There's also a memorable scene of a family being held hostage.

Independent U.S. thriller Red White and Blue is a fascinating specimen indeed. As delicate in its portrayal of love as it is explicit in its portrayal of violence, the film begins as a strangely voyeuristic exploitation film, playing like a series of vignettes and ends as an intensely non-judgmental exploration of moral boundaries. Unique and certain to plague your thoughts for a long time after it ends, this is a thoroughly original, though not entirely successful piece of work from director Simon Rumley.Erica is a dark, damaged young woman who enjoys picking up men in seedy bars, but never sleeps with the same one twice. She keeps to herself, doesn't "do friendship" and is generally a closed book. Nate is an army vet, with links to the CIA who has a history of animal torture and lives in Erica's building. He is as damaged as Erica but with a slightly more vulnerable air. Erica is interested in this mysterious stranger but doesn't want to sleep with him. It must be love. Meanwhile Franki, a rock musician who indulged in an orgy with his bandmates and Erica has received some shocking news that sets up the final, gruesome act.It's unfair to categorise this as a horror film as there is nothing here designed to scare the audience. It is not a film that keeps you in suspense either. Red White and Blue is very much a human drama, despite it's showy display of violence towards the end. The central couple, Erica and Nate, are two tragic characters and their slow bonding and eventual coming together is the stuff of indie drama, not horror, but there is a looming sense of tragedy as we see flashes of a seriously dark side to Nate, an otherwise extremely likable character. In fact, he is so likable that this makes the final half hour even more difficult to watch since you can't help but feel his pain and you may enter some very murky moral ground.The film is structured in such a way that the focus shifts between characters. We start off with Erica who is played by a perfectly cast Amanda Fuller. Her performance is brave, subtle and so interesting that she goes from unlikeable to desperately sad and vulnerable as the film goes on. The second character we explore is Franki and a huge problem for me watching the film is that I couldn't bring myself to like this character no matter how hard I tried. As with the other characters, he has his dark side and his light side but I just couldn't stand him. Maybe it's my dislike for soul-searching hipster types but not being able to sympathise with him really dampened my enjoyment of the film, particularly as events begin to unfold. If this character had worked better I think the plot as a whole would have felt more effective. By far the best thing about the film is the great Noah Taylor, digging right down into the pits of darkness for this role and giving us a side of him we haven't seen before. A genuinely scary, monstrous romantic lead. The blend of innocence, sweetness and pure psychotic rage ensures that the audiences head is spinning by the end of the film. The final shot of the film is somewhat heartbreaking and in a nice little play on time perception, we get a rather poignant little twist in the tale that reminds us exactly what the film is really about. Two damaged people who, for a fleeting second, found love.With nothing to go on but the fact that Noah Taylor was in it (pretty safe bet) and a pretty frightening trailer I gave this film a chance and I'm glad I did. While the film definitely has its problems, I was pleasantly surprised to find that beneath its gruesome surface it is a film with a big heart and, in an unconventional way, wears it on its sleeve. The film will not be to everyone's taste but it has a certain resonance that is all too rare in genre films.