A gritty, modern tragedy, artistically shot and structured, it's a slow burn piece that builds to a formidably gut-wrenching climax. The plot follows three characters whose stories collide, competently portrayed by three capable actors, each who get an act revolved around them. The score is for the most part non-existent, but comes into play with appropriately jarring effect during the harrowing final act. As drama/thriller/horrors go I'd call this of the same ilk as Deliverance, for it's not necessarily an easy watch, but it sure is a memorable one. Red, White & Blue is a hidden gem I highly recommend to any open-minded enthusiasts of extreme cinema.

I first heard of writer/director Simon Rumley through The ABCs of Death, for which he contributed the letter 'P'; I wasn't particularly impressed. Catching up with Red, White and Blue, however, has made me sit up and pay attention…I usually try to write a short synopsis for my IMDb reviews, but to give away even a tiny part of the plot would be to potentially spoil the whole experience, suffice to say that the film goes to some very dark places indeed, and viewers should prepare themselves for a bleak, depressing, and ultimately very gruelling ride.Admittedly, for the first forty minutes or so, I was wondering where the hell this was going, the story seemingly aimless, the stark, minimalist approach taken by Rumley difficult to adjust to (the film has almost no music on the soundtrack, sparse dialogue, and is choppily edited), but I had heard good things about the movie, so I stuck with it—and I'm glad that I did. The plot gradually takes shape, building into one hell of a gruesome (and sad) revenge tale that lingers long after the credits have rolled.

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 slow as molasses in Antarctica "Red, White and Blue" seemed like a three-hour movie but for some reason still had a lot of missing parts. None of the main characters were appealing in the least and that makes it extremely difficult to garner sympathy for such unfeeling people. Revenge is not always sweet and it's very hard to figure why Carl would go on such a murderous rampage over a girl he barely knew and who stated unequivocally that she wouldn't have sex with him. And why would he take it upon himself to murder(?) innocents like Ed's wife and child? There was way too much jumping around, unasked questions and unresolved threads to make this a must see movie. I give it a 2 for unrealized potential.