Was drawn into seeing 'Redwood' with a cool poster/cover, a very intriguing and creative premise and as someone with a general appreciation for the genre as said many times. That it was low-budget, which from frequent personal experience is rarely a good sign due to that there are so many poor ones out there, made me though apprehensive. 'Redwood' is a film it doesn't do enough with its potential (although there are far bigger wastes of potential in film) and could have been much better. 'Redwood' is very weak with a lot of big problems. It certainly could have been far worse, considering the large number of films seen recently being mediocre at best and terrible at worst.Lets start with the positives. The setting is atmospheric and spooky and 'Redwood' could have looked far worse visually, was expecting a cheap looking film and to me that wasn't the case here.'Redwood' has some creepy moments early on.Albeit, there is nothing new here, the film doing nothing fresh with something creative in concept. The second half also takes itself far too seriously and gets incredibly idiotic, a very completely different film feel here. Far too much is revealed too early too, with the opening sequence giving almost everything away that it kills the suspense. The creepiness dissipates completely fairly early on, with the horror, suspense and tension being nowhere near enough. Things start not making much sense and gets silly, with one of the most ludicrous and easily foreseeable endings ever. The acting is not amateurish from the leads but is weak from the supporting cast and laughable for the cheaply rendered and far from threatening vampires.Further issues are that it was clear that it was written in haste. There is a very rushed and careless feel to the story, especially in the second half where confusion and choppiness can be found in editing and narrative, and the underdeveloped and scrappy script with far too much talk likewise. Then there is some padding and aimlessness that also gives the film a dragging sensation. The characters are flimsily developed, annoying and bland, the direction lacks focus and the music and sound editing are far too intrusive and obvious. Nicholas Brendan's role and inclusion were pointless. Overall, weak with not much going for it. 3/10 Bethany Cox

An enthralling horror written and directed by the extremely talented Tom Paton following troubled couple Josh, adeptly played by up and comer Mike Beckingham, and Beth, convincingly portrayed by Tatjana Nardone. The 'Redwood' forest, a beautiful location is wonderfully captured by cinematographers George Burt and Mike Stern Sterzynski: I was a particular fan of the overhead shots really emphasising the grandure of the forest and how tiny and out of depth the characters were. The intense tent scenes with torch light cutting through the shots were gorgeous too. I was gripped from the very first scene, and thoroughly enjoyed the score which reminded me of episode 'The I In Team' from Buffy The Vampire Slayer's fourth season which - given Nicholas Brendon's portrayal as 'Animal Ranger' Vincent and the forest's main inhabitants - was particularly apt. I wholeheartedly believed their relationship and the particular scene in which they go from discussing Josh's "life-altering cancer" to Beth's demand that he "paint the spare room" was a favourite. SPOILER: I confess I did suspect the final revelation/twist simply as Josh so clearly couldn't handle this diagnosis, failing health and strength: repeated "man points" comments, a scene in which he breaks down after a coughing fit and hacks away at a branch, and his reluctance to discuss child names with his girlfriend and make future plans. However, my enjoyment of the film didn't suffer for this whatsoever. I recommend you buy a copy stat, you really can't tell it's an independent film! I look forward to seeing what next comes from this talented cast and crew. Expect big things.

There's an emotional core to Redwood which kind of blindsides you when you go in expecting a gory B-movie. Having said that, the resonance is welcome alongside real tension and chills built off of the oldest trick in the book: character development. Performances are on point and the cinematography is both resourceful and beautiful.

Having loved Tom's previous film (Pandorica), I was keen to see what he had in store for us with Redwood, and he didn't disappoint.The film has moments that make you jump, a different take on vampires, and a twist at the end, all complimented with humor throughout.Mike Beckingham's delivery was on point and the film even includes a Buffy reference coupled with a cameo from the one and only Xander Harris AKA Nicholas Brendon.I really enjoyed it and the only negative I have is that it was over too soon.I look forward to the next installment from Tom Paton Productions