Rojo Sangre (2004) is a magnificently morbid film as such, and a wonderful tribute to its star, one of the true icons of European Horror/ Exploitation cinema, the glorious Paul Naschy (aka. Jacinto Molina). Personally, I've been a fan of the Spanish Horror deity for years now, and I really don't know what made me wait so long to watch this, more recent Naschy-film. "Rojo Sangre" was written by Naschy himself and directed by Naschy's son Christian Molina, which makes it obvious why this film is such a great tribute to Naschy's career, and, at the same time, such a great film of its own right.Like hardly another film, "Rojo Sangre" allows an aged Naschy to show what a great actor he actually is. Naschy plays Pablo Thevenet, a fallen, formerly successful stage- and screen-actor whose career was destroyed after a personal tragedy, and who now has to struggle through life and apply for jobs in advertising, which he finds humiliating. He then gets an offer he cannot refuse: a bunch of very sinister people are to pay him a large sum of money for impersonating serial killers such as Giles de Rais and Jack the Ripper in front of an exclusive nightclub. Though he hates the idea of being a living statue, Thevenet accepts. His new job, however, also raises murderous desires in Thevenet, particularly against those he makes responsible for his downfall, but also those who deny him the respect he deserves...The role of Pablo Thevenet is perfect for Paul Naschy. The character is (partly) a loving tribute to Naschy's roles from the past, and, at the same time, an incredibly interesting character as such. There is no doubt that this role (and film) was written specifically for Naschy and there is no greater tribute imaginable. Actually, this is probably the best performance by Naschy I've seen, and the proof that he isn't only a cult-icon and Exploitation-multi-talent, but actually a great actor beyond that. As in many of his old roles, Naschy plays a character that is likable, even though demented, and, this film's elaborate script and higher production values allow him to make it a very deep, intriguing character. The film's delightfully morbid storyline is wonderfully photographed in nice Gothic settings, the characters are entirely demented. Bloody, demented, witty, and absolutely wonderful, "Rojo Sangre" is a film that every lover of European Horror and Exploitation cinema should enjoy, and an absolute must-see for my fellow Paul Naschy fans. Not to be missed!

Rojo Sangre (2004) *** (out of 4) Spanish horror film written and acted by the legendary Paul Naschy. In the film, which is semi-autobiographical, Naschy plays a horror legend who finds himself becoming a has been due to how the business is ran these days. He gets a break working in a club where he's paid to perform as various real-life serial killers but one day he starts to take the job too serious and begins to murder off the "new and cool" people of television. This film started out so well, unlike any other Naschy film but the director really blew things in the second half. The second half of the film is incredibly bad but I still enjoyed this for the terrific start. The opening hour is a brutal attack on current fame and current Hollywood, which rings all too true. Seeing the legend Naschy having to beg for work hits home quite strongly and Naschy's performance has never been better. His screenplay for this opening stuff dealing with a forgotten great is also the best he's ever done. The second half of the film really falls apart due to the director trying to be too stylish and there's an incredibly stupid twist in the story that doesn't work at all.

I'm still puzzled as to why in god's name did the Film commission in Barcelona let Christian Molina deliver such a bad piece, when all Catala people brag about is their "compelling visuals and design", well, this is yet again another example of bad choices, bad Cast and bad Directing, Photography never get's up in gear, the Lighting is awful, VFX are so wrongly put together and Prosthetics look like "Hasbro" made them (kid's toy manufacturer).I didn't get immersed into the story at any point, even when Paul Naschy and Bibi were in it, you would expect the Director to have some sort of responsible act in delivering with such great actors, well, don't wait long, as it is evident from the intro sequence it will all go down quickly.A bad story with wrong semantics and just plain wrong crew.Don't waste your hard earn bucks on this one.

Well, apart from the fact that Christian Molina never did any film school whatsoever, and paired to the fact that he has worked most of his life on commercial work (TV commercials), it is no surprise when you walk out of the theater feeling sick of yet another cliché spit from a bad rehash of any of the classic horror films so ingeniously put together.If spending 12 bucks doesn't hurt your pocket then attend this exemplary work on "What never to do when shooting a horror film" or better put: "Read the manual before operating a cinema camera".Mr. Molina (Christian), stick to commercials, spare us while we have some faith in Horror movies just yet.