Red Snow
Promotional poster
Directed bySean Nichols Lynch
Written bySean Nichols Lynch
Produced byAlrik Bursell
Starring
CinematographyGavin V. Murray
Music byTimothy Lynch
Distributed by4Digital Media (United States)
Release dates
  • August 26, 2021 (2021-08-26) (London Frightfest)
  • December 28, 2021 (2021-12-28) (United States)
Running time
80 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Red Snow is a 2021 American horror comedy film directed by Sean Nichols Lynch. The film stars Dennice Cisneros as a supernatural romance author living in Lake Tahoe who comes into conflict with vampires over the Christmas holidays. The film had its international premiere at London FrightFest on August 26, 2021[1] and was released on December 28, 2021.[2]

Plot

Struggling vampire romance novelist Olivia Romo is spending her Christmas holidays alone at her deceased mother's cabin in Lake Tahoe. One night, an injured bat slams against her window. Olivia takes the wounded animal inside her garage to nurse it back to health. The next morning, Olivia is surprised to discover that the bat has transformed into a handsome vampire named Luke.

Olivia stocks up on pig's blood from the local butcher to feed her new house guest and soon the weakened vampire is up on his feet and talking. The unlikely companions get to know each other and start to form a tenuous friendship, but Olivia grows suspicious of Luke's intentions as his past begins to catch up with him.

Vampire hunter Julius King visits Olivia posing as a private investigator and tells her he's looking for a trio of dangerous criminals, one of them being Luke. Olivia covers for Luke, but King sees right through her lies. He attempts to seize Luke by force, only to be killed in the process.

Luke attempts to mend his shaky relationship with Olivia by giving her feedback on her book. Just as he's gotten back into her good graces, his vampire friends Jackie and Brock arrive on the scene, implying that he's strayed too far from his ruthless vampire roots and must kill Olivia.

Jackie and Brock invade Olivia's home on Christmas Eve and Olivia barely escapes with her life in King's abandoned SUV. While the vampires go on a late night killing spree, Olivia learns the horrible truth about Luke's past from King's records. Olivia calls one of King's associates, Simon, who advises her not to attempt to deal with the dangerous vampires herself. Nevertheless, on Christmas morning, Olivia returns to her cabin and fights the vampires, killing Brock and Jackie by impaling them through the heart. Olivia then shoots Luke with a crossbow, seemingly killing him as well.

Ten months later, Olivia is a successful author of vampire fiction. Following a book signing in Los Angeles, Olivia returns to her cabin where she has imprisoned the barely living Luke in her garage, forcing him to be her muse in exchange for blood.

Cast

  • Dennice Cisneros as Olivia Romo
  • Nico Bellamy as Luke
  • Laura Kennon as Jackie
  • Vernon Wells as Julius King
  • Alan Silva as Brock
  • Edward Ewell as Simon

Production

While developing the project, Lynch took inspiration from some of his favorite vampire films such as Fright Night and The Lost Boys.[3] He wrote the characters of Olivia and Luke specifically for Cisneros and Bellamy respectively.[4] Other roles were cast in the San Francisco Bay Area.[5] The film was shot on location in Lake Tahoe over the course of 12 shooting days with an additional day of shooting at a bookstore in Berkeley, California.[6]

Release

The film premiered at Panic Fest, a horror/genre film festival in Kansas City, Missouri, on April 14, 2021.[7] It went on to screen at film festivals around the world throughout 2021, including London FrightFest,[8] New York City Horror Film Festival,[9] GenreBlast,[10] and Buenos Aires Rojo Sangre.[11]

The film was released through various video-on-demand services in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Korea on December 6, 2021.[12][13] The film received a DVD and video-on-demand release in the United States on December 28, 2021.[14]

Reception

The film has a 75% approval rating based on 12 critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.[15] Martin Unsworth of Starburst rated the film 4/5 stars and praised the performance of Cisneros, saying "her wide-eyed wonder at meeting a real vampire is infectious, and she carries the role beautifully."[16] In a negative review, Cath Clarke of The Guardian criticized the film's comedic tone, saying "it's a black comedy with some silly splattery gore."[17]

The film won both the Audience Award and Best Horror/Thriller Feature at the 2021 GenreBlast Film Festival,[18] as well as Best On-Screen Duo for Cisneros and Bellamy.[19] At the Sacramento Horror Film Festival, it won the Best Feature prize[20] while the New York City Horror Film Festival named the film Best Horror Comedy Feature of its 2021 edition.[21] For her performance as Olivia Romo, Cisneros was awarded Best Actress in a Feature Film in the International Competition at Buenos Aires Rojo Sangre in Argentina[22] and the Masque Rouge award for Best Performance at the Portland Horror Film Festival.[23]

References

  1. ↑ "RED SNOW". frightfest.nuwebgroup.com. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  2. ↑ ""RED SNOW" gifts you with Christmas vampires; trailer & poster". Rue Morgue. November 23, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  3. ↑ Hughes, Kat (August 31, 2021). "Road to FrightFest: Interview with 'Red Snow' director Sean Nichols Lynch". The Hollywood News. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  4. ↑ Whittington, James (September 5, 2021). "Horror Feature: Interview with Sean Nichols Lynch writer and director of Red Snow". www.horrorchannel.co.uk. Archived from the original on December 1, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  5. ↑ Spiegel, Janel (April 20, 2021). "Interview: Sean Nichols Lynch (Red Snow)". Horror News | HNN. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  6. ↑ DuPee, Matthew (September 10, 2021). "Behind the Lens: Sean Nichols Lynch (Red Snow, 2021)". Morbidly Beautiful. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  7. ↑ Canton, Tim KC (April 13, 2021). "Panic Fest 2021: Sink Your Teeth into the Vampire Horror Comedy 'Red Snow' Teaser Trailer Before the World Premiere at Panic Fest". Downright Creepy. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  8. ↑ "10 Must-See Films at FRIGHTFEST 2021". Starburst. August 19, 2021.
  9. ↑ "New York City Horror Film Festival Virtual Dec 2 - 9, 2021". nychff21.eventive.org. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  10. ↑ "GenreBlast 2021: Hotel Poseidon, Apps And Something About Spiders?". ScreenAnarchy. August 13, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Rojo Sangre on Twitter". Twitter. November 28, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  12. ↑ Fish, Rory (December 6, 2021). ""Home Alone Meets The Lost Boys": Festive Horror "Red Snow" Gets Christmas Release". Top 10 Films. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Red Snow – Release News". Movie Reviews 10. November 4, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  14. ↑ "'Red Snow' Arrives on VOD, Digital andDVD December 28th". Macabre Daily. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Red Snow", Rotten Tomatoes, Fandango, retrieved 2022-04-03
  16. ↑ Unsworth, Martin (November 24, 2021). "[Starburst Review] 'Red Snow' Review". Starburst.
  17. ↑ Clark, Cath (November 30, 2021). "Red Snow review – vampire comedy spreads Christmas cheer not chills". The Guardian. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  18. ↑ "GenreBlast 2021: Five Film Favorites". Morbidly Beautiful. September 22, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  19. ↑ Chowdhury, Samyarup (November 26, 2021). "Red Snow Trailer: Vampire Home Invasion Splatters The Holidays With Blood". MovieWeb. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Vampire horror comedy filmed at Tahoe to be released in December". Tahoe Daily Tribune. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  21. ↑ "2021 Horror Film Festival". NYC Horror Film Festival. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  22. ↑ "Palmarés BARS22 |" (in Spanish). Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  23. ↑ Callahan, Gwen. "The 2021 Awards Presentation Video with Kelly Maroney! – Portland Horror Film Festival". Retrieved January 24, 2023.
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