Fans Are Still Obsessed With 2023's 96%-Rated Horror Gem That Scares Without a Drop of Blood
The task of scaring the viewer without showing any violence at all seems to be almost impossible – but Pascal Plante has done it on the highest level.
Quebec director Pascal Plante has made one of the scariest and most intense movies of recent years. His Red Rooms is a worthy contender for the title of the most frightening movie of 2023.
This is an extremely uncomfortable film that shows how far an obsession with true-crime can go.
At the same time, Red Rooms does not become a full-blown horror – Plante avoids showing what is happening on the computer screen for most of the time. And this ultimately becomes the movie's main feature.
What Is Red Rooms About?
In Quebec, a scandalous trial begins against Ludovic Chevalier, who killed three underage girls. Chevalier streamed everything live for darknet users.
Despite numerous pieces of evidence, many are convinced that Chevalier is actually innocent and that the prosecution is simply trying to close a complex case.
Kelly-Anne follows the events closely, noticing the smallest details. Eventually, she decides to start her own investigation and goes in search of a video that has disappeared into the darknet and may shed light on Chevalier's involvement.
Red Rooms Scares Without Showing Any Bloody Scenes or Jump Scares
Red Rooms is a surprisingly quiet movie for the horror genre: the director deliberately avoids the usual jump scares, loud noises and graphic violence.
Not a single drop of fake blood is spilled on screen, we never see the bodies of the dead girls, but we hear their screams. The most terrifying moment of Red Rooms is filmed in absolute, total silence, the oppressive horror of which is only explained by the context.
It is this directorial move that makes Red Rooms so memorable for viewers. Reddit user saeredhiel wrote:
“I think they handled it well by NOT showing anything. The sounds were more than enough, as were the reactions of people watching it.”
By leaving all the bloodiest events behind the scenes, Plante gives the viewer the opportunity to project something personal onto them, something extremely triggering that goes beyond the director's visual experience but remains in the nightmares of each person.
Red Rooms Is an Immersive Experience That Does Its Job Brilliantly
Red Rooms could well be called an immersion movie, whose main goal is not only to tell a story, but to involve the viewer as much as possible in it, to make him a part of a dark attraction, mostly constructed out of his own fears.
The unknown scares people the most, and Red Rooms does everything it can to keep us in it for as long as possible.
