Red Letter Day (2019)

While adjusting to a new life in a quiet suburban community, a recently divorced mother and her two teens receive mysterious red letters instructing them each to kill or be killed.

Director:

Cameron Macgowan

Writer:

Cameron Macgowan

Stars:

Dawn Van de Schoot, Hailey Foss, Kaeleb Zain Gartner

Cast

Credited cast:
Dawn Van de Schoot	...	Melanie Edwards
Hailey Foss	...	Madison Edwards
Kaeleb Zain Gartner	...	Timothy Edwards
Roger LeBlanc	...	Luther Addams
Arielle Rombough	...	Alice Huang
Michael Tan	...	Lewis Huang
Peter Strand Rumpel	...	Ted Dennis
Tiffany Helm	...	Nicole Morris
Ryan Irving	...	Cody Carpenter
Greg Spielman	...	Rudy Heston
Josh Bertwistle	...	Donald Spencer
Marni Reisig	...	Wendy Addams
Cameron Gerlitz	...	Ryan Addams
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Cody Cook	...	Gerry
Luigi Riscaldino	...	Michael

Storyline

While adjusting to a new life in a quiet suburban community, a recently divorced mother and her two teens receive mysterious red letters instructing them each to kill or be killed.

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Plot Keywords:

blood | gun | mask | death | set in canada | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Thriller

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User Reviews

Doesn't live up to its potential, but its not all bad

This was so close to working. The premise seems good, at least before you start thinking about it (more on that in a sec). The acting and effects are decent for such a low budget. I actually rather liked the dynamic and chemistry of the main family, and I liked how take charge the mom became once trouble started. It's pretty promising for the first half or so, but then it just kind of fizzles out in the end, being not quite sure where to go with the situation it created. I wish they would have gone all out with the ridiculousness of it all and done more stuff like the first encounter with Lewis.

I also wish I could not keep thinking about how painfully thin the main premise is. After a minute you stop and ask yourself "Wait, why is everyone playing along with this?". There's no actual incentive for anyone to participate in what these random letters suggest. There's no real threat aside from "they'll get you first", but why would anyone believe that and feel compelled to start killing? This isn't Saw or something where they have some bomb locked on them that'll blow if they don't play the game. And why does everyone act like there won't be any consequences for all their actions? This isn't The Purge. One character even tries to stream their murder of someone for internet fame. WHY? WHO CARES ABOUT INTERNET FAME WHEN YOU'RE IN PRISON FOR LIFE? I get that this is a social commentary, but man, even with how messed up things are today we're not THAT crazy in America that we'd all become murderers because of an anonymous letter. Sure there'd be some tiny percentage of nuts who'd go for it, but most people would just throw it in the trash and ignore it, because it's ridiculous.

That said...I don't know. I still kind of enjoyed it a bit. It's a flawed movie that doesn't quite live up to its potential, but it does have some good in it. I laughed a few times and enjoyed a few of the gore effects. Maybe with a better budget and a little more time the director can bring something a little more impressive to the table next time.

I'd give it a 5 or 6 out of 10.

Details

Official Sites:

Filmmaker Webpage

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 September 2020 (UK)

Also Known As:

Red Letter Day

Company Credits

Production Co:

Awkward Silencio, RLD Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

76 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39:1