Legend of the Red Reaper (2013)

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

I have to admit I've been following the making of this movie for some time and it looked really promising. Considering the huge difficulties the producer/director and star Tara Cardinal went through to bring this production to the screen, I really wanted to like it, but sadly it is quite abysmal. Tara has said in interviews that large amounts of footage were lost due to the ineptitude of the people employed, so to make it up to a feature length we see the same footage being used over and over again. However, as she was the star, director and producer surely she should take responsibility for these mistakes rather than continually blaming others. In a movie of this kind, the weakness of the script, plot and acting could be offset by the action scenes, but the movie contains weak ponderous sword fighting and at times looks like a live action role play convention rather than a movie.Much has been spoken about it being a feminist picture, but even this falls flat. Tara's character spends the whole movie pining over a man who is to marry another woman, gets ordered about by her father, is repeatedly bested in combat by her male trainer and the other women in the movie do virtually nothing. I'm even a little suspicious about the near absence of the scene where Cardinal fought Al Snow while naked. She claims the footage was lost, but I wonder if she deleted the scene because she felt it may have undermined the supposed feminism of the movie? I also have to say something to reviewers here and on other sites who are claiming that this movie is good! - you are seriously not doing Tara Cardinal or yourselves any long term favours, pride of place going to one reviewer who compares Cardinal to Kubrick & Orwell!!! I was lucky I wasn't the one who paid good money to buy this movie on the strength of the glowing early reviews. It was a friend of mine and she's pretty annoyed at how these 'reviewers', who must be either friends or associates of the cast and crew have used IMDb to mislead us! - Legend of the Red Reaper is not 'an instant classic', it's terrible. Reading about how hard Tara Cardinal worked to get this very poor movie onto DVD reminded me so much of an episode of 'Mad Men' where a dopey millionaire comes to the ad agency with piles of cash asking them to market a sport that everyone knows is going to flop. In a rare moment of honesty & compassion, Don Draper tells him something along the lines of 'it's good to have a dream, but not this one'. Somebody should have said the same to Tara Cardinal.

This movie is so bad you cannot even enjoy it for its badness. It is obviously a vanity project for the lead actor/director/writer Tara Cardinal. Unfortunately, Ms Cardinal is not very good at any of her jobs in this. Her acting, and the rest of the cast, was stiff and uninspired. The directing was amateurish. And the story was unoriginal.The only positive thing I can say is, I admire Ms Cardinal for having a dream and pursuing it. Unfortunately this was a dream not worth sharing.Mostly I found the movie distracting. I kept being distracted by the acting, which as I already stated was bad. Then there's the fight scenes, which looked like they were from a high school drama club production. The fights moved so slowly at points they looked like someone filmed the choreography rehearsal. And then there was the oddest distraction of all. The characters' names, Ganesh, Adonis, Freya? How did she think using names from a mishmash of mythologies would help the plot line?Ah, this movie is just a mess. I've actually been known to enjoy bad movies. Some of them can have a certain charm to them. But this movie has no redeemable qualities. As I watched Red Reaper I kept having one thought. How did Tara Cardinal ever get funding for this?

This was one of the worst films I have seen incredibly bad movie the reviews that you see here is probably actors in this extremely bad movie it is a pity that there are rules that prevent it I do not know how to write 10 lines about this movie the film is probably made ​​of completely novice everything is wrong, lighting, dialogues, storyline it is so bad that it is not worth looking at, even if it was the last movie made Now I am approaching 10 lines which apparently is a rule in order to post here it's my first review and I felt I had to write about how bad it was I was expecting a fairly good movie but got my evening ruined so do not be fooled by the high rating, it is guaranteed that it is ppl who have been involved and made ​​the film that gave the high score

For those expecting a film hyped as a "Sword & Sorcery Epic" to be full of lightning battles, swordplay, and dragons, this is fantasy of a different sort. This is "down in the heart" fantasy. This is epic, in that it adheres to classic mythological themes and the conflicts of Man (or should we say Woman) vs. Fate, vs. Herself, and Woman vs. Woman.One of the central plots is two women struggling over the heart of one man, what could be more romantic? Lots of blood and violence with a sword, of course! With a sweeping backdrop of mountains, forests, and even a little hut by a fjord, this is a world populated by humans, demons, and their unfortunate byproducts – the Reapers. I say unfortunate because most were the result of rape.In the city of Enid, humans live in relative peace with the Reapers protecting them. Another city is ruled by the vindictive S'grun, who covets Enid and wants to rid the land of the reapers. The tensions between the human leaders are coming to a head because Eris, prince of Enid, is going to be crowned the first king of the land.This poses a particular problem for Aella, who gets her nickname "Red" from her brilliant locks of flame, because she is in love with Eris. But, she is constantly reminded that a human king cannot have a reaper queen! All tell her the same thing; there is a new age beginning – the age of Man. As the reapers are seeing their time of protection coming to an end, Aella sees something different on the horizon.Aella was born to a powerful woman known as the Teller Witch. Her mother has the gift of precognition, and although young Aella was unaware of it, the Teller Witch has been preparing her for a day when she will face her biggest challenge. Assuming all her life that her mother had given her over to demons in trade for an elixir made of demon blood to stay young, Aella has dealt with feelings of rejection, unworthiness, and rage. But, she is about to find out that her past is not all that it seemed.The demon leader, Ganesh, may have been trying to create a demon warrior out of his red-haired daughter with cruelty and force, but in fact he was creating a weapon for the humans. Aella, rescued and living among the people of Enid, was given another 'gift' by her mother. She inherited visions: of devastation; of invasion; of the demons' return. All are interwoven with her memories of fear and pain at the hands of her father.This back story is laid out distinctly in the first few minutes with both visceral images and narration, helping the audience to understand Aella's feelings of alienation and her, at times, uncontrollable rage.I like that RED REAPER shows a woman losing control, completely given over to her anger, but yet it does not dismiss her. When a woman is angry, it all too often gets flipped back on her as "it must be her hormones" rather than validating her anger as deep-seated and justifiable. Aella's anger is justified. But, this does not mean that she is portrayed as a psycho bitty, either. She is a warrior and a woman, through and through. To quote another reviewer, "Unlike other films that feature women in lead fighting roles, Aella was not sexualized, nor was she attempting to emulate a man."* ( by Aphrodite Kocięda. www.btchflcks.com) This "strength" is extended to many of the characters in REAPER, male and female alike. Female reapers are equal to their men, warriors all. Aella does not compromise who she is for Eris. She has body issues because of her demon blood, but as for her skills, her passion, and even her rage she gives no apologies to the man she loves. He loves her with all her fluidity, not despite it.This relationship is mirrored in the passion shown between two reapers, Freya and Andrae. It shows the audience the companionship Aella is missing out on, given that everyone in her world seems to be telling her to stay away from Eris. Except Eris, of course.The other lady in Eris's life is Indira; chosen to be his queen by his parents and hers. He is a gentleman, though, and not resistant to the idea. But, his passion is for Aella. Eris is not presented as a vacillating male full of hormones, either. His intentions ring true and he stands out, in that the women decide who is best for him. It is an interesting dynamic that gives strength-of-character to each person involved, and adds a devious edge to Indira not common to the "ingénue" role.Even the "bad guys" have their moments of significance. Connall, the tender gentleman son of the hard-nosed warlord, S'grun, could have been played off as comic relief, but instead is compassionate and smarter than his warmongering father. His resistance to his father's ambitions creates a bridge between the two opposing lands and a unity that helps Eris's people in their time of need.Well, not to give too much away, suffice it to say that, although not high-tech and prone to some issues common in a film with a limited budget, Legend of the Red Reaper has a LOT to say! Laid out cleverly, it was clear in its focus and had enough great 'side-plot' moments to make it fun! There were humorous moments without making it corny, and there were moments that brought tears to my eyes. But, the emotional undercurrents will resonate with many viewers and stick in their hearts.Tara Cardinal and her many casts and crews worked long and hard to see this vision come alive, and as a lover of fantasy and myth, I must say that their devotion shows!