Red Cockroaches (2004)

That was an excellent one.

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Just what I expected

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

Miguel Coyula's film Red Cockroaches is something that is not for everyone, but for myself, it is one of the greatest surreal films I have seen to date. Besides the fact that the film is a tour de force of no-budget cinema, it is an involving and engrossing story that leaves more questions than answers for its audience when the ending credits stop rolling. The history of these characters is shrouded in mystery and dangerous secrets which makes the confrontations between each of them all the more memorable, adding to the drama and complexity of their relationships. Though there were parts I was completely confused on why they were in the film, these parts were far and few between. However, several of these instances were made clear and their place was justified after several viewings of the film. Red Cockroaches has a place of special attention on my shelf and Miguel's next film I am certain will even be greater than what I have just reviewed.

This surreal indie features a young man living in New York in the not-to-distant future. Acid rain plagues the city making people nuts and the titular title creatures. The man runs into an intriguing woman on the subway but when he tries to talk to her all that is left is a strange tooth. Later the woman becomes his roommate and it all get's absolutely bizarre from there. Red Cockroaches touches on a gamut of topics least of which is incest. Pretty nuts but it's a very good flick otherwise. Very well made and acted on a shoestring. S10 Says: Acting: 8 / 10 Direction: 8 / 10 Writing: 7 / 10 Photography: 7 / 10 Production Design: 7 / 10 The Sound: 7 / 10 Music: 6 / 10 Laughs / Scares / Thrills / the Gore Zone: 6 / 10 Fun Value: 6 / 10 Overall: 7 / 10 Score: 69 / 100

I would like to mention two things about this movie: 1) Although it had a very very low budget (almost none, it is said!), the director managed to create a unique atmosphere and a nice tension that keeps you in it until the end. Congratulations on this issue.2) You feel like cheated at the end of the movie. The themes that fly around the whole movie (future life, acid rains, DNA studies, even cockroaches!) and also the thrills that keep you interested (dream-like sequences, psychological aspects built at the beginning, etc.) all fall loose! All you are left with is an incest story told in a stylish way. I wonder why did the director choose the "future theme" for its movie, since none of its features fit into the movie or enrich it. Everything could have been set in today or even the past.Good effort and talent, but lots of problems with the story and cinematography.

I still can't get over the fact that this film's budget was $2000. The director- cinematographer- editor, (Cuban-born Miguel Coyula) has put together a very intense film that doesn't reveal its minimal resources. Here we have a very dark story with very twisted characters. I felt that there was a couple of loose ends in the subplots, but that's just a personal observation. The film grabs you to the seat for it's hour and a half min, and stays with you afterward. That's, i think , the best way to describe it without spoiling it. I doubt that Red Cockroaches will reach broad audience because of its perhaps overly artistic nature, but those looking into something really unusual will appreciate it.