Mini-Review: Brilliant in almost every way. Visually incredible and acted to perfection. Watching Anthony Perkins become a squirming, conniving, insane, and utterly charming monster is one of the pinnacles of acting achievement. Through the eyes of Hitchcock, Psycho becomes a beautifully created film of pure suspense and horror.
Mini-Review: Behind the makeup, the theatrics, and the over the top actions of the characters, lies the true essence and brilliance of the film; the unsettling nature that builds time over time. It's the images of the mother descending into the subway, the uncomfortable spurts of blood during the medical tests, the music, that fucking 'face', that settle into your brain and make the rest of the movie so frightening. I can't give a greater compliment than to say this film made an atheist scared of demons.
Mini-Review: Engaging, stark, but an ultimately predictable thriller, Red Road's greatest feature is its commentary on privacy and loneliness. Wonderful performances all around. It does well with the 'Dogme 95' style, creating a convincingly realistic image. Unfortunately for a thriller, it is a little hard not to see the ending from a mile away. But what Red Road says about the isolating effects of a society obsessed with surveillance is the core value of the film.