Sometimes a movie starts with a hot idea or a great script. But rarely does a movie have a complete soundtrack before the shooting begins. That's what happened with Red, the first video to start with a soundtrack and work backwards.
Long before Bart Simpson started harassing Moe the Bartender, a nameless phone prankster in New Jersey was badgering the owner of the Tube Bar and making a tape of every word that was said. The tapes were passed from person to person, copied and re-copied and eventually made it into the hands of Christian Gore, editor of Film Threat, who produced a video using the legendary recordings. In the video, Lawrence Tierney stars as Red, the owner of the bar. The film consists of a series of still photos accompanying the voices on the phone and the background noises in the bar. We get to see Red call out for names like Phil DeGrave and Hal Jalaikakik and then lose what little cool he has when he realizes he's the victim of somebody's boredom and mischievousness. The story degenerates into a three-minute scene of violence that makes Reservoir Dogs look like a Disney feature. You'll never look at a curbside the same way again. In spite of the short running time (35 minutes), Red is well worth the couple bucks it'll cost to rent. It's a great example of all the fun you can have and all the grief you can cause when no one knows your true identity. Just stay anonymous and don't get caught.
Red: US$19.95. Film Threat Videos: (800) 795 0969, fax +1 (818) 848 5956.
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