If you’ve seen any serial killer movies since the ‘80s or watched even just a few random episodes of SVU/CSI/L&O/NTSF:SD:SUV:: then you’ve pretty much already seen what short film Red Daisy Jane has to offer.

Jane Smith (Jenn Willens) answers a Craigslist ad to host some vague beauty show and after an impromptu underground parking garage photoshoot her night takes an unfortunate turn.

There’s something about the tone of Red Daisy Jane that comes across more like a joke porno movie from a sitcom than anything in the “thriller” family–albeit one with way too many facial close-ups. It might have helped if any of the performances featured more than one kind of expression, but I don’t think much of anything here hits the mark.

Eventually it firmly moves away from silly porno to the overdone bind-torture-kill portion and at least that means it’s closer to the end than the start. I’m not saying it’s awful, by the way. I’ve seen lots of terrible things and Red Daisy Jane actually inspired some laughter (however unintentional) so I appreciate not being simply bored or actively reviled. 

Also, there’s some on-screen text during the credits about how predators do this kind of thing all the time and millions of people exist in modern slavery which seems an odd button to end on. Maybe it’s just me, but ten minutes of old-hat serial killer thriller stuff that’s not particularly well done followed by a message to the audience about horrors of the real world almost seems more like a joke than anything else.

So, it’s no surprise I wasn’t exactly bowled over but if for whatever reason you want to see for yourself then give Red Daisy Jane a look.

3 out of 10 Old-Hats