Red River Road is a deliciously topical horror flick that plays on ultra-current fears to offer a quiet, ultimately disturbing film. The follows Anna (Jade Schuyler) and Stephen (Paul Schuyler) who are managing a household amidst the increasingly stringent circumstances of a global emergency. Cooped up with their teenage sons Wyatt (Quinn Schuyler) and Sean (Shaw Schuyler), the four work to make the best of things as the outside world encroaches. This family-made horror pic recalls Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Night of the Living Dead to explore and exploit the surreal absurdity that was the recent pandemic to deliver thought-provoking horror.

Nothing specific is really mentioned as to why this family of four is required to stay within the confines of their limited property. One stray foot off of their land triggers a blindingly nauseous response. Hence, the four sustain themselves on movies, diversions, and the daily rations dropped at the end of their driveway. The illness that is attacking the outside world plays with perception. If one succumbs to the illness then they begin to buy into their own delusions. A constant weariness persists as the four family members dutifully stay inside and reality-check one another.

At first, the family dog disappears. Then the two sons admit to connecting to the outside world via cell phone. Meanwhile, Anna suffers recurring nightmares of abandonment. The omnipresent powers managing the unnamed crisis attempt to placate the family with booze and other diversions but the cat is out of the bag. Writer-director Paul Schuyler works to tap into the mainline of paranoia and imprisonment that we all felt during the pandemic to explore themes ranging from fascism to conspiracy and it works.

This was an independent production produced, written, directed, and starring a filmmaker family. The quartet of talented creators used the pandemic to create a movie that explores nearly everything that all of us felt when we had no choice but to obey and conform. What if the global emergency had gone on just a bit longer? What if the existing governments stepped in to control everything for the safety of everyone? This sharp slice of horror not only reflects on those themes but takes things further.

Red River Road is a disturbing reflection on what we all survived and what we might have avoided. Writer-director Schuyler helms an intimate and accomplished reflection of what was along with what might have been.

MOVIE RATING — 6 out of 10