If Stephenie Meyer can have vampires sparkle and play baseball, why can’t an indie horror movie mix vampires, romance, and Christmas? For his second feature length movie, Red Snow, Sean Nichols Lynch spins a horror-comedy set at the most festive time of year. Billed as a supernatural romance, Red Snow premiered nearly two years at the end of 2021. While there’s only a handful of reviews, critics seemed mostly positive on this one.
Synopsis
Olivia Romo is an aspiring novelist, but her vampire romance stories can’t find a publisher. At her Lake Tahoe cabin, Olivia has a kitchen drawer stuffed with rejection letters. Just a few nights before Christmas, a bat injures itself flying into here window. Somewhat reluctantly Olivia decides to nurse it back to health. But when she goes into her garage the next morning she finds a real, unliving vampire in the bat’s place. As the two surprisingly bond together, however, other vampires show up putting Olivia into a fight to survive the holidays.
Red Snow Opts for a Sillier Tone With a ‘Make Cute’ Romance
From writer and director Sean Nichols Lynch, Red Snow is something of an odd mix of horror and comedy. The two genres mix if the tone is right. Still Lynch opts for an oddly goofy tone more reminiscent of romantic comedies. Of course, this isn’t to say that there isn’t quirky fun to be had. Perhaps the best parts here involve Dennice Cisneros’ ‘Olivia’ making cute with her new found vampire friend. There’s some light poking fun at vampire romance novels with Stephenie Meyer taking more of the brunt than Anne Rice. While it’s not laugh out-loud funny, Nico Bellamy earns a few chuckles when his vampire ‘Luke’ takes issues with Olivia’s reliance on tired vampire gothic tropes in her novel. After all, who wouldn’t want to read a novel about a vampire named, ‘Zack’?
Still Lynch opts for an oddly goofy tone more reminiscent of romantic comedies. Of course, this isn’t to say that there isn’t quirky fun to be had.
No, there’s not much subtle or satirical about the humor in Red Snow. And much of what does work here works courtesy of Cisneros’ fun performance as the starstruck aspiring novelist. That is, Red Snow needs Cisnero to fully commit as a naive but kind writer torn between apprehension, curiosity, and maybe a bit of light fan-girling. Her interactions with Bellamy are best described as ‘cute’, which is the tone for which Lynch seems to be aiming. Cisnero even sells her abrupt turn-of-face in the third act as she fights back. Only the finale feels tonally out of place.
Red Snow Benefits From Practical Effects, Hurt By Any Sense of Urgency
As for the horror elements, Lynch makes good use of his limited budget, crafting a story that doesn’t require the over-the-top splatter we saw earlier this year in Renfield. While there’s some fun vampire guts and gore – delivered with all practical effects – it appears sparingly, which makes it more effective. Given the lighter tone, however, Red Snow never feels scary and, more importantly, rarely achieves a sense of urgency in its story. Even when Luke’s vampire friends turn up, you’re rarely worried that something bad will happen to Olivia.
While there’s some fun vampire guts and gore – delivered with all practical effects – it appears sparingly, which makes it more effective.
And then there’s the casting of Bellamy as ‘Luke’, who’s not quite up to the task like his castmate. Perhaps Red Snow casts against type to take a more subtle jab at the silly romance leanings of Meyers’ Twilight series. Regardless, Bellamy comes across as stilted in the sillier moments and never feels the slightest bit menacing when he’s tasked with playing a more conventional vampire. Arguably, Laura Kennon plays a much better vampire, chewing scenery and seeming to enjoy her role as the primary villain. Too bad Kennon doesn’t have more of a role in Red Snow.
Red Snow Coasts on an Quirky Mix of Silly Romance and Bits of Splatter
A quirky indie horror that mixes comedy and splatter, Red Snow never really mixes these different elements all that well. Much of the humor edges more towards cutesy that dark or satirical. But the poking fun at vampire-romance novelists generates a few chuckles. As for the horror elements, they’re more often miss than hit in part because Lynch never really tries to make his movie ‘scary’. Yes, the splatter bits and the practical effects capture the same glee as this year’s Renfield, just on a smaller scale. Due to the lack of urgency, the finale feels flat though the final scene hints at the darker tone Lynch could have achieved. Red Snow is always watchable and Dennice Cisneros gives a fun turn, but it feel like something got left on the table.