Even though it comes up as a suggested item on Amazon every time I browse movies, I’ve never seen 2014’s indie hit The Redwood Massacre. To its credit, however, I automatically recognized the killer’s mask without reading the title when I saw it on the cover of Redwood Massacre: Annihilation. Coming to DVD and digital on October 20th 2020 courtesy of Uncork’d Entertainment, Redwood Massacre: Annihilation finds writer/director David Ryan Keith returning to take the reigns on this title and Danielle Harris starring in the latest picture from Chasing Butterflies and Clear Focus Movies. Listen, you had me at Danielle Harris; one of the reigning scream queens who’ve completely captured the horror genre since the 80’s. If you put her in a movie, I’m going to watch it – plain and simple. Ms. Harris is joined on screen by Grimm’s Damien Puckler, SuperGirl’s Gary Kasper, Jon Campling, Tevy Poe, Stephanie Lynn Styles and Benjamin Selway. Produced by Stephen Durham, Lorraine Keith and Hemdee Kiwanuka, Redwood Massacre: Annihilation is – probably – a worthy successor to the first flick.
The film takes place several years after the first massacre. An unhinged man who is obsessed with the Redwood Murders convinces a group of grieving family members to explore an abandoned building in hopes of proving the existence of the Redwood Killer. And, you guessed it, their journey to find the truth turns into a nightmare they may not survive when the killer returns for another massacre. Despite the somewhat predictable synopsis, I was surprised to see that Redwood Massacre: Annihilation had two very big twists that I was absolutely not expecting. However, this could be due to the fact that I didn’t see the first film and some knowledge of those events would have lessened the blow. Still, this film dances between the horror and action-thriller genres, and views as something that would play on SyFy on Friday/Saturday nights when they used to premiere new movies. Except for the necrophilia. I don’t think SyFy would allow that to air. This isn’t a criticism by any means, as you can interpret me as saying this film is clear, cohesive and looks amazing for indie standards.
Redwood Massacre: Annihilation features cinematography/editing by David Ryan Keith and special effects by Johann Frenshock. One of the biggest points in this movie’s favor is its brutality. Every time you make someone watch a family member get tortured or murdered, you take the heartbreak and bodily gore to another level. A really fun story, a cherished scream queen, great production value and don’t we all just love a good slasher sequel? For not knowing a lick about the original story, i found my viewing of Redwood Massacre: Annihilation to be easy to understand and mostly entertaining. My only real complaint is that it doesn’t bring anything new to the table. It certainly blends in when looked at on a catalog and it doesn’t have anything truly memorable. All the components were there to make this movie truly fantastic, but I think the script needed to be pushed just a little further. Redwood Massacre: Annihilation is another thrilling film from David Ryan Keith, but I don’t think it’s going to inspire folks to sit down for a second viewing.
Final Score: 7 out of 10.
