Touches You

Thanks for the memories!

Powerful

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

Thomas Reddmann (Nicholas Hope) is convicted of being the "head hunter" serial killer when they find him in an elevator with a bloody ax in his hand standing over a decapitated body. After he escapes from the institution, he manages to round up about a half dozen people instrumental in his conviction. They are literally chained to their desks and are tasked with proving him innocent or else they will be killed/tortured.This ironically follows a "12 Angry Men" formula while oozing with dark comedic symbolism. Thomas is the "regional manager". He considers himself to be fair. His employees agree he is fair, but think the worse of him. They are allowed 3 bathroom breaks a day. He asks them to do the seemingly impossible under stress. In his fairness, he gives each employee 5 warnings (actually 4 warnings with the fifth one being fatal). These warnings are carved on their forehead, like a permanent record. Like most bosses he has a bad hair piece.The film also contains a fair amount of blood and body parts.Parental Guide: F-bomb, nudity (Kelly Paterniti, plus 2 background girls)

A low budget, single room thriller that owes most of its inspiration from the SAW franchise. The storyline involves a crazy guy who's arrested after being found wielding an axe beside a decapitated body in a lift. The authorities send him to jail, believing him to be a notorious serial killer, but he escapes and captures those responsible for his arrest in the first place, forcing them to work for him to prove his innocence or guilt.What this all boils down to is a locked-room thriller in which various unappealing characters are forced, literally, to work to death. It's all an excuse for lots of gruesome gore sequences in which eyes are pulled out, foreheads are carved and there's even a little fingernail damage for the squeamish. The film is relatively fast-paced for a low budget film but the usual constraints apply, including cheesy dialogue and some very sub-par acting.The British villain, played by Nicholas Hope, is just one of those characters you can't take seriously; maybe it's because I'm British too, but he feels like a character from THE OFFICE instead of an imposing villain. HOME AND AWAY actress Kelly Paterniti is better as the lead, but she's the only interesting one here. The best thing about the film are the authentic gore effects, done the old fashioned way by SFX maestro Tom Savini. A shame the rest of the story and its silly twists can't match them.

The Plot Six captive office workers are literally chained to their desks by a demented, escaped serial killer; former regional manager Thomas Reddmann (Redd). He assigns his 'human resources' the impossible task of proving his innocence or suffering gruesome consequences.It's not a great movie. And although it's billed as a comedy thriller horror, it's really a slasher film with little or no humor. It's a bit along the lines of The Dentist and the Step Father.Frankly I got bored real early.It's a slow paced film that lacks in originality.

Chosen as the closing night film for the Australian Film Festival, could REDD INC. be the film that relaunches the ozploitation craze of the 70's and early 80's..? If the reaction from the sold out premiere audience is any gauge, the answer is a resounding "yes!"Redd Inc. starts with news reports and clips informing us that a serial killer Thomas Reddmann (Nicholas Hope) known as the 'head-hunter' has perished in fire during an attempted escape from a local mental institution. Annabelle Hale (Kelly Paterniti) an online stripper who was a key witness at Reddmann's trial is kidnapped and wakes up chained to an office desk with 5 other people who were also involved with Reddmann's trial in various capacities.The captives are soon introduced to Mr Reddmann who informs them that he is their regional manager and that they have a job to do. He declares that he is innocent and expects them to work to the best of their abilities to find the real head-hunter killer. Assigned to different tasks using the court case documents, the 6 captives get to work, or face a strike against their name, in the form of a cut to the forehead… 5 strikes and you're out.Redd Inc. is a new low-budget Australian horror film from co-writers Anthony O'Connor and Jonathan Green (who also co-produces with Sandy Stevens), and director Daniel Krige; who have managed to deliver an original take on a familiar theme.The ensemble cast are all good, with Nicholas Hope turning in a delightfully creepy performance as Redd and a nice cameo from Tom Savini who worked as special make-up effects supervisor. Newcomer Kelly Paterniti's character visibly grows in confidence throughout the film and she's probably one to watch. However, the real star is the script, littered with references to keep most genre fans happy; it's tight, menacing and genuinely funny. Described by scriptwriter Anthony O'Connor as "office giallo", placing the horror in the everyday office makes the setting instantly recognizable to most of us and therefore more unnerving due to that familiarity.The effects which were done by Sydney based Make-up Effects Group (MEG), and supervised by the legendary Tom Savini, are suitably gory and in a few notable scenes had the cinema audience squirming. Slashes to foreheads, removal of fingernails, limbs and heads are all on display and considering the budget restrictions are all done exceptionally well.I really enjoyed the movie and would recommend it unreservedly to any horror fan. With the release of last years The Tunnel and 2010's The Loved Ones, Australian horror seems to be back in a good way, original, gory and wickedly funny.