The Decks Ran Red

Kaleb (Deck Swab Certified)3.0

As of today I've been writing silly, self indulgent reviews on Letterboxd for one year. Mostly silly but occasionally I sprinkle in some RealTalk. LB is wonderful. I've bonded with friends, found new films, learned new words & phrases, discovered new recipes & have even been made aware of guitar/bass equipment I knew not of before. If it weren't for The amazing community that is LB I'd think Damon Packard was the name of a dude who lived down the street. Without a doubt Jess Franco would not be my favorite film-maker if it weren't for this Website/App. I'm forgetting so many other blessings this community has bestowed upon me. I've been thinking I could even use my reviews to illustrate my mental conditions to my next psychologist instead of devoting hundred of hours to therapy. Yuck I feel like there's a bug crawling on me... I better end this but not before I say two things about this film. The TITLE! Imagine a Ringu style film set in the 80s about a killer mixtape! Alternatively envisage a turntablist themed horror movie. Second thought; If you want to see some actors do their own stunts where your reaction is "Dang, is he okay?". There are two really good falls in the third act. There's also a gun that fires blanks into an actor's belly at point blank range. That worried me too. I don't know if I like fearing for the safety of actors or what my deal is. It's like spicy foods or rollercoasters. I do like spicy food but I hate rollercoasters.

sakana12.0

While there are some moments of real tension in the final act of The Decks Ran Red (a dozen dudes with one gun trapped on a ship against two fellows with a whole lot of guns will do that), for the most part it feels like, at best, a by the numbers nautical adventure: evil bad guys (Stuart Whitman and Broderick Crawford), a sexy woman around entirely to be in peril (Dorothy Dandridge), and a solid, upright man (James Mason) there to defeat the odds, rally the once-hostile troops, and bring the baddies to justice. The whole thing is so flat that most of the dialogue is either bland voiceover or people passively describing plans or situations, usually gathered together in vague action poses, like they're middle school kids doing Grease, or something.Since the woman is played by Dandridge, she is fun to watch, but her role is painfully thin, oscillating between random seductiveness and frantic adoration of her husband (a man described as a Maori, who has literally one line), only to be told off by the heroic captain for not listening to her after she's ... successfully killed one of the bad guys? If Dandridge wasn't so committed it would be even more uncomfortable to watch than it already is.If you want an uncomfortable movie about Dorothy Dandridge in peril at sea, please watch Tamango instead. It's uncomfortable on purpose, and she has way more to do in that one.

Zoë 🐛4.0

Super underrated work from both Mason's and Dandridge's filmographies. Broderick Crawford menaces as the film's villain, one with a plan so bold and a heart so hard that his terror can't help but be magnetic. The film is perfectly paced, moving at a nail biting speed, and most importantly, it's a showcase of some of Mason's and Dandridge's best acting work, with him in a rare role of pure gallantry, which certainly was unusual for a career full of broody antiheroes. I sorta loved him as a straight forward hero, and I wish he'd been able to play some more similar roles. But hey, with a voice like that you're sorta bound for some villainy. As for Dandridge, I love her as an actress, but she usually isn't given enough screen time or depth in her character to fully shine. Often her characters are underwritten and over sexualized. In The Decks Ran Red I felt like her sex symbol persona was subverted quite a bit, as the role started pretty exoticized, but she's given some time to sink her teeth into the character. While the script admittedly doesn't give her a lot when it comes to her character's interior life, Dandridge's impressive acting abilities, particularly in a tearful scene after the death of her husband and a tense and badass scene with one of the film's villains, make for a stellar performance helped along by great chemistry with Mason, and ultimately her character is one of the most likable, active, and memorable of the crew.I highly recommend this hidden gem!