We watched it. We napped. We have notes.
š¹ The Premise
Red Rooms (originally filmed in French and set in Montreal) follows a high-IQ fashion model who becomes disturbingly obsessed with a serial murder trial. Sheās not on the jury, sheās not pressāsheās just there. Attending every day. Giving nothing away. Slowly unraveling.
As she spirals deeper into obsession, she starts gambling online, exploring the dark web, and chasing the elusive third āmurder videoā rumored to exist from a series of killings connected to the trial. If that sounds like a tense psychological thriller, hold that thought.
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š„ The Format
This is a sleek, sterile, slow-burn art house film that plays more like a drama than horror. Every shot is deliberate. Every walk down a hallway is uncut. Every smoothie blend, every AI interaction, every poker handāplayed in full.
The pacing is patient. The acting is minimal. The story? Well, weāre still trying to piece it together.
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What Makes It Work
The lead actress (Kelly-Depeault) delivers a quietly commanding performance. Most of the film is herāalone, watching, decoding, reacting. Itās expression-heavy, dialogue-light, and the camera is right there the whole time. Her portrayal of obsessive focus is believable and tightly controlled.
We also appreciated the French-language delivery, a strong sense of atmosphere, and some clever integrations of modern tech (like AI assistants, DuckDuckGo, and crypto bidding). The vibe? Mute cool. Moody. Intentionally uncomfortable.
ā ļø What Doesnāt Land
Letās start with the runtime. At just under two hours, it feels like four. Nothing is rushed. Not a single thing. We watch her make a smoothie in real time. We watch her sit in alleys. We stare at her playing racquetball alone.
But itās the unanswered whys that drag the film down:
ā Why is she obsessed with the trial?
ā Why sleep in an alley when you live in a luxury high-rise?
ā Why destroy your AI assistant?
ā Why impersonate a dead girl in front of her grieving mother?
The film dabbles in vigilante justice, trauma fixation, and dark web voyeurismābut without offering enough clarity to feel anchored. It gestures toward ideas, but never explores them. The mystery isnāt compelling, just⦠incomplete.
šø Should It Have a Bigger Budget?
No. The budget was more than enough to do what this film was trying to do: minimalist psychological mood piece. Itās not lacking fundsāitās lacking narrative connection. Thereās no clear character arc, no satisfying payoff, and the tone never shifts. Just more slow stares and unanswered tension.
šæ Pair This Movie With...
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Snack: Unsalted almonds you forgot you were eating
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Drink: Room-temperature mineral water
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Activity: Light Googling about the dark web (but just for research)
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