BLOOD RED PLANET

BLOOD RED PLANET
Produced by Massimiliano Cerchi and Debra Aarens-Cerchi
Directed by Mark & John Polonia, and Jon McBride
Written by John Polonia
Edited by Mark Polonia
Director of Photography - Paul Alan Steele
Staring:
Captain Sterling - Jon McBride
Becky Star - Joette Krisiewicz
Falco - jOHN Polonia
BLOOD RED PLANET is a movie with its heart in the right place. It tries dearly to be a serious science fiction film with a humanitarian message about sacrifice, but it can't overcome the hurdles of its budget. The outcome is that of an old Roger Corman 1950's schlock-fest.
When I started reviewing micro-budget and underground productions, I made a vow never to criticize a film based on two things, the effects or the acting. Often these are the two resources backyard filmmakers can't always find. This is one of the times where I lock that vow in the closet.
In the near future a planetoid is threatening to destroy Earth. How near in the future are we talking about? However long it might take for construction goggles, dust masks, and upside down squirt bottles to serve as life support. Props are something that I can usually ignore, but here these are so blatantly obvious that it penetrates the viewer's suspension of disbelief, removing any level of credibility. The Polonia brother's should know this, for the past few years they have gotten some of the widest distribution of any micro-budget filmmaker out there. They have seen their titles sit on the shelves of Hollywood and Blockbuster next film to the big boys. Watching a G.I. Joe action figure substitute for an actor as he's eaten by a supposedly 40-foot monster really is a slap in the face to the audience.
It is even more insulting when put in the context of the film being so technically well made. John Polonia took care to use creative lighting and shot design to make a visually stunning film. Low, moody lighting creates a perfect atmosphere, especially in scenes that are directly copied from other films. (A fun game to play is to guess the title of every film each scene is taken from.) The computer animation is better then any I've seen on the b-movie scale and equal that of most video games. Modern Corman films would love CA this well rendered.
Even with all my above complaints put aside, there is one thing I can't get past. The script. There is all kinds of nothing going on during this hour and a half. It wasn't until my fourth viewing that I was finally able to stay awake for the final 45 minutes. Even then I was nodding off.
The dialogue is too advanced for the actors. These guys emote about as much as a brick wall. If your actors can't say the lines given, give them something they can say. Sometimes people working on a smaller scale are afraid to improvise on the set. Everything has to be pre-planned out to the most minuscule detail. This can lead to the loose any sense of spontaneity with your actors. There were scenes in BRP where you could see the actors waiting to sputter out their lines. People don't say, "talk is cheap" for nothing. When shooting on video, if you don't get the dialogue right, re-shoot it until you do.
One thing the Polonia's do get right it to give free reign to Brett Piper for the miniatures. His work is detailed and at times lifelike. If only he paid as much attention to the alien mother sock-puppet alien. BLOOD RED PLANET makes me appreciate his work on DRAINIAC that much more.
Advice to every filmmaker, when setting your ambitions this high, don't shortchange yourself or your film. All you do is cheat your audience.
For more information on BLOOD RED PLANET head to Rounds Entertainment.