Red 11
Stylized in black-and-white, a young man, highlighted in red, holds a pill, with the film's title and billing block placed in the bottom of the poster.
Promotional release poster
Directed byRobert Rodriguez
Written by
  • Robert Rodriguez
  • Racer Rodriguez
Based onRebel Without a Crew
by Robert Rodriguez
Produced byRobert Rodriguez
Starring
CinematographyRobert Rodriguez
Edited byRobert Rodriguez
Music byRebel Rodriguez
Production
company
Distributed byDouble R Productions
Release dates
  • March 15, 2019 (2019-03-15) (SXSW)
  • December 7, 2021 (2021-12-07) (United States)
Running time
77 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$7,000[2]

Red 11 is a 2019 American science fiction horror film produced, and directed by Robert Rodriguez. Rodriguez co-wrote the film with his son Racer Max, after previously collaborating on The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D in 2005. The film is inspired by Robert Rodriguez's experiences described in his 1995 book Rebel Without a Crew. The film stars Roby Attal, Lauren Hatfield, Alejandro Rose-Garcia, Eman Esfandi, Steve Brudniak, Brently Heilbron, Pierce Foster Bailey, Katherine Willis, Ulysses Montoya, and Carlos Gallardo.

The film had its world premiere at the 2019 SXSW festival on March 15, 2019.[3] It also premiered at the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival on May 21, 2019,[4] the Overlook Film Festival on May 31, 2019,[5] and the Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival on September 14, 2019.[6] The film was scheduled to be released on the streaming service Tubi in 2020 in the United States,[7] but was delayed for undisclosed reasons.[8] The film was eventually released on December 7, 2021, simultaneously on several VOD services including iTunes and Amazon Prime.[9][10][11]

Premise

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Set in a dark, twisted world of legal drug research where college kids become lab rats to make quick money, the film focuses on Rob (Roby Attal) who is trying to buy his way out of a huge debt of $7,000. Given the designation of Red 11, things get surreal when he is not sure if the hospital is really trying to kill him, or if it's side effects from the experimental drugs. Red 11 is based on director/writer Robert Rodriguez's experiences in a medical research facility to finance his first feature El Mariachi.[7]

Cast

Production

Development

Red 11 was based on Robert Rodriguez's experiences in a medical research facility to finance his first feature El Mariachi (1993); he had previously detailed this experience in his 1995 book Rebel Without a Crew.[12][13]

Filming

Principal photography began on November 28, 2017, with Robert Rodriguez serving as cinematographer.[2]

Release

Red 11 had its world premiere at the 2019 SXSW festival on March 15, 2019,[14] where it was nominated for the Adam Yauch Hörnblowér Award.[15] It also premiered at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival on May 21, 2019,[16] the Overlook Film Festival on May 31, 2019,[17] and the Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival on September 14, 2019.[6] The film was scheduled to be released in 2020 on the streaming service Tubi in the United States,[7][18] but was delayed for undisclosed reasons.[8] On December 7, 2021, the film was released simultaneously on several VOD services including iTunes and Amazon Prime.[9][10] The docuseries Rebel Without a Crew: The Robert Rodriguez Film School was released as a companion piece alongside Red 11.[11]

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 67% based on reviews from six critics, with an average rating of 6.2/10.[1]

At its SXSW premiere, the film garnered mostly negative reviews. John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that "the biggest lesson Red 11 teaches is an inadvertent one: Even a scrappy, seat-of-the-pants production needs a good script".[19] Peter Debruge of Variety wrote that the "thriller is a clunky, badly acted, and frequently embarrassing by-the-numbers picture at best, held together with shoestring and paper clips".[20] Griffin Shiller of The Playlist wrote that the film's "narrative is convoluted and often gets bogged down by its on-the-nose meta-commentary".[21]

References

  1. ^ a b "Red 11 (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Erbland, Kate (November 28, 2017). "Robert Rodriguez Will Return to His Low-Budget Roots for New Feature With $7K Price Tag". IndieWire. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  3. ^ Chitwood, Adam (March 6, 2019). "Exclusive SXSW Debut: First Poster for Robert Rodriguez's $7,000 Film 'Red 11'". Collider. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  4. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (April 19, 2019). "Cannes: 'Deerskin' With Jean Dujardin to Open Directors' Fortnight". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  5. ^ Miska, Brad (April 26, 2019). "The Overlook Film Festival Heads Back to New Orleans with 21 Features". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  6. ^ a b "'Red 11' at Strasbourg". Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  7. ^ a b c D'Alessandro, Anthony (January 27, 2020). "Robert Rodriguez Thriller 'Red 11' & 'Film School' Docu-Series To Stream On Tubi". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  8. ^ a b Heilbron, Brently (October 15, 2020). "Robert Rodriguez's Red 11 Streaming on Tubi". Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Red 11 on iTunes". iTunes. December 7, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  10. ^ a b "Red 11 on Amazon Prime". Amazon. December 7, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  11. ^ a b Rodriguez, Robert (December 7, 2021). "Today my new thriller Red 11 and its companion docuseries Rebel Without a Crew: The Robert Rodriguez Film School is out on All major VOD platforms". Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  12. ^ Broderick, Peter. "A Film for a Song: Robert Rodriguez's Garage Movie". Filmmaker. Independent Filmmaker Project. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  13. ^ Rodriguez, Robert (1995). Rebel Without a Crew. New York: Dutton Books, Plume. pp. 6–11. ISBN 9780452271876. OCLC 155845528. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  14. ^ Kohn, Eric (March 7, 2019). "Robert Rodriguez on Advice From James Cameron and How 'Alita: Battle Angel' Brought Him Back to His Roots". IndieWire. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  15. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (March 13, 2019). "SXSW: 'Alice', 'For Sama' Among Feature Film Grand Jury Award Winners". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  16. ^ Goodfellow, Melanie. "Cannes Directors' Fortnight unveils genre-heavy 2019 selection". Screen Daily. Media Business Insight. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  17. ^ "2019 Overlook Films". Overlook Film Festival. Archived from the original on August 4, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  18. ^ Sprague, Mike (January 29, 2020). "Robert Rodriguez's 'Red 11' & 'Film School' Docu-Series Hits Tubi This Summer". Dread Central. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  19. ^ DeFore, John (March 13, 2019). "'Red 11': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Valence Media. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  20. ^ Debruge, Peter (March 13, 2019). "SXSW Film Review: Robert Rodriguez's 'Red 11'". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  21. ^ Shiller, Griffin (March 13, 2019). "'Red 11': Robert Rodriguez's Latest Is Part Genre Thriller, Part Instructive Filmmaking Teaching Tool [SXSW]". The Playlist. Retrieved January 27, 2020.

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