In director Alain Darborg’s latest cinematic concoction, “Red Dot,” married couple and soon-to-be parents David, played by Anastasios Soulis, and Nadja, played by Nanna Blondell, attempt to patch their marriage via a trip to a nearby ski resort. Unfortunately, an unidentified sniper with a grudge has other ideas. The couple’s getaway, which started with aspirations to take in the Northern Lights, quickly turns into a hellish nightmare as the two are forced not only to evade their trigger-happy pursuer, but battle the harsh mountain conditions as well.
A Swedish film to begin with, the Netflix version replaces the lines of Soulis and Blondell with those of American voice actors. And while it’s not a complete game changer, this leads to some lines sounding artificial and not packing the punch you would expect. It also means that, at least for Soulis and Blondell, their quality performances will at times come across as less impressive.
While the dialogue may be the film’s biggest letdown, Darborg provides the viewer with some truly stunning cinematography. A close-up of Blondell’s soaked, horror-struck face as she desperately searches for a submerged Soulis makes you feel as if you’re the one that is slowly sinking away from her. An extreme wide shot, on the other hand, depicts the icy terrain that Soulis and Blondell are now being forced to traverse in order to escape.
As for the film’s soundtrack, courtesy of Carl-Johan Sevedag, according to the Internet Movie Database, it adds to the movie’s on edge atmosphere. However, sometimes no sound at all proved to make the biggest difference. With no background noise whatsoever, Blondell lies in the snow as she watches Soulis inspect their rediscovered tent, the same tent they were forced to flee the night before. The only sound is that of Blondell’s choppy breathing, and that is the only sound the viewer needs. “Red Dot” may not consistently hit the mark for the entire one hour and 27 minutes, but it still provides a plethora of twists and scares. And I should not forget that the film’s finale, stuffed with a mix of gore and gut-wrenching moments, should chill even the hard-to-please horror fans.
