3/5 Interesting mix of near Eastern Mythology
  by Tim Janson (Michigan)
Red Sands is a direct-to-DVD horror film set in war-torn Afghanistan . A group of U.S. Soldiers is assigned to observe and guard a strategic desert road. Along the way they come upon an ancient statue in the mountains and use it for target practice, destroying it. As luck would have it, one of the soldiers is well-versed in ancient mythology and tells the rest of the group about the lore of Djinn or Genies as most call them. These ancient spirits were often contained in statues to keep their evil locked away from the world. In particular the film uses the mythology of the Djinn as spirits made of smokeless fire who are invisible but can possess humans.

We needn't hear anymore to know that our brave soldiers are now in for a lot of trouble. Of course, it begs the argument that if they did release an evil spirit by destroying the statue, what of the Taliban, who were well known to have destroyed thousands of such relics of ancient times. You'd think the place would be literally crawling with Djinn. Ah, but let's not waste time reaching for logic.

The soldiers make their base in an abandoned stone house and the trouble begins when a young women wanders out of the desert. Who she is and where she comes from doesn't really concern the soldiers much. Their only worry is that she might be setting them up for an ambush by Taliban forces. All of the soldiers begin experiencing terrifying visions. The film takes a decided Anti-American stance as many of these visions revolve around U.S. soldiers killing innocent Afghani people. This message was heavy-handed to say the least. One by one, the girl/Djinn begins to turn the soldiers against each other. Soon they've given up watching the road and are watching each other, succumbing to a wave of paranoia caused by the evil spirit.

The film was directed by Alex Turner whose last film was the very effective Civil War horror film Dead Birds. Red Sands doesn't fare quite as well. Its pace is dreadfully slow and it's depiction of American soldiers is extremely unflattering. Leonard Roberts (late of the "Heroes" TV show) does do a solid job as the group's leader who begins to crack severely under the Djinn's influence.

What's lacking in Red Sands is any kind of frights. We see the creature for scant seconds throughout the film when it decides to shed its female guise and what we get was rather cheap looking CGI. The plot is interesting but it was executed with little skill and suspense. That's too bad because I think the mix of the modern with the mythology of the Middle East is interesting.


3/5 A very uneven film. A mixed bag.
  by Paulo Leite (Lisbon, Portugal)
I think this project was very promising... and as my title says, it succeeds in some places while failing in others. Here's the story in 25 words or less: a group of soldiers in Afghanistan break an old statue and release a Djinn (an old spirit who hates humans). So they break the antique and go spend a few nights in a abandoned Afghan house in the middle of nowhere where they must secure the area. And the Djinn attacks...

Now, here are the good and bad things.

BAD - Most of the special effects are horrible... the Djinn at the end is laughable. Simply laughable. In my point of view, the producers/director made the big mistake of saving money at the end of the film (where in fact, they should deliver the goods). That's too bad.

GOOD - Tension. The screenplay does a nice job managing the tension between the men. The dialogs are great and some characters are believable (although some other characters are too stupid for us to create any empathy). And too bad the ending is so frustratingly cheap.

BAD - And the ending is cheap because, unfortunately, this is one of those films who start great and sinks towards the ending... probably because nobody could figure out how to deliver an ending that was truly original.

GOOD - The first half of the script. I think it is almost flawless. But after that, it cannot keep relying on just dreams and hallucinations. It has to deliver the goods... come on... this is a horror film!

BAD - The second half of the script. Ok, the Djin is around, the men are getting affected by the people they killed and the visions... but I kept thinking there was something missing: progression. The film keeps offering what it already gave us in the first half. And the Djinn attacks are lame... and the ending is lame... and it is all sad.

GOOD - Art direction, locations and cinematography. I do not know where the film was shot, but it convinced me. everything regarding these three domains seemed competent enough.

BAD - All the opportunities missed. I think this film could have been absolutely great. But it is underproduced and creatively underdeveloped.

Still I think the film is interesting enough to be recommended. I am sure the director is extremely talented and his next film will be great. And also, this film (even with all the bad things I've pointed) is miles above most horror films available today.

I could give it four stars... but as I said, if you promise something good, you better deliver it! If you don't, all the flaws are twice as noticeable.

Still I recommend it.

4/5 psychological thriller
  by V. Miller
Red Sands is a better than average video. Some very interesting characters and a rather unpredictable ending.

4/5 Great "current situation" thriller
  by Calvin Cheng
Great thriller. I especially like the fact that the script is based on a current situation. Not many movies have the guts to do something like that. Really tense suspense from start to finish.

5/5 Best thriller I've seen in a while.
  by AmazonUser (Berkeley)
Very good stuff. I was expecting an entertaining slasher movie based on the cover, but what I got was much better. This is not a silly slasher movie but actually a very intelligent and suspenseful supernatural flick. It must have been on a tight budget given the crude special effects, but these are a small part of the movie and don't spoil the overall creepiness. Writing, acting, and directing are excellent. Don't watch it if you don't want to be scared.