Red Rooms Review: Tense Courtroom Thriller Explores Dark Desires

Streaming Movie Review - Courtroom Drama/Thriller - VOD

Red Rooms poster. Courtesy Nemesis Films, Inc.

What happens on the dark web is the subject of much speculation. It is very strange and mysterious, and as such, it is easy to project all of our deepest fears onto it. It has become the subject of many urban legends, like red rooms, sites where you can watch the live torture and murder of people. In his newest film, Red Rooms, now available on VOD, writer and director Pascal Plante uses this myth as a way to examine a growing and unhealthy fascination with human misery. 

The trial of Ludovic Chevalier (Maxwell McCabe-Lokos) is underway. He is accused of the brutal torture and murder of three young women, and the prosecutor says that she has undeniable proof of his guilt. The courtroom is filled with family members of the victims, but there is also a contingent of people, primarily women, who are obsessed with Ludovic. Clementine (Laurie Babin) is his most staunch supporter, and she connects with Kelly-Anne (Juliette Gariépy), another woman who shows up daily to watch the trial.

Clementine and Kelly-Anne form a friendship, and Kelly-Anne offers her a place to stay, as she has more money from her part-time modeling jobs and online poker. But as the days pass, Clementine comes to realize that there is much more to Kelly-Anne than she thought. Not only does she have a passionate interest in the case, but she also has inside knowledge that should be off-limits.

Laurie Babin and Juliette Gariépy in Red Rooms. Courtesy of Nemesis Films, Inc.

Red Rooms is primarily a courtroom drama that goes beyond the courtroom and looks at the people who follow these kinds of trials. What makes it impressive is that it does this with so much subtlety that it doesn’t feel like a rebuke until you are fully invested. 

Much of this is achieved by the excellent performances of both Clementine and Kelly-Anne. Babin, as Clementine, shows a woman obsessed with the killer to such a degree that she concocts incredible theories to explain how the evidence that is presented to her is wrong, becoming agitated and flustered when her worldview is challenged. Gariépy, on the other hand, gives a quiet, inscrutable performance, leaving us guessing her motives until the very end. The two play off of one another brilliantly, and both are bolstered by Elizabeth Locas, who plays the mother of one of the victims.

Juliette Gariépy in Red Rooms. Courtesy of Nemesis Films, Inc.

Another thing that Red Rooms does exceptionally well is how it handles the violence inherent in the subject matter. While there are many gruesome images described, almost nothing is shown. Instead, in one of the film's most powerful moments, we hear the violence, but all we see are the reactions of those watching it. It is an incredibly effective use of sound and visuals while avoiding the precise kind of voyeurism that the film is speaking about.

The internet has allowed us to access much more of the world, and in many regards, that can be fantastic. But it also can allow us to follow some of our most base instincts, leading to some unintended consequences. Red Rooms implores us to proceed with caution.

This review originally appeared in The Dominion Post on October 19, 2024.