Joyce Reardon is a professor of parapsychology and the the butt of her colleagues' jokes. In order to gain credibility and regain her recently revoked tenure, she must obtain solid proof of paranormal activity. She gathers together the greatest psychic minds that she can afford for a trip into Rose Red, a house that likes to swallow its victims into slavery. Joyce hopes that she can reawaken Rose Red, which has laid dormant for decades. When Rose Red is awakened from her long rest by the young and temperamental Annie, she tests the wits and strength of those trapped inside. Some are pushed over the threshold into insanity.
Title significance: Rose Red refers to the name of the haunted mansion where the story takes place. Based on the book The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer: My Life at Rose Red by Stephen King. I have not yet read the book, but it is apparently written in a diary-novel hybrid format.
Analysis: If you are familiar with Stephen King's novels, then you will know to expect many layers of character development. King avoids the use of stereotypical characters by endowing each one with a rich past and present. By allowing the viewer to see the day-to-day interactions of each of the characters, they become more 3-dimensional than is typical of cinematic horror characters. For example, there is no flat geeky character. There is the dynamic Emery (Matt Ross), a young man who struggles with a controlling mother and possesses a real nasty streak. His inner turmoil is presented extremely well. The upside is that the characters elicit a great deal of emotion from the viewer. The downside is that it produces a film that is 4+ hours long instead of 2 hours long. Overall, I think it is definitely worth the extra time.
The phenomenal acting certainly compliments the exquisite character development. Nancy Travis (Three Men and a Baby, So I Married an Axe Murderer) plays the delightfully neurotic Professor Reardon with great conviction. Her slow migration towards the border of insanity is as believable as it is gradual. Nancy Travis is extremely hot and provides some much needed eye candy. Former soap star Kimberly Brown (A Bug's Life, The Good Son) definitely steals the show as Annie, an autistic young girl with awesome psychic powers. She played every scene perfectly with the right amount of uncertainty, shyness and sweetness. Her crush on Steven (Matt Keeslar), the owner of Rose Red, seems very real. It wouldn't surprise me if the crush was real because Keeslar is the male eye candy in this film. The chemistry between Keeslar and Brown is truly amazing. My favorite performance was given by Tsidii Leloka as the ghostly maid and family companion, Sukeena. Sukeena is one of the few underdeveloped characters, probably to contribute to the mystery of her existence. She has gorgeous eyes that make her so perfect for the part as a sort of watcher. Unfortunately her full beauty is concealed by a red towel. I could go on and on about the many amazing performances, but I would just sound like a broken record. As usual, Stephen King has a cameo, as the pizza guy.
The set of Rose Red was very impressive, inside and out. From the ominous gates to the room that was built upside down and the ever present cobwebs. Most haunted house films feature a few select rooms and a view of the outside from a single angle; however, Rose Red reveals most of her enormity to the viewer. The film utilizes dozens of different rooms and there are shots of the mansion from the sky, the courtyard and the street. I think this lends a great deal of credibility to the grand scale of the house. Most horror films can only imply a size of this magnitude. I guess that speaks to the importance of a decent budget in these endeavors.
The cinematography and overall production quality are extremely high, something I have come to expect from adaptations of Stephen King's books. The usage of light and fog were ideal, enough to be creepy but not enough to grow old or obscure the audience's view. Since I have not read the book, I can't comment on the fidelity. I will say that the ending seemed to lack the typical Stephen King twist; I actually found it to be predictable and surprisingly happy. I just can't believe that this is how the book ended.
I have enjoyed many Stephen King films, both feature length (The Shining, IT, Pet Sematery) and multi-part (The Stand, The Tommyknockers). I even liked And Sometimes They Come Back, an adaptation of one of King's short stories. The major drawback to Rose Red is its length, but I think it needed the four-plus hours. I have seen both versions of Needful Things, the version released in theaters and the extended version aired on TV. The short version was awful and the extended version was fairly decent; the discrepancy primarily due to differences in character development. With this in mind, I feel that Rose Red is the right length. A compromise between The Shining and The Stand. Stephen King probably could have made more money off of a feature length theatrical release (lower expenses and higher revenues) than a mini-series, but think this was the proper decision to maintain the integrity of his work.
Final Comments: Rose Red is not your typical haunted house/teen slasher mix a la Night of the Demons, it is masterful excursion into the realm of the paranormal. The story and production quality of Rose Red are on par with most of the Stephen King movies produced to date. The acting, cinematography and character development overrule the restless length and predictable ending. This is a haunted house film that is definitely worth seeing, just make sure you have the time to commit.