Red Sands

Finally a horror movie I am excited to talk about in a non snarky way. Red Sands was more of a psychological horror than a typical slash fest, which may be why it got mixed reviews on how frightening it was. I adore this kind of movie, if there are no zombies, gore does not need to be involved if you ask me. So after hesitantly starting the movie thinking it would not hold my interest, but after 15 minutes my eyes were glued to the screen.

Jeff, A young soldier is being questioned about the deaths of his squad, being the only survivor, he could be considered a hero but they need to get their story straight. The story begins to unfold as we meet the Staff sergeant as he is given his orders. He and his group are to make base at a specific location in the desert of Afghanistan and patrol the road for incoming insurgents. En route they are driven off the road as mines are triggered. Pulling off to investigate, the group comes across a figure carved in the side of a stone mountain. Remarking that this sort of imagery is forbidden, the translator tells of the Afghani legend of the Djinn. Older than mankind and made of smokeless fire, a Djinn could take on any shape it desired. Due to their hatred of humans, many Djinn left as they became dominant to this world. Others stayed and were imprisoned in vessels, like the magic lantern in Aladdin. Out of boredom, or the fact that they are a bunch of boys with guns, one of the men fires a shot at the statue and it crumbles.

They finally arrive at the patrol point, which is a house deep in the desert long since left to decay as the former occupants were killed as they sat down to dinner. Making camp, Jeff has a vivid dream where he encounters the former family possessed by a Djinn. They then discover that the neighboring town, a small plot of desert populated with simple tents had been abandoned and they are all alone in the sparse desert. That night night brings a terrible sand storm and the appearance of a mysterious woman who speaks in a tongue that the translator cannot make out.

It becomes clear that something was released when the desert statue was destroyed and it followed them, slowly taking its revenge.

I did not find this movie slow or unimaginative. Nothing is more terrifying to me than being trapped, and the film makers were able to convey the feeling of being confined convincingly. It is a story of a band of young boys fighting a questionable war isolated from all things familiar and caught in a local curse.