The Red Mask – FrightFest 2025 Movie Review
First Reaction – The Red Mask flips audience expectations in a slasher with an ounce of meta.
Director: Ritesh Gupta
Writer: Samantha Gurash, Patrick Robert Young (Screenplay)
Cast
Plot: Queer screenwriter Allina Green is hired to write the final Red Mask slasher. Under pressure and facing death threats, she and her fiancé retreat to a secluded Airbnb. A twisted game spirals into a deadly fight when uninvited guests crash.
Runtime: 1 Hour 31 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: The Red Mask starts when queer screenwriter Allina (Howard) is hired to write the final script for a cult classic horror movie remake. She has placed herself in a secluded Airbnb with her fiancé Deetz (Sarkis) to help roleplay the script. However, the fans of the franchise have started attacking Allina’s ability to rewrite their favourite film.
She faces an onslaught on online abuse and becomes paranoid about what might happen to her. Things become more complicated when Claire (Garner) and Ryan (Abel) to fill their reservation at the Airbnb, leading to the two couples needing to decide what they want to do.
Verdict on The Red Mask
Recap
The movie follows the writer of a horror cult classic remake who has been getting tormented by the fans. It leads to her taking a secluded break to focus, but her method involves roleplaying causes a wild series of chaotic events.
Best Parts
The movie uses the toxic behaviour of fans who don’t like change to create an uncomfortable living environment for Allina. It shows how being horrible on the internet can have a lasting impact. However, this takes things further, when people get up close and personal with the determination to keep things quiet. We get a great twist on the slasher creation and how the audience spends more time on expectations than enjoying the product. You can also see there is a message here about certain remakes which received heavy backlash from the diehard fan base.
Worst Parts
It does fall into a style we have seen plenty of times before and it doesn’t quite stick the meta behind the concept.
Final Thoughts – The Red Mask is a fun slasher, with a strong reflection on the cult classic fans.
