At this point, the COVID pandemic seems like a tired trope to use in film. Paul’s Schyuler’s Red River Road injects new life into this premise, however. The movie manages to take a premise many viewers are likely trying to move past and makes it work.
The virus in Red River Road doesn’t cause a fever or body aches. It instead spreads through the Internet, making sites like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook unusable and dangerous and blurring what is real and what is not. Schuyler directs and stars in this with his real-life family, as they try to navigate their lives in a non-digital landscape. A mundane event like a phone call receives special significance, as the family rushes to give their name and a phone number to request certain items like DVDs to pass the time.
Schuyler’s direction is inspired here, especially with a premise many films have used before with less stellar results. There’s a palpable paranoia present throughout, and, similar to films like Saw and Bird Box, it is easy to see the audience putting themselves in the shoes of the characters. How would they react? If the pandemic were like the one presented in the film, would they adapt and survive?
The conceit of the Internet turning against humanity is one we can all relate to, as we all use the Internet. With the advent of AI like ChatGPT, whether or not the Internet can be trusted is a real-life concern, and one Schuyler masterfully turns on its head here. The film would work well in public libraries for those patrons interested in pandemic-inspired films and family dramas.