Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

One of the great Spanish horror actors, Paul Naschy plays the role of Pablo Thevenet as if it is autobiographical, and it may very well be.He is washed up as an actor. Current directors want only pretty faces and lots of silicone. He lands a job as a doorman that allows him to use his prodigious talents as he was meant to.It is obvious that Pablo is entering a deal with the devil, but when the devil's assistant looks as good as Bibiana Fernández (Almodovar's Matador & his La Ley del Deseo), who cares? Apparently Pablo had some unpleasant experiences in life besides his downward fall as an actor and he snaps. This is where the horror begins. He is to spill blood copiously to get revenge.Christian Molina, in his first directorial project has managed to give us a new view of horror in a very stylized way, almost as good as Argento. I am looking forward to seeing his other films.

Paul Naschy is certainly a big contender for Spain's biggest ever horror star; with a great deal of cult films under his belt, most notably his "Homo Lobo" series. However, since the seventies his fame has dwindled somewhat; but on the evidence of this film, his acting and writing talent certainly hasn't! Rojo Sangre is a strange and wayward film that won't appeal to all tastes; but it's certainly an interesting cult film and the fact that it's a semi-autobiographical film for Paul Naschy makes it all the more interesting. The plot focuses on Pablo Thevenet; a down and out actor with nothing but bad luck. His daughter was murdered and his wife left him, and despite once being a big star; he now can't find any sort of acting work. He gets something of a break when he's offered a job as a 'living statue' at a Stag club, and although he finds the role demeaning; he takes it because the money is good and no other offers are coming his way. His hatred for the modern movie business is overwhelming, however, and it's not long before he begins a murderous tirade against all those that have stopped him from getting work.The thing I liked most about this film is the way that the plot moves. It's never obvious where the film is going and Naschy's script always allows some surprises. The direction is taken up by Christian Molina, and I'm sure the last name will be familiar to Naschy fans as it's his son! Molina's direction is always assured and he manages several stylish moments. The film is perhaps a little too flashy, but everything in the direction bodes well with the way that the story is presented. The film is bolstered courtesy of an excellent performance by Paul Naschy; perhaps even the best of his career. The fact that the role reflects upon his own career aside, you can't fail but be impressed with Naschy here; he absolutely becomes the central character and you can never doubt him for a second. One of the many subplots of the film features the central character slashing up various people while dressed as historical characters and this provides the film with some of its best moments. The gore is actually quite restrained but it's still nice to see. There's not really a defining point to the film and the ending contains more questions than answers but it does at least bring some closure to the plot. Overall, Rojo Sangre is an excellent swan song for Naschy's career and I'm sure that fans of the great Spanish actor's career will appreciate it.

Rojo Sangre (2004) *** (out of 4) Spanish horror film written and acted by the legendary Paul Naschy. In the film, which is semi-autobiographical, Naschy plays a horror legend who finds himself becoming a has been due to how the business is ran these days. He gets a break working in a club where he's paid to perform as various real-life serial killers but one day he starts to take the job too serious and begins to murder off the "new and cool" people of television. This film started out so well, unlike any other Naschy film but the director really blew things in the second half. The second half of the film is incredibly bad but I still enjoyed this for the terrific start. The opening hour is a brutal attack on current fame and current Hollywood, which rings all too true. Seeing the legend Naschy having to beg for work hits home quite strongly and Naschy's performance has never been better. His screenplay for this opening stuff dealing with a forgotten great is also the best he's ever done. The second half of the film really falls apart due to the director trying to be too stylish and there's an incredibly stupid twist in the story that doesn't work at all.

Rojo Sangre is one more of those garbage films that Spain has been pumping out like donuts in the name of the emerging young directors. The birth of a horrible phenomenon that has been a practice in Spain in order to claim a spot in commercial film making.It is all wrong.A film with a huge budget (ab)used to trick the amateur viewer and make him believe the film deserves a chance to be watched. High production values with absolutely no motivation to consolidate them with the story line.Overdone stylistic artifacts.Expensive effects that belong more in a hard rock music video then on the big screen. No character development.Dialogues to make you twist up out of embarrassment. I could go on describing the "horrorific" experience I had watching this pretentious film but I'll leave it to you to take over from here. Please , "young Spanish directors" try to go to film school and above all work before you ask daddy to give you money to make a film.