Legend of the Red Reaper (2013) User Reviews

B grade rubbish not worth your time!

[steve_spink · 1/10 · 2 March 2014]

So it seems all previous reviews must have been posted by either questionable sources or associations, because this movie is rubbish.

Everything from the plot holes, the screen play, to the terrible acting culminate into a movie I would rather forget! I love medieval, action,horror and many more genres. Unfortunately this seems like it was filmed, acted, produced and directed by some weekend re-enactment lovers. Don't waste your time or intelligence on this. Please don't spend any money or time on this laughable production. You have been warned! I am finding it hard to write ten lines as per the guidelines and wonder why this rule is in place?

Complete crap - zero acting

[ghostberry · 1/10 · 3 March 2014]

Yes it's awful, the only reason i watched it, at least the first 30 minutes is because i saw a positive review of the movie here in IMDb. But after i got enough of it, i came here to see all the review and all the good review are written by some people who do it for the first time, which means they just wanted to promote the movie. That pisses me off. And because of that i give it 1 out of 10. And i'll tell all my friends to give it 1 so this movie gets what it deserves. Acting is bad. Special effects are bad, directing is bad. Everything is bad. If there is anything good in this movie, i honestly couldn't find it, because it is buried under a lot of crap. Don't watch unless you want to get depressed!

Worst film ever

[doggydoggen · 1/10 · 2 March 2014]

This was one of the worst films I have seen incredibly bad movie the reviews that you see here is probably actors in this extremely bad movie it is a pity that there are rules that prevent it I do not know how to write 10 lines about this movie the film is probably made ​​of completely novice everything is wrong, lighting, dialogues, storyline it is so bad that it is not worth looking at, even if it was the last movie made Now I am approaching 10 lines which apparently is a rule in order to post here it's my first review and I felt I had to write about how bad it was I was expecting a fairly good movie but got my evening ruined so do not be fooled by the high rating, it is guaranteed that it is ppl who have been involved and made ​​the film that gave the high score

Like a porn film without the sex

[Robert_Stanley · 1/10 · 26 March 2014]

This film is truly the most awful piece of crap I've ever seen.

Normally I like fantasy films, but good grief - this one takes the cake. Dreadful acting, terrible script.. so bad I thought it was a joke. Seriously, porn films have better acting. And better scripts. And better plot.

In fact, instead of watching this rubbish, rent a fantasy porno, and fast forward through all the rude bits. It would be more entertaining, and be a better film.

One thing, the sets, costumes, and makeup were nice - I think thats where all the money went. But thats about it.

It is just Bad

[libraryguru · 2/10 · 14 April 2014]

This movie is so bad you cannot even enjoy it for its badness. It is obviously a vanity project for the lead actor/director/writer Tara Cardinal. Unfortunately, Ms Cardinal is not very good at any of her jobs in this. Her acting, and the rest of the cast, was stiff and uninspired. The directing was amateurish. And the story was unoriginal.

The only positive thing I can say is, I admire Ms Cardinal for having a dream and pursuing it. Unfortunately this was a dream not worth sharing.

Mostly I found the movie distracting. I kept being distracted by the acting, which as I already stated was bad. Then there's the fight scenes, which looked like they were from a high school drama club production. The fights moved so slowly at points they looked like someone filmed the choreography rehearsal. And then there was the oddest distraction of all. The characters' names, Ganesh, Adonis, Freya? How did she think using names from a mishmash of mythologies would help the plot line?

Ah, this movie is just a mess. I've actually been known to enjoy bad movies. Some of them can have a certain charm to them. But this movie has no redeemable qualities.

As I watched Red Reaper I kept having one thought. How did Tara Cardinal ever get funding for this?

Like having your teeth pulled out without freezing

[paglag · 1/10 · 6 March 2014]

Ganesh: God of beginnings, remover of obstacles, patron of art and science. Adonis: Greek god of beauty and desire. What the heck? Isn't there a book that would warn you not to use certain names in a movie unless they actually relate to the movie? The plot is non-existent and jumps all over the place. The acting would have been better done by a class of pre-schoolers. The sound jumps from one badly applied effect to another. The music is laughable and obviously taken from other sources and also badly matched to the scenes and doesn't flow (martial music to a love scene???) I can never get the time I wasted on this rubbish back and that's really sad. You know when a movie is so bad that it becomes funny? That isn't one of those. This is just bad.

I really wish I had one of those devices used by Men in Black to erase my memory, there's about 2 hours I could get rid of.

One star rating is too many.

What a pile of poorly acted claptrap and no spoilers as you will turn this movie off in 30 minutes.

[mattw793 · 1/10 · 2 March 2014]

This is one of those movies where the reviews have all been written by cast and production crew. In actual fact the acting is sub standard and my Staffie could have acted better. The fight scenes were shocking, slow and very very unrealistic. The cast has not one decent acting bone between them.

I wish these amateurs would stop churning out rubbish z-movies and save their weekly pocket money up until they can afford to do something decent.

The lead actress herself is not talented enough to be a lead and not that pleasing to the eye either.

The days of a good sword and sorcery movie are over.

Please delete this obscenity from all databases. It is truly terrible.

Don't be misled by the positive reviews

[kimberlymhn · 1/10 · 19 July 2014]

I have to admit I've been following the making of this movie for some time and it looked really promising. Considering the huge difficulties the producer/director and star Tara Cardinal went through to bring this production to the screen, I really wanted to like it, but sadly it is quite abysmal. Tara has said in interviews that large amounts of footage were lost due to the ineptitude of the people employed, so to make it up to a feature length we see the same footage being used over and over again.

However, as she was the star, director and producer surely she should take responsibility for these mistakes rather than continually blaming others. In a movie of this kind, the weakness of the script, plot and acting could be offset by the action scenes, but the movie contains weak ponderous sword fighting and at times looks like a live action role play convention rather than a movie.

Much has been spoken about it being a feminist picture, but even this falls flat. Tara's character spends the whole movie pining over a man who is to marry another woman, gets ordered about by her father, is repeatedly bested in combat by her male trainer and the other women in the movie do virtually nothing. I'm even a little suspicious about the near absence of the scene where Cardinal fought Al Snow while naked. She claims the footage was lost, but I wonder if she deleted the scene because she felt it may have undermined the supposed feminism of the movie?

I also have to say something to reviewers here and on other sites who are claiming that this movie is good! - you are seriously not doing Tara Cardinal or yourselves any long term favours, pride of place going to one reviewer who compares Cardinal to Kubrick & Orwell!!! I was lucky I wasn't the one who paid good money to buy this movie on the strength of the glowing early reviews. It was a friend of mine and she's pretty annoyed at how these 'reviewers', who must be either friends or associates of the cast and crew have used IMDb to mislead us! - Legend of the Red Reaper is not 'an instant classic', it's terrible.

Reading about how hard Tara Cardinal worked to get this very poor movie onto DVD reminded me so much of an episode of 'Mad Men' where a dopey millionaire comes to the ad agency with piles of cash asking them to market a sport that everyone knows is going to flop. In a rare moment of honesty & compassion, Don Draper tells him something along the lines of 'it's good to have a dream, but not this one'. Somebody should have said the same to Tara Cardinal.

I made an account to warn of how bad this is

[denzil-newman · 1/10 · 12 August 2014]

This was in the top 10 DVD charts in Asda, I liked the look of the box art so bought it... It is truly the absolutely worst film I have ever seen. To put this into context, I managed to enjoy Starship Troopers 2.

This has the most poorly constructed storyline, and script writing I have ever seen. The repeated use of of dramatic posing, replayed again and again the constant use of dream sequence segments used over and over. The audio which you can hear in a single dialogue being cut half way through, dubbed with a studio recording then back to the scene recording again.

I feel thoroughly ripped off. It belongs in the 99p store - on a 2 for the price of one offer. The phrase "Watching paint dry" should be replaced with "Watching Red Reaper" because watching paint dry would be less tedious.

Honestly, I think it was misleading for Asda to sell this in the "Entertainment" section, I might demand my money back.

Very similar to Bloodrayne, but can't reach it

[pontram · 15 April 2014]

I would really like to give this a better rating, but sadly, I can't. I don't know if the good reviews here are coming from friendship or adoring Tara Cardinal, but they aren't to be taken seriously.

Sorry Miss Cardinal, you had a lot of troubles to bring this project to life, and you did a big job, given the circumstances, and you had really a lot on your shoulders, but in the end the movie didn't turn out well.

It reminds me of some productions from Romania about Vampires, but we all know, those aren't good movies. Blood Rayne itself is in my opinion much more watchable. Still, there are other similarities than story and red-headed vampire heroine, particularly when it comes to common weaknesses. But that's another topic and is not to be questioned here.

The sword fights here are too slow, there is not much to enjoy with the action scenes. They are far away from their announced greatness, and when I remember "Monty Python And The Holy Grail" decades ago, the action there had more impact.

Of course, for insiders or dedicated fans, and those who can actually oversee the flaws by knowing how low the budget was, the movie may be fun, but for one who is spoiled by modern fantasy productions (and willing to close one and a half eye) it is disappointing.

Especially the big bad enemy, who should be at least a dark, disturbing one, he is only a weak Wraith Clone (Stargate Atlantis). White hair and a electronically manipulated voice isn't enough (since 20 years or so) to give a frightening impression.

All post-production done for this movie in an attempt to give it a little atmosphere, a more modern look, will be useless until there is the harsh decision made to cut out at least 20 minutes of footage, to fasten the pacing and to eliminate bad scenes. Furthermore, the story has to be straightened in the process and disburdened from several dead weight. For instance, the envious sister of Aella could probably be eliminated since she has no impact on the story. I personally think that at least partially a new soundtrack would help. And even then, I don't know if those efforts would be sufficient. But I recently watched a movie where the soundtrack was about 60% of what it made watchable, so....

"Legend of the Read Reaper" was not the worst movie I have ever seen. It's not even among them. But frankly, it's rare for me to rate only 3.

Worst film I've ever seen

[lcanning-77-804152 · 1/10 · 11 August 2014]

This is without a doubt the worst film I have ever seen. I purchased it purely based on the DVD case, which is I assume where the 3.8million budget went because it certainly didn't go on the film.

The acting was diabolical from the start. I would compare it to the type of acting you might expect of university students, but then that would be doing an injustice to students.

The amount of slow-motion used for no good reason is laughable. Where slow-motion wasn't used the same snippets of film were used again and again... If that wasn't bad enough the 'special effects' seemed to consist of making the scene purple, as if a child had just been introduced to Photoshop and was playing with the filters.

It's just bad. Don't bother. Really.

The review that compares it to an adult film, without the adult content is spot on.

P.S. The imagery they have used on the DVD case isn't even in the film!

Legend of the Red Reaper Premiere

[cellynyfl · 9/10 · 1 September 2013]

Last night, I was invited and purchased tickets to the world premiere screening of Legend of the Red Reaper. I must say that, in addition to the cast/crew being totally amazing and talented, that the story written and directed by Tara Cardinal, completely entertained & excited me!!

There are so many wonderful bits to this movie that did it for me. But the thing that most stood out was the story/plot. I love the main character, The Red Reaper, played by Tara Cardinal! She brought to life the story of a reaper that is half human, half demon. A woman struggling to discover who she is, what her purpose in life is. A woman in love, in transition, searching for a place in the world she lives in.

As the story unfolds, you learn about how this reaper's life began, what has brought her to the current state of the world she lives in and what has brought her world to the distress of the here and now. The Red Reaper, along with the characters of her two different worlds, takes you on a journey of self discovery, action, romance and drama. You go on the ride with all of them to an amazing adventure!

I don't want to give too much away....but totally recommend, that if you have the opportunity to see this movie, run to see it! You will be caught up in the world of Reapers and Demons and never be bored for a moment! Something in this movie for all genres of movie watchers! Congratulations and thank you to Tara Cardinal and her amazing cast/crew for a wonderful night of entertainment!! All the best to them, they deserve it! Sincerely, Celeste M.

Heed the warnings of others

[snakepaws · 1/10 · 6 January 2018]

I wanted to like this film. I saw the reviews, but went into it anyway with an open mind.

Now, I can usually find SOMETHING about a film to like. In this case, there is an okay concept buried in there somewhere deep. Bad acting and bad effects can be forgiven if there's some meat; some substance. But this film is just so painfully, dreadfully, boring and slow. Just when it feels like it's starting to wrap up, you realize there's still roughly 40 minutes left. By the time things "pick up" (in the loosest sense), most people will have already checked out.

This movie is a paradox. It's like they tried so hard, yet not at all.

When the credits roll, you find Uwe Boll's name listed immediately as one of the executive producers, and it somehow all finally comes together and starts to make sense in some sort of cosmic way.

It's as if someone took what could have honestly been a decent 20 minute fantasy short film and extrapolated it to a 100 minute runtime - while doing absolutely nothing with that extra time AT ALL.

I would only recommend this film to the friends and family of the people that made it. And I doubt they will be friends or family after viewing it.

No Spoilers

[pahvou · 1/10 · 12 August 2019]

To start it would be impossible to write a review about this movie that contained any kind of spoiler. You need some sort of plot or a story line which this movie completely lacks. I watched 30 minutes and it was like watching 30 minutes of 20 second trailers over and over and over. It never really started and I doubt it really ever ended. What is also bothersome is they claim it had a budget of 3.8 million dollars. With that much money you could actually make a real movie, even a bad movie, and this movie doens't even rate that high.

This is one of those movies that sprung up on Tubi, so there was no cost involved with the exception of 30 minutes of my life which could have been better spent with a brain freeze eating a snow cone.

Bloodrayne with 10% of the budget (Seriously! I did da math thing)

[daniel-mannouch · 2/10 · 20 May 2019]

The Legend of the Red Reaper is a project of either vanity or insanity or both, from Producer, Writer, Director, star, Tara Cardinal. It is truly something.

As a piece of storytelling, when you can understand it that is, it is ambitious, complex and feels intensely personal. If this film is anything to go by, Cardinal is, at the least, a sincere artist with a strong vision.

As a piece of filmmaking though, Red Reaper is abysmal with some of shoddiest post-production work i've seen in any modern picture. I won't harp upon the acting as you gage it's awfulness from the trailer alone. What really needs to be reported from the feature length experience is the atrocious editing. I've never seen colour grading this bad with it's high contrast tones and needless vignetting that is so oppressive, it makes me question whether it's the editors or the cinematographer who are really to blame for this film's extremely amateur aesthetic as the framing as well is terrible, but is even that down to poor blocking? I don't know. This film fails on so many levels.

There is no doubt that a terribly run production and desperate post-production fixes are all that make Red Reaper. Continuity editing is ripped to shreds because most scenes in the film are missing large swathes of coverage and are cut like a bloody montage because there was nothing to fill the gaps. Red Reaper was conceived with just only scraps of people's time and money and is held together with nothing but chewing gum and rubber bands.

It is heartbreaking almost, as this definitely was a passion project for Tara Cardinal, and Red Reaper does have a strong graphic novel feel going towards it (the dvd cover is terrific). However, this is a film, not a novel. The written word might be something else, but what i saw was a film that is the worst example of action fantasy filmmaking i've ever seen. And from a guy who has seen James Cagney impersonating bridge trolls do the can can (SHE 1982), you can take my word to the bank, and save yourself 50p.

21st Century Ed Wood

[ckbtao · 1/10 · 20 July 2015]

Tara Cardinal (a goofy name might work if she did porn) wrote, directed and starred in this monstrosity about--just what is it about? Endless building-ups that lead nowhere, flashbacks of flashbacks of flashbacks, the same scenes of people walking/running around (something that happens constantly through this mess) being replayed like some GIF loop. This actress is neither tough, smart, or sexy enough to pull off the role she created for herself (though she does have the red hair, at least), and most of the 'acting' is as tedious as the dialogue and 'plotline'. It's really a marvel that someone can put something so bad together and expect other humans to actually sit through it. Oh, and Ewe Boll (another name linked with the immortal Ed Wood) was executive producer. Give this to someone you hate for Xmas.

This is the worst piece of garbage I have ever seen in my life

[helloman911777 · 1/10 · 21 November 2014]

I created this account for the sole purpose of making a comment to this piece of garbage. Whether you pay with money for this film is irrelevant, what it will cost you in disgust for this insult to cinema is not worth it.

The movie gets 1 star for having an interesting idea for a story line. The story line is garbage, don't get me wrong, but it was an interesting premise that they messed up. I like fantasy films, I like sword and sandal films, and I like epics. This had all the exact categories of movie I like, and has lead me to believe I don't actually like those categories of film in themselves, I just like well made films.

The fight scenes are pathetic. The music is the most horrible part about this thing, they repeat the same horrible effect again and again at random scenes, and then random ultra annoying music plays that has no bearing on the scene.

The acting was loathsome. In every aspect, and everyone.

Most of the movie is this: scenes of people running, scenes of people walking in chains, repeats of scenes that preceded the current one, again and again and again, and flashes of a guy with white hair, and him making evil faces.

I tried skipping through the scenes like that to get to the story line, and it was completely not worth it, and the film gets cut to about 20 mins of garbage.

There is almost no way a film can screw up like this film. Any sort of emotion in the film is so horribly forced, and the script so horribly cheesy and atrociously executed, that you have to cringe, which is difficult while you're double cringing from the acting and the music.

My initial impression was that the main character put out to get the job, along with the script writer, but from the comments here, she is the one who directed and wrote it, so whoever gave her the money to make this was either insane or got what he paid for.

I would go through the film and recall each detail of it to destroy it here, but I would rather never to watch a movie again then have to watch this. To critics that have to watch it again, be strong.

I had to edit this after reading the obvious reviews from the cast here **Spoiler alert** from here on: "This "strength" is extended to many of the characters in REAPER, male and female alike. Female reapers are equal to their men, warriors all. Aella does not compromise who she is for Eris. She has body issues because of her demon blood, but as for her skills, her passion, and even her rage she gives no apologies to the man she loves. He loves her with all her fluidity, not despite it."

That's right. It's not a movie, and they don't even bother to pretend now. It's just politics.

Amateur movie with no soul

[JaBuTaBu · 2/10 · 8 November 2014]

I had a chance to watch this movie at Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo as I was waiting for another event and decided to kill some time and check out this indie film. All I can say is... for an event like Comikaze... What the heck were they thinking on letting this be shown at a respectable comic book convention of this magnitude?!?! Let's get down to business: The creator of this movie is very attractive, which probably what got her to be able to get the help she needed in order to do this movie. It gets even better, not only did she created this but directed, starred, apparently edited (which shows), as well as written this, a book and comic for it... My only response is, she should have focused at one thing at a time before trying to assume that she can bank on its "success". There is only so much brain power one can do at a time.

The movie itself is very bad quality... as in like it's obvious that certain scenes are from different cameras and probably royalty free footage here and there to give that "grand" feel that we are in a giant world of forest. The transitions are just so forced and doesn't really ease or please the eyes as the movie progresses. The acting is flat bad and you cannot relate to the characters. The action is... meh. The only thing that was OK was the music. Overall 2/10.

I am not against female leads or heroes and love indie films. But I found Lucy, Buffy, Xena and Underworld much more better and entertaining than this movie. Though I am not a girl, I can at least relate a bit to those female leads as well as having a little crush for them.

This movie just fails... and after the event I decided to research more about Tara Cardinal and this movie and was glad to not be the only one who hated it. I am very surprised that Uwe Boll's name is attached as Executive Producer... I bet him and the other cast & crew are very embarrassed and ashamed for being a part of this so called "movie" and why it wasn't promoted by them. Tara seemed to have done all the work on promoting it as well as herself... attention craving much? Let's talk about her real quick: Apparently she has credits in acting. There are articles that interviewed her and all of them are all very similar... Tara thinks that by making us feel sorry for her will we be able to watch this movie and forgive its flaws as well as understand it better... Honestly, this made the opposite happen... Not only did it make me feel uncomfortable as a viewer, but it clearly shows how desperate she is on trying to become a celebrity...

If you are going to do anything... focus on the positive, make yourself a better leader as well as crafting your art to be as near perfection as possible... Tara lacked all of these, which she quickly blamed on others (immature much?). All I can say is, if you are going to represent yourself and/ or a project... at least make sure it will not damage your reputation before showing it to everyone. If I were her, I would have scrapped this project and start everything from scratch. Better to take a loss than salvaging a doomed project to begin with.

In conclusion, Don't waste your time. Don't waste your money. Don't judge a book by its cover. This movie is false advertising at its best. The creator herself may look pretty... but lacks true heart & soul of a real actor and/or film maker.

The Director's Cut was better

[kevin-glasgow69 · 2/10 · 2 November 2014]

I saw a screening of this movie at Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo in Nov. 2014.

The director and star, Tara Cardinal introduced the movie (a few mins late), no big deal), and stated that the screening was the "Director's Cut" in which 20 minutes of movie was cut to make it run at 80 minutes. I think the movie would have been better if she cut perhaps...80 more minutes.

Tara is beautiful and she is a treat to look at. She's even better looking in person than she is on film. Gorgeous! Its her looks alone that earned my second star rating. It's clearly her looks that was able to obtain the funding to make this movie. Without her, it's a one-star film.

Worst film I have ever seen

[wobbledywook · 1/10 · 25 December 2014]

If I could, I would give this film a rating of -10 (minus 10).

It is truly the worst film I have ever seen. I can't believe anyone could waste their time putting together such garbage.

The plot is ridiculous, the casting appalling, and the cinematography is beyond horrible. It was obviously edited by a drunken troll. I can't believe how many times the same bit of footage was repeated; not in one instance, but in far, far too many instances. The film presumes that the viewer is not only stupid, but also blind.

The film seems to have been created by a demented third-grader as a deliberate insult to potential viewers.

Please, please do not waste you time on this stinking pile of absolutely horrible garbage.

As a service to humanity, every single copy should be piled up and burned.

High Marks All Around

[michelleshepley · 10/10 · 5 September 2013]

From the legendary looks and across the board talent of the Tara Cardinal along with epic pacing, story line, and imagery this film sets itself up to win from the start. If you are wanting to see the next strong woman you must see her on the silver screen. High marks on everything from make-up, stunts, story, to the entire cast. An instant classic that is sure to become a must watch and own for all fantasy fans.

Break out the pop corn and get ready to see an epic story with this movie. This red haired warrior maiden will carry you off to a world of strength and honor. She has found her purpose and nothing is going to stand in her way except maybe herself.

I didn't believe it could be THAT bad!

[kddhr · 1/10 · 22 September 2019]

I watched this because I didn't believe it could actually be as bad as the reviews say. Boy was I wrong! This is actually the worst movie I've ever seen and I've seen some real stinkers. If it weren't for the narration throughout the movie, you would never know what is going on, but truthfully I didn't ever know. Please don't watch this movie! Trust the reviews from the people that aren't friends with Tara Cardinal. This may well be the worst movie ever made!!

This is no human

[nogodnomasters · 4/10 · 20 January 2018]

The poor development of the plot requires frequent narration. The Red Reaper (Tara Cardinal) who is half human, half demon was sold into slavery to the demons by her mother (Eliza Swenson). She prattles on about prophecy and battle with the demons and protecting humans, but the early story is about her love for Eris (David Mackey) and the competition for his hand.

The attempts at humor were pitiful. The writing was bad. The fighting choreography was ridiculous. Red is very "girly" in her moves and it is hard to imagine her as a fighter. There are flashbacks to torture. The demon scales on her back seem to be an issue. She has a recovery scene that was long and boring. Difficult to sit through.

Favorite line: "Using my pants as a tourniquet was a good idea."

Has some unintended cheese value. Not worth renting.

Parental Guide: No f-bombs, sex, or nudity.

A film all about myself, starring... myself with beautiful scenery

[amandafletcher-29613 · 1/10 · 24 January 2020]

I think the title is a decent summary. There is some comedic value in this movie but it's not "so bad it's good".

Jokes aside, I give Tara full marks for getting things done and putting herself out there, I just wonder if some collaboration with others might have improved this film because some of the ingredients had real potential... The scenery, sets and costumes were well above par for a B grade movie. I bet whomever was in charge of those things was completely mortified.

A blue movie without the fun

[tmccorkhill · 1/10 · 5 June 2022]

Yeah, it's pretty bad like an adult movie without the titillating content. This is in fact, my first written review here for it's also the first movie I have rated a one and have been a member for many, many years. Now, I'm just trying to write one hundred fifty characters so I can save this review tonight. Which is a Saturday night in June twenty twenty two. After nine pm.