Kolory zla. Czerwien – ‘Colors of Evil: Red’ Review
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Director: Adrian Panek
Writers: Lukasz M. Maciejewski, Adrian Panek, Malgorzata Oliwia Sobczak
When a young woman’s naked body is washed up on a beach, autopsy reveals she was brutally killed in the same manner as another murder victim from 15 years ago. An ambitious prosecutor begins to dig deeper into the case and teams up with the victim’s mother to unearth the truth when he discovers an uncannily sinister connection between the cases.
The Polish thriller “Colors of Evil: Red” (Original title: Kolory zła. Czerwień) stars Jakub Gierszał as the honest, upright law enforcement officer Leopold Bilski, who is intent on finding the true culprit behind Monica Bogucka’s (Zofia Jastrzębska) murder even after an arrest is made and the case is closed. He works with Monica’s mother, Helena Bogucka (Maja Ostaszewska), who is also convinced her daughter’s killer is still out there. The club where Monica worked becomes the primary focus of their investigation, and as more clues emerge, Leopold begins to suspect there might be many more victims.
Those who find sexual violence upsetting, will have an uncomfortable time watching “Colors of Evil: Red”, even though director Adrian Panek sparingly steers the tale with stark graphic visuals, instead letting characters describe several of the grisly details of how the victims were savagely murdered and even that made me flinch. It’s one of the rare times when I was thankful the creator chose to “tell” some of the plot details instead of showing them.
What happened to Monica Bogucka in the weeks before her death is shown in flashbacks, with Zofia Jastrzębska portraying a beautiful, confident barkeep who becomes involved with the wrong kind of men. The fact that Monica’s mother is a judge and her father a lawyer immediately establishes what seems like an annoying power paradox in the tale, which is explained in the second half but isn’t entirely convincing.
Maja Ostaszewska delivers an emotionally rousing performance as Helena, who completely breaks down after Monica’s death but then picks herself up and starts seeking justice for her daughter. However, one would have expected her character, as a seasoned judge, to exhibit more grit, sass, and fortitude instead of the jittery demeanor portrayed under the direction. Przemyslaw Bluszcz as a deviant crime boss Lukasz Kazarski AKA ‘Kazar’, one of the antagonists in “Colors of Evil: Red” is intimidatingly good. Despite limited screen-time, he manages to leave a disturbing impression as a drunk-on-power kingpin who thinks he is invincible.
At 1 hour and 51 minutes, “Colors of Evil: Red” maintains a steady pace throughout most of its runtime, presenting a straightforward yet disturbing murder mystery due to the gory nature of the killings. However, the climax introduces a surprisingly tragic twist that isn’t adequately foreshadowed, but at least gives a conclusive ending and closure to the investigation. The film raises pertinent questions about sexual violence against women without providing answers, which may prove frustrating and difficult for some viewers. Nonetheless, it is an intriguing one-time watch for thriller fans.
Rating: 6.5 on 10. You can stream “Colors of Evil: Red” on Netflix.
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