The Nain Rouge Murders (Short)
Some filmmakers just have an innate ability to scare the crap out of you. I would put Jeremiah Kipp in that category, and he and co-producer Ari Rossen have done a successful job of that in the nine, quick minutes of the docu-drama. Here, they and screenwriter Joe Fiorillo weave together a narrative of missing people, and brutal murder, surrounding the legend of the Nain Rouge, or “Red Dwarf,” a creature in the Detroit area that, it is said, appears in a prelude to misfortune. We hear from reporters, council members, and local residents, and see footage from the 2014 parade that was shot by a local girl, Melinda Sanchez, who was murdered along with two other people that year. We hear about the legend, and see images, that paint the picture of the Nain Rouge, and how it has been linked to some of the most significant moments in the city’s history. It’s a wickedly entertaining treat, made during a time where such legends feel closer to us than ever, allowing Kipp, Rossen and Fioillo to tap into one of those most important values of horror cinema- its ability to help us put our real-life anxieties into a work of art that allows us to articulate them, and ease them for a time.
