Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Red Sands is a pretty entertaining supernatural horror movie about a group of soldiers who encounter an evil spirit in the deserts of Afghanistan. I didn't find the movie to have any kind of underlying political agenda, so it's not a thinly disguised anti-war film or anything like that. Instead, it's just a low budget horror movie with a few cool scenes.

I liked this movie, but it could have been a lot better had it not given away most everything in the beginning. It opens with a soldier (Shane West) being questioned about a recent mission where he was the only survivor. After that, it flashes back two weeks to show what happened. I hate it when storytellers kick off a book or movie this way. You know right from the beginning that all but one person is going to die, so then it becomes a waiting game and there are no surprises.

While on a reconnaissance mission, a small group of soldiers stumbles upon an old carving in the side of a cliff. One of the men says something about the legend of djinns in Arab culture, then another guy shoots the carving and it crumbles down onto the ground. That night, while the men are holed up in an abandoned building to avoid a sand storm, a strange Arab woman shows up at the door. The men then start seeing weird visions and then the first guy disappears.

Although this is best classified as a horror movie, I didn't find it to be very scary. There are a couple of creepy moments, but you can usually see the jumps coming and so I wasn't taken by surprise. I did like how it used psychological terror a lot as their sensibilities unraveled. The characters don't really do much to endear you to them, but that's not a big deal since you already know most of them aren't going to survive.

What I liked about this movie was how it made a convincing effort of depicting soldiers in the Middle East. This was a very low budget movie, but there was a scene involving a small military base that looked good and the scenes in the abandoned building seemed pretty well done. The special effects weren't all that great, but they weren't terrible, either. It was no worse than what you might see on a TV show like Stargate SG1. I was glad that they kept the CGI to a minimum.

The way in which the story was told really cheated itself because it gave away too much too soon. You know within the first five minutes that most everyone is going to die, and halfway through the movie you already know who the villain is and what they are doing. After that, it's just a matter of watching the characters die off, one at a time, until the one guy you already know will survive is the last one left. The story does somewhat redeem itself in the last few minutes, if you're willing to stay with it until the end.

This really is not an action movie although it does have some gunplay. There is some gore, but not any big fight scenes. The worst deaths occur off screen, but you will get to see the bloody aftermath. The dialogue was extremely profane and loaded with various cuss words, dirty jokes, and racial slurs. There's even a rape scene, plus some nudity. It definitely earned its R rating.

The cast doesn't have any big name stars, but you'll recognize many of the faces. The lead is played by Shane West, who is perhaps best known from the TV show ER and the movie League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The staff sergeant is played by Leonard Roberts, who you may recognize from Heroes and a variety of TV show appearances. I recognized several other cast members from character actor type roles or television shows. Also of note is a brief cameo by J.K. Simmons, who is perhaps best known from his role in the Spider-Man movies as Peter Parker's fast-talking boss.

Despite some flaws in the narrative structure, I still got a kick out of watching Red Sands. It's an original story with a few strong scenes, and I think it was very well made for a low budget production.

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age