Deep Red (1994)

Not bad sci-fi with a touch of film noir, focusing on a haunted, weary character named Joe Keyes (Michael Biehn), a "protector" for hire who's approached by a researcher, Warren Rickman (Tobin Bell) and his family for protection from Rickmans' villainous associate Thomas Newmeyer (John de Lancie), a renowned scientist eager to exploit a unique find: a tiny alien spaceship, part of a bigger one that was blown up in a space battle, that hurtles down to Earth and enters a little girls' bloodstream. This gives her healing / regenerating abilities, and the "deep reds" inside of the child can also be passed on to other people and help them maintain youthful appearances. One can see why Newmeyer would find this "fountain of youth" so alluring. Keyes has to pull himself together long enough to keep Rickmans' wife (Lisa Collins) and daughter (Lindsey Haun), the aforementioned child, safe.Capably directed by Craig R. Baxley ("Action Jackson", "Dark Angel", "Stone Cold"), this is slick enough stuff that entertains well enough for a well paced 85 minutes. It sets itself up with an obvious "Star Wars" homage, then becomes a mystery into which the character of Keyes is dropped. It takes a while before characters start spilling the vital information that Keyes needs to hear. The action, stunts, and special effects are well done. The largely familiar cast also includes such folk as the lovely Joanna Pacula as Keyes' associate Monica Quik, Michael Des Barres as his good friend Lew Ramirez, John Kapelos as grudge bearing cop Mack Waters, Steven Williams as the helpful Detective Sergeant Eldon James, and in a bit, veteran actor Jesse Vint, who'd acted in "Dark Angel" for director Baxley. De Lancie is an effectively nasty villain, but this agreeable bit of escapism really belongs to the under-rated Biehn, who's believable as a depressed man who despairs over an imperfect world that allows tragedies to happen.All in all, this should prove to be some fun for fans of the genre.Seven out of 10.

I've seen this movie many times and I think it's great. Sci-fi/film noir, how can you go wrong? Michael Biehn, John De Lancie, Steven Williams were all terrific. The effects were pretty good considering the budget (Less than $3M). Not enough humor maybe, but intriguing just the same. But then, I have a vested interest, don't I?

Home alone and a die hard Scifi-fan. Vaguely triggered by the name of Biehn in the TV-guide. Apart from the apparent alien 'reds'(a bacteria-sort-of-thing that extends life-expectancy), it feels more like looking at a Micky Spilane-like detective. A p.i. who tries to save a little girl from a mad professor and saves his tormented soul in the process.But it was good fun watching it.

Finally got around to watching my tape of the film being shown on BBC. At first I didn't recognise Michael Biehn and was about to trash it, but then I did and, on the basis of really enjoying him in Aliens, I watch Deep Red.Well at the end of ~90 minutes, I wouldn't say I was mentally challenged, but I'd still recommend it as a basic enjoyable movie -if you're into sci-fi, nanotechnology, and the good guy winning.