Code REDD an impressive action spectacle

JOEL Moss has been writing for the past 13 years, spending most of his time on short stories and poetry. When he got the opportunity to work on a film script he got bitten by the screenwriting bug. So he decided to write an action movie that highlighted the very real world scourge of human trafficking.

His script went on to become the feature-length crime/action/drama Code REDD, for which Moss also served as director and producer.

The film is scheduled to have its world premiere on September 13 at MovieTowne, Port of Spain, as part of the TT Film Festival. Newsday attended a small viewing of the film last week at FilmTT, Long Circular Road, St James.

Back in 2018, Moss and his company Trance Entertainment Studios did their first project, writing the script for a film called Fragments which unfortunately was shelved.

"I tried my hand at the script and it wasn't too bad. And I was like, 'I can do this.'"

Moss then came up with Code REDD, the story of two private detectives who take on a job for a shady businessman and become involved with a crime boss and a deadly human-trafficking ring.

The process, from conception to final edit, took about a year. One initial challenge was that the cameraman for the project decided he wanted to do camerawork full time – and abandoned filming.

"So we had to buy a camera, and I and the cast in the road trying to figure out how to turn the thing on. So we literally started from scratch. So Code REDD is everything."

Overall the film was very entertaining, especially for a first-time effort, and even features some surprising plot twists. The highlight was the action scenes which were surprisingly well shot and choreographed. They are definitely among the best of local films and could even rival some Hollywood fare. There are car chases, multiple shoot-outs and visceral hand-to-hand combat. The film does not shy away from showing the violence: there are blood sprays from bullet wounds and dripping blood from slashes and stab wounds. In this aspect it is very much a throwback to the more violent action films of the 70s and 80s.

Asked about the fight choreography, Moss said they had a lot of rehearsals and a lot of practice to make it look as legitimate as possible, and got some assistance from a cast member who teaches self-defence training.

The guns in the film look very realistic, but Moss explained they bought toys and spray-painted them. They had limited guns, however, and had to move them around if there were multiple guns in a scene.

As a first-time director he was not aware of some of the rules and regulations about filming. While he was shooting in Chaguaramas, police officers visited the set and asked him if he had permission to film there. When he told them no, they asked him if he was crazy.

The crew shot all over the country, including San Fernando, Moss's home town, as well as a campsite in Siparia.

Code REDD includes a couple of experienced actors: Stephen Hadeed Jr (Pendulum, Moving Parts), who is just so good at playing the bad guy, and Gary Moore (The Cutlass). Moss put out a casting call in February but the production crew found only one actor through that process. So Moss "dragged" friends and family into the film.

Code REDD's leads Dechland Connor and Jonathan McIntosh, who play private detectives Devaughn Drake and Richard Evans respectively, are energetic and charismatic and help carry the film. Jeremy McIntosh also does a good job as corrupt businessman Randolph Shaw and Adrian Sammy-Manohar is gangster Victor "Primo" Prime. Brent Maynard is also memorable as the ruthless mercenary Conrad Trask.

Moss wrote in local dialect and allowed the actors to put his text in their own words, which proved helpful, as the inexperienced actors found it difficult to remember lines. On the look of the characters, he said he was going for a Miami Vice look and feel that would be both local and Caribbean.

And why did he choose human trafficking as the main theme of the film? Moss decided he did not want to make an action movie for "entertainment sake," but wanted to feature a message as well. In his day job he's a TSTT police officer, and he said being in law enforcement, he found human trafficking very prevalent. He recalled a newspaper reporting last year that 517 children had been reported missing from January to May.

"This is crazy."

In his director's statement Moss said: "Human trafficking is an issue that continues to go unresolved here in TT, especially as our country is still not fully compliant with world standard regulations that deals with human trafficking victims. Code REDD sheds light on the human trafficking issue, the murky and dangerous world in which it exists and the unsung heroes who risk it all to dismantle the illicit trade in human lives."

He sought financing for the film, but instead of attracting sponsorship, the topic of human trafficking appeared to repel potential sponsors. Moss ended up funding the entire film himself and going thousands of dollars into debt.

The first cut of the film was about an hour long, as Moss did not know the stipulation for cinemas was one hour and 15 minutes. The team went back and added footage and the film now clocks in at about one hour and 40 minutes.

As well as everything else, Moss learned to edit while making the movie, which he found a difficult but fun experience.

What's next after the film premiere? Moss has written a sequel, as well as eight one-hour episodes for a planned television series, and this time he is hoping to get financing for the projects.

For more information you can check the Code REDD Facebook page.