A smartphone app drives teens to their deaths in the new Netflix series Red Rose. According to reviews, the teen horror is definitely worth tuning in to.
If you want to kick the habit of smartphones and maybe the internet as a whole, you should watch Red Rose. The horror series has been streaming on Netflix since 15 February and is about an app that systematically destroys teens’ lives.
But are the eight episodes of Red Rose worth it? And do you ever want to talk to a smart speaker again afterwards? Here you can find an overview of the reviews for the horror series.
Red rose on Netflix has got me unplugging my Google home…it’s that scary pic.twitter.com/3iN0xKhrYv
– CiCi (@badbitcci) February 17, 2023
What’s the new Netflix horror series about?
Red Rose was created by the sex education company Eleven and originally produced for the British BBC, where it aired last August. Just like the Netflix hit, it deals with teenagers – but in a much darker context.
At the beginning, there is a tragedy. Young Alyssa, from a privileged family, is terrorised by smart-home technology in her home, as a result of which she takes her own life. In a poorer part of the northern English town of Bolton, schoolgirl Rochelle Mason (Isis Hainsworth) and her friends celebrate the end of the school year. Unlimited freedom and a summer without school stress should be in store for them. But then Rochelle downloads an app called Red Rose onto her smartphone.
She has no idea of the malicious power behind the app that will throw her life and the lives of her friends into chaos. For the app sends traumatising images, writes false messages to others and uses ubiquitous technology for manipulation and fear. But what is behind it?
The Ring for the smartphone age: What do the critics say about Red Rose?
For a horror series on Netflix, the reviews have been surprisingly positive so far. On aggregators Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, the British series boasts 100 percent and 75 points respectively, though that could change as more reviews come in.
Nadira Goffe at Slate thinks Red Rose gets the general obsession with smartphones right and delivers a refreshing update on smart horror:
