User reviews

My husband and I enjoyed this. There was a fairly interesting premise and some good characters however like with a lot of series nowadays are stretched into too many episodes. The 8 could have been condensed to 5 or 6 and then it would have been greatly improved. The episode which seems to just be about getting their exam results was not great.

The first two and last two were decent. The others dragged a bit.

We did feel that the acting was good and they did feel like genuine teenagers and it felt authentic that they were from Bolton and wasn't just like every other teen drama that seems to be based in london.

The characters also had a great bond and each one was distinct and interesting.

An ok way to pass the time, not life changing but also doesn't deserve the incredibly harsh reviews. Could 2 hours have been cut out of it though? Yes absolutely.

Made by the same company as 'Sex Education' this is a very different beast and no comedy. Yes its a bunch of teens at odds with the world and themselves - but this is a coming of age horror story set in Bolton. For once its not a bunch of rich kids at a posh Academy down south.

Made for BBC3 its now also going out on BBC1 which shows its well thought of. The budget is obviously tight but it was well made and it was generally well cast. Best friends and principals Wren and Rochelle played by Amelia Clarkson and Isis Hainsworth are both excellent actors.

The storyline is interesting and grabbed me. Rochelle downloads the 'red rose app' hoping to boost her confidence with it, but it soon begins to become controlling and events start to take a much darker turn.

This is one to enjoy and safely roll with if you like the first episode. I'm in.

Before I begin my review I just want to reiterate this new idea from IMDb whereby all reviews must contain 600 characters this to me is ridiculous as there are certain shows series that are so bad it is very difficult to write that much in a review without listing individual plot holes etc which is something I do not like to do! So I end up waffling inherently just to fulfill the required characters.

This show had a good start dark mysterious humour I found the characters as end of school kids good and the acting was good, story wise it was a bit strange and there were many flaws in its production and writing mainly due to the strange story and how the kids reacted which on many occasion was bizzare and not what you would expect any level headed teen to do or act! Due to that you can not expect a good ending so I wasn't surprised at the lameness of the ending either! If you don't expect much and don't look to much into the story it is passable entertainment only. Seems the BBC is hit an£ miss with its drama sadly this is one of its misses ! For a Hit BBC drama I would opt for the Capture imo.

After she downloads an app called Red Rose, life spirals out of control for teenage girl Rochelle, who's phone seems to have a life of its own, others download it, and have to discover who's behind it to stay alive.

It's an enjoyable, fast moving psychedelic horror series, I was impressed by the tone of it, the acting and the pacing. It really does get darker and more twisted as it develops, the final trio of episodes were the best patch for me.

What was interesting, was the anonymity of the villains, nameless, faceless, and lacking any degree of morality.

Initially I just saw it as The BBC doing a Netflix type series, similar to Eden or Scream, but it has its own identity, it's twisted and macabre at times, it had me gripped.

Well written, well crafted, I liked the mix of horror, humour drama and action, it surprised me how good it actually was, so much so that I binge watched it in a day.

7/10.

The show is ok. I don't agree with the haters or with reviewers that gave this show a very high rating. It's between 6 to 7 depending on your age and expectations.

I think it is more suitable for young teenagers who are just starting to watch the horror genre. It's also ok if you're just looking to pass the time with an ok horror show. It's not for viewers who are looking for something original, innovative or spectacular. The storyline isn't new, it's been done many times before. There's also very little violence and gore so I think they really were aiming for a younger audience. It can be entertaining if you don't expect much.

The story although predictable is fine. Sure, it's not very realistic and the characters aren't very deep, they do stupid things like every other teenager in every other horror movie, but what else is new? There are some plot holes and unanswered questions at the end but nothing that should really bother the viewer since the storyline is fairly simple. Yes, it could have been better but no, it doesn't suck. My advice is this: if you are an experienced viewer in the horror genre that is looking for something really scary/gory/original then skip this one but if you're a newbie or if you're just looking for some horror entertainment then give this one a chance and see for yourself if you like it or not.

One last note, I really like Adam Nagaitis. He is an excellent actor and he was great in here too!

First and second episode were pretty good and had the makings of something interesting and scary, but the show quickly fell into sloppy, lazy writing and then devolved further until it was relying upon the basic cardinal sin of having characters make stupid decisions and/or not talking to one another properly in order to drive the plot forward. Even though the group of protagonists is supposed to be a Goonies-esque tight crew of friends, they somehow managed to be randomly stumbling around by themselves in various situations right up to the final episode, due to the bad writing and poorly planned or outright nonsensical motivations forcing them into ever more unlikely and dimwitted scenarios to force some level of suspense.

About halfway through the run I realised it was going to be a disappointment, but even still I didn't expect how shambolic the final episodes would turn out. Really, really bad.

On a positive note the writers did manage to create some excellent one-off scenes, but the overall narrative and writing around them was simply too poor and lazy, with the show descending into cringeworthy farce when Red Rose is finally exposed for what it is in the final couple of episodes.

Overall I'd not recommend anyone waste their time with this. It actually reflects poorly on Sex Education that it's the same writing team.

Red Rose: Another Killer APP, is a well worn trope but Red Rose takes a fresh approach, always surprising in its twists and turns. I was really impressed at the way the plot developed. Some good scenes of horror but it's mostly psychological. A group of teen friends in a grim northern UK town, Bolton, finish school and await their exam results. It's really grim and I don't just mean the Horror APP, which is effective. It's the grinding poverty and hard lives of some of the characters. It's as if Ken Loach is directing/writing it. There are the usual teen traumas, some bullying, heartbreak over romances, family problems, but this feeds into the narrative rather than providing a sideshow, We;ve already seen a girl die due to the APP Red Rose, and now it turns up on the phone of one of the teens. Strange events follow, there is apparent communication with dead people, phones send disturbing/troublemaking messages seemingly at will. Red Rose knows what everyone is doing, where they are. The death toll mounts as the series veers between Fantasy and Science Fiction (but always Horror) as the APP manipulates more people. Great acting from an ensemble cast. Created and written by Michael and Paul Clarkson. Eight episodes on Netflix. 8/10.

I have watched similar series like Red Rose and probably is not the best of the genre but still watchable.

First, acting is correct but not great. Sometimes it looks like some of the actors are overacting. Anyway, nothing is perfect and the soundtrack is great here. It is pretty funny to watch Gen Z dancing my 90's favorite songs. Not real because nowadays youngsters only listen reggaeton lol. So, not real but fun.

Second, the script is predictable and not great. Just mixed feelings. The series starts strong but only the first 3 episodes. Then it sinks by itself and the incoherent of the whole thing. The last episode does not help. I felt a lot is missing.

Anyway, the series is just Ok if you're in the mood of some killings, a mysterious app and the usual easy to follow script. Best is soundtrack by far.

The first two episodes grabbed my attention. And yes, as the comments has mentioned, it is essentially a Black Mirror episode extended out to eight shows. As with many of these limited series, they tend to work better as two or three-part series because when stretched out they contains 'useless filler'.

In the beginning I like the teenagers better than usual, but after a while it clearly appeared the writers was losing ideas and started inserting plot devices to keep the story going. While this happens in almost every movie, there is a difference between having a few plot devices to push the story forward to completely depending on the plot device to even have a story. That is where Red Rose came apart. The last few episodes were so convoluted that It diminished what goodwill had been achieved.

Another item....ending. The ending was.....stupid. It supposed basis for the whole story seemed thrown in. It also appears like the writers changed course, from a mystery horror to an internet caper. This is where the quality dropped dramatically and the last few episodes did not match the tone, atmosphere or even the story that was created in the beginning. As I think about it, the way the series ended would have made the beginning impossible.

In short...if you don't like thinking, you can enjoy this. If you think, you will not.

What sets this thriller apart is its genuinely likable and believable group of young freinds. It takes its time to really build up their relationships and I loved its use of trademark northern big hearted insulting banter. When the story starts taking dark twists you really care about what happens to them and the bonds and rifts feel real. Red Rose is a sophisticated cyber thriller, but also a wonderfully portrayed warm hearted, realistic drama. Make sure you give it the time it deserves as it is more considered and less showy than a lot of dramas we are used to today, but the pay off is worth it and it stays with you. There are some really powerful uses of music for key moments. I'm sure we will be seeing more of its talented young cast and I look forward to more from the writers too with their totally believable gritty writing.

At first I thought it was going to be pure teenie stuff, but was pleasantly surprised at the creepiness. That is actually my favourite type of "horror" - not the slashing, torturing type. The CREEPY kind that makes you nervous. I am aware I have to write 600 words in order for my lame little review to be posted, so please forgive my rambling. I am not going to give any spoilers. The young woman who plays Rochelle looked so like an actor who used to be on Coronation Street, so I looked the series up here on IMBD. Anyways, turns out they are not related but was shocked to see that Amelia Clarkson, who plays the teenager Wren Davis was born in 1977. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that makes her 46 years old!! You always assume actors play characters a bit younger than them, but WOW. 46 and playing teens - I need her face cream.

It started so good, the first 3-4 episodes with Rochelle were great, then it was becoming just an average teenage drama, lazier and lazier writing and not believable. New, shallow characters appeared, too many unbelievable coincidences, like Roch's father having a picnic on his own in the same spot as the teenagers and by coincident he also has Roch's letter about her results in his hands. What is the chance of that happening? Teenagers dying and no one is willing to turn their phone or WiFi off. The last episode is probably the worst. I was expecting a much more twisted ending. The series had a potential but it feels like a different person wrote the beginning and end episodes.

Not bad but typical stupid ending and frankly the kids were stupid all through the season. Could have been better but okay to watch if you got nothing else at the moment.

First couple of episodes were really good. Then it started to go downhill when things just wouldn't add up and make sense. What started off as a super natural horror didn't end like that. And lots of events that took place stopped making sense.

Best thing about this series are the friends. They were a believable bunch of Northerners! This really made you care about them.

It's definitely not a budget movie and is filmed very well. The actors are brilliant.

But I seriously wished it didn't have so many flaws and pot holes! Such huge potential from all around, I wish the writers were a bit more clued on.

Really loved this.

Can't beat a British, gritty drama. And even better when it's like real life. Real houses, real attitudes, real areas us Brits live in.

The actors were all great. Never heard of most of them, but they seemed pros. I bet they are!

Storylines were good, realistic between the characters.

Main story of the phone app, good idea. It's not like it couldn't happen either. Not out of the world thriller.

And the soundtrack, so brilliant.

This definitely has me on the edge a lot. Felt sorry for the kids so much. I'm glad this was a series, they had so much to say and explain. This didn't feel like it was longed out.

Enjoyable.

I have an 11 year old and trust me, she's oblivious to the things she clicks online and quite frankly this plot definitely works from a parents perspective. We monitor her usage, but teens will be teens. They know how to do far more with technology than we do and they're unaware of their consequences more than they could ever know.

You can critique the script for being a little clunky in the middle, but overall it exceeded my expectations episodes 1-4 and wrapped it up pretty well IMO.

I personally thought the acting was pretty good. Of course to create a show in this day and age you need a very formulaic cast that checks all the boxes, and that becomes rather predictable, but whether you like it or not, it probably resembles 2023 more than it doesn't.

With that said, I hope they don't make a sequel to this show unless it's already filmed and wrapped, Bc it's not good enough to warrant a reboot. The characters are very surface thus needing no further examination.

A group of teenagers that don't understand how phones work behave erratically and stupidly for weeks on end. It's annoying because there's some good underlying ideas but damn it's so frustrating.

Really good teen drama with a tragic twist. It has got a feel of Black Mirror combined with a ghost story so if that's up your street you might like it.

Reviewed at 2 episodes in.

The first episodes were great. The show starts with a bang where we see a teenage girl in a panic in her house. This results in her making a freefall from far too high after what seems to be some sort of entity or paranormal thing toying with her and the electronics in her house. Afterwards, we get to meet our main cast, a British group of teens who just finished their exams. And, as we've all been there, we get to collide with our emotions, our love interests and our personal and urban situation. Red Rose pulled this off really well. Even though I knew no single actor in this series, I was positively surprised by the natural and realistic way of acting. The scary Red Rose app itself works well, too. And as the first episodes carry on, I really got to feel for Rochelle, she performs really well and is a very likable character.

Then after a few episodes, danger results in chaos and I was quite in shock about what happened. And after that, the show needed to ascend to a new level. And unfortunately, that's not what happened.

Admitted, the actors do their job really well and Wren gets better in her performance as leading female every episode, but the story is reaching. It seems like the developers can't decide whether they wanted to make this a horror show, a detective or a psychological thriller. The finale is a bit predictable, but I've seen worse.

First episode was ok but just doesn't make any sense after that lol ! Good young actors and actresses, I would of actually preferred this being a drama rather then a horror/suspense despite all the modern technology today an app that speaks to you without you having control over it is just stupid...Throw your phone away ... daft.

Eagerly tuned in with my teenage daughter who devours YA shows but we were sorely disappointed. This sounded so promising but sadly it's let down by poor writing and some very poor acting with teenagers who look mid twenties at best! There are too many moments that feel like they've been written by a middle aged man who's never met a teenager let alone understands what it's like to be a teenage girl.

It lacks the charm, wit and style of competing YA shows. None of the characters are likeable so why would we care what happens to them. The idea of the app is so intriguing but the way it's been realised on screen feels incredibly unimaginative. A waste of a good idea and a total let down I'm afraid. My daughter was begging me to turn it off after twenty minutes but we stuck it out to the end of the first episode hoping it would improve. It didn't.