Ride the Red Horse (2009)

Ride the Red Horse is a backyard comedy telling the all-too-familiar story of what can go wrong when a child drinks too much red cordial. Robbie Bergman, aged 10, attends the annual Bergman Family BBQ where he is warned by his overprotective, neurotic parents, Peter and Candice, to be a good boy, give a firm handshake, and above all not to drink any red cordial. Upon entering Grandma Bergman's home, Robbie is quickly forgotten as Candice and Peter concentrate on surviving through the two hours they are required to stay. Robbie is met by Aunt Flora, the family eccentric, who deputizes him into distributing her 'magic drink' - none other than the forbidden red cordial. When Flora turns her back, Robbie takes his first tantalizing sip. The burst of flavor hits him like a charging bronco and he has to have more. Robbie is enjoying his stolen mouthfuls when things take a turn for the bizarre. The sugar overwhelms him and suddenly everything his relatives say become real (to Robbie's eyes). Aunt Flora sprouts wings, his father is frying Sensitive New Age Guys (SNAGs) on the barbie and he is disgusted to find himself giving Uncle Alfred a wet fish handshake. Robbie's wild ride ends in a horrifying climax when he overhears his parents exclaim 'aren't we getting along like a house on fire!' Rushing to douse the Bergman family home, Robbie comes crashing back to reality. But has all this happened before in zany clan Bergman?