Written and directed by Kevin and Matthew McManus, the indie sci-fi thriller Redux Redux introduces a jaw-dropping concept right out of the gate. After Irene Kelly’s (Michaela McManus) daughter, Anna, is killed, she travels through parallel universes to assassinate her daughter’s murderer, Neville (Jeremy Holm). Irene kills Neville in different ways, as her vengeance remains stuck on an infinite loop.
As Irene explains later on, there is a method to this beyond just revenge on repeat, though that is still a core motivator. She travels to the different universes, hoping to find one where her daughter is still alive. What she discovers is that there are only slight changes in the other timelines, but the key events stay the same. Her quest to find her daughter takes an unexpected turn after she saves the young Mia (Stella Marcus) from Neville’s clutches. Once Mia discovers Irene’s time-travel trick, she also wants in on making Neville pay.
There’s a deliberate and inherent sadness in Redux Redux. Unlike other time-travel movies where the protagonists go back in time to change their respective timelines, this film plays with the concept of fate being predetermined. Maybe events are meant to happen, regardless of how good or bad they are, and there’s nothing we can do to stop them.
In the case of Irene, it’s heartbreaking, because she hasn’t recovered since the death of Anna. Yes, there’s a hope that she could find Anna one day, but her life has become nothing more than an obsession and a multiverse of murder. How much revenge is too much revenge for one person? She lives and breathes to kill Neville over and over again – until Mia comes into her life with the same attitude. For the first time since Irene embarked on this mission, this forces her to pause and consider what she’s been doing.
What’s most refreshing about Redux Redux is that it doesn’t try to get too complicated or fancy with its time-travel mechanics. (Please can other filmmakers learn this lesson from this movie!) The McManus brothers keep it simple and easy to follow in a way that makes sense and sounds plausible to the average person. Once the viewer understands what’s going on, the film doesn’t attempt to get too clever and throw overly complex scientific equations into the mix about how timestreams collided and created a new reality or whatever. The rules are established from the start and that’s what they are here.
Instead, trust is put in the actual story to carry the suspense and thrills that have everyone glued to the screen. The audience wonders if Irene will ever find Anna, while there’s also the question of how Mia figures in this story as well as what role she will have in Irene’s future. Fate has merged Irene and Mia’s paths – and as discussed already, this happens for a reason. Also, like with any good time-travel movie, you should expect the actual device to break down at some point and leave the protagonists in some kind of peril they need to escape.
Michaela McManus has come a long way since playing Lucas Scott’s editor and love interest Lindsey Strauss in One Tree Hill. As Irene, she plays someone lost – both in time and herself. Anyone can relate to Irene’s motivations and desire for bloody retribution, but there’s a tragic element in her receiving the gift of endless revenge. At some point, all the killing doesn’t fill the void. McManus seizes all these subtle nuances to create a complex character in Irene.
The character of Mia operates on two levels: she serves as a mirror to Irene and an alternate reality where Irene actually saves a child from Neville’s wrath. Stella Marcus gets this duality, shaping a character that’s a lot like Irene, but also rejecting the mother-daughter dynamic by reminding her that she isn’t Anna.
The McManus brothers concoct a novel idea in Redux Redux, but it isn’t only the gimmick that should draw eyes to this sci-fi revenge thriller. They craft real characters and put them in speculative situations that most of us would say we would behave in this or that way. As it turns out, it isn’t simple. The most important lesson here is that we’re doomed to make the same mistake over and over again until we learn from it.
The Review
Redux Redux
Redux Redux is a highly original sci-fi revenge thriller that'll have you gripped throughout its runtime.
Review Breakdown
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Verdict
