Directors: Kevin McManus, Matthew McManus
Writers: Kevin McManus, Matthew McManus
Stars: Michaela McManus, Stella Marcus, Jeremy Holm
Synopsis: Irene Kelly travels through parallel universes, repeatedly killing her daughter’s murderer. As she becomes consumed by vengeance, her humanity hangs in the balance
There are few things in this life more satisfying than a sci-fi concept done masterfully on a small budget. For example, the 2023 film Aporia beautifully depicts the consequences of making small adjustments in time through in-camera visuals. Redux Redux accomplishes a similar result, only instead of time manipulation, it’s a multiverse of never-ending vengeance. In a cinema landscape where studios throw money at everything to achieve spectacle, Redux Redux is a solid refresher that genuinely great sci-fi can be executed with the smallest of resources, as long as we care about the characters.
Directed and written by Kevin and Matthew McManus, the film centers on Irene (Michaela McManus), a woman who journeys through endless multiverses in search of a universe in which a twisted teenage girl murderer, Neville (Jeremy Holm), has not killed her daughter, Anna (Grace Van Dien). The film sets the stage very clearly for the viewer. Irene is seen visiting the same diner in every universe, and when Neville is not at his day job washing dishes or cooking in the back, she hunts him at his home, typically leading to his death. The filmmakers offer a striking visual in one universe, showing Irene setting Neville on fire in the middle of a desert. It’s the same visual used in the film’s marketing posters. Each time before ultimately killing Neville, she asks the same questions. Where did he put her daughter? Does he remember her?
Irene’s multiverse of death isn’t always the same. She often finds a subtle romance with a charming local named Jonathan (Jim Cummings). It’s implied that Irene met Jonathan before her multiverse spiral, as she knows he attends the same weekly support group for grieving adults. It’s a subplot that is both remarkable and potentially a plothole. The details provide Irene’s history and indicate how long she has been in this vengeful nightmare. At the same time, it’s unclear if time resets after every multiverse jump or if it continually moves forward. Especially because Jonathan almost looks the same in every encounter.
The violent, chaotic world Irene inhabits is disrupted when she finds a living survivor, Mia (Stella Marcus), at Neville’s house. The discovery happens after jumping to a new universe. It’s in this new dynamic that Irene begins to see a possible redemption for herself. By caring for Mia, she could see a second chance at offering protection where she couldn’t for her own daughter. The problem is that Mia is a reckless teenager who wants to see Neville burn. She craves the vengeance Irene has experienced over and over. But the emotions become clouded when Mia is forced to multiverse-jump with Irene, further confusing her state of mind as she enters a new timeline.
The strongest areas of Redux Redux stem from how far it stretches its universe with so little. The multiverse vehicle is shaped like a coffin, with a metallic shell and a personality akin to the Bill and Ted phone booth. With each jump, the in-camera visual effects wonderfully show how the energy explodes inward. For example, one scene shows Irene running from the cops. As she initiates a universe jump in the machine, the device, which sits inside a hotel, pops to a new dimension, and the hotel doors, along with the cops, fly into the hotel room, almost like a bomb popping in reverse.
The film briefly explores the expansive underworld of multiverse jumping. It’s in these details that the screenplay by Kevin and Matthew McManus proves thoughtful in its attempt at world-building. The subplot is brief but depicts the grimy underbelly of multiverse dealers who supply parts and various forms of multiverse machines. Taylor Misiak, best known from the FX series Dave, takes on a surprising role in the film. Her character, Billie, a multiverse trader and transporter, is a role that stretches her talents into dark places, which is a refreshing choice given Misiak’s charm in the Li’l Dicky show.
The dark tone extends to the film’s serial-killer backdrop. While most ofRedux Redux leans into the fun side of telling a multiverse story on the smallest of budgets, various sequences have the flavor of an old-fashioned thriller. Throughout the storyline, Kevin and Matthew McManus weave moments of Fincher-esque dread, providing the audience with an undertone akin to that of Mindhunter or The Silence of the Lambs. One sequence feels eerily reminiscent of Mindhunter Season 2’s BTK killer opener, showing Irene walking toward the bathroom in Neville’s house as the synth-inspired score from Paul Koch becomes aggressive. As she opens the bathroom door, we can’t see the horror in front of her, but we understand it’s terrible. The story ultimately pays off the serial killer subplot with fantastic suspense. It never becomes a slasher or horror movie, but the characters are in enough peril to make the viewer question the outcome.
It’s the balance between crafting an effective thriller involving a serial killer and providing a multiverse kick that makes the experience gripping. As seen this weekend by the release of Psycho Killer, some filmmakers are unable to satisfy one of these characteristics, much less both. Redux Redux demonstrates how far the imagination can stretch with minimal resources, while delivering a genuinely suspenseful film. The film is far from perfect and potentially has questionable logic in its multiverse mechanics. Regardless, the blending of a vengeance narrative in a multiverse setup is executed wonderfully. Kevin and Matthew McManus are showing tremendous potential here, and it will be exciting to witness what they are capable of with more resources.
