The 29th Fantasia Film Festival is well underway and we’ve been on the ground every day to cover everything you need to put on your radar!

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With that aside, one movie I needed to write about was Redux Redux. I talked a little about it on our Instagram, but I wanted to write an official review of it on the website too to dive a bit more into it. 

It’s a family film, in that it was written and directed by Kevin and Matthew McManus and stars their sister Michaela McManus. It also stars Stella Marcus and Jeremy Holm, who we will definitely talk about in more detail later.

I know I say this a lot, but I really do mean this here: This is the kind of movie that is best enjoyed knowing as little as possible. Like, I don’t even want to tell you the genre because it can give something away. This review is spoiler-free too, so don’t worry about reading on. 

I can say that this is a revenge thriller, just to give you a sense of what to expect, but beyond that, mum’s the word! 

So, is Redux Redux just another revenge flick or does it burn with something deeper beneath the surface?

My Thoughts

Redux Redux starts off incredibly strong and basically doesn’t let you go until it’s all over. We kick off with our lead, Irene (Michaela McManus) at a fire and then we jump around to her doing some different things that the audience doesn’t fully understand. It’s particularly for the first act that I am being light on the spoilers. You’re immediately dropped into situations and the movie hits the ground running. It slowly becomes a bit more clear what is happening, but I was enjoying the mystery at the beginning quite a lot, even if I already read about the movie so I knew what was actually happening. 

Jeremy Holm plays the target of Irene’s revenge, and Holm is very solid in this role. He plays the different sides of his character very well, especially when he has to be more imposing and menacing.

Holm and McManus are both great, but the biggest standout for me here was Stella Marcus as Mia. Mia and Irene come together as the movie progresses and it’s really once they come together that the incredibly strong emotional core of this movie starts to shine. 

Their pairing reminded me a little bit of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, but as people motivated by grief and revenge, and at very different stages of their journeys with those two things. It’s a perfect pairing because not only do they manage to flesh out their own individual stories well, but their own relationship developing is as compelling as anything else happening and every moment spent with the two of them was a blast.

Another strong point is the script. I often talk about how movies can struggle to balance their own tone and themes in an organic way that doesn’t feel like the movie is grinding to a halt for a monologue. I’m very glad to report though that no such moment exists in this movie. The more somber moments and beats all work and feel natural for the characters in those moments, which makes this movie feel so refreshing when so many mainstream movies struggle to do this part well. 

This was my first experience with the McManus brothers, but I was really impressed with it. They did an absolutely amazing job with a more limited budget, but with such a strong script, I would be really curious to see what they could do with a bigger budget. 

Verdict

We’re only halfway through the festival, but I’m certain this movie will end up on my Best of the Fest list!

Redux Redux is an easy movie to recommend. The violence and action are solid, but it’s really the core characters that shine the most here and make the movie more memorable. It tackles serious themes, but in a way that was more unique and organic than it’s been done before. I was very impressed by everyone involved, but I suspect that you’ll be seeing much more of Stella Marcus in the years to come!