• Release year: 2025
• Director: Kevin McManus and Matthew McManus.
• Producers: Nate Cormier, Marcela De Luna, PJ McCabe, Michael J. McGarry, Kevin McManus and Matthew McManus.
• Screenplay by: Kevin McManus and Matthew McManus.
• Cinematography by: Alan Gwizdowski.
• Music by: Paul Koch.

Shotgun Commentary: great prompt, lazy ending.

Review

Redux Redux is the kind of film that, plot holes aside, is pretty enjoyable to watch. Don’t expect a masterpiece, and definitely don’t start with the whole “well in real life, that wouldn’t happen because…”. In fact, if you have a friend like that, I strongly suggest you keep them far away from this unless you want them to destroy your experience with a comment every two minutes.

Nailing the first steps

The opening of this film is powerful. Not in a convoluted and dramatic way, but more in a quietly chilling and positively hair-raising manner. It is simple, effective, and leaves the whole context and meaning to the gorgeous light contrast of the blue night light and the yellow highlights from the fire source. No dialogue, barely any movement, and a fixed camera. The only action taking place outside the frame, brutal as it is invisible.

Now, this is obviously not the first time a scene like this is made. However, it makes for a striking opening that immediately sets high expectations for the film… which, in retrospect, might not be the best of ideas. Still, the quality remains high for a significant chunk of the film before slowly deflating. At first slowly, due to small details that make no sense and keep piling up, and then all at once, with an ending that confirms that all that looking elsewhere you’ve made for the sake of the story was not actually worth it considering the story in its entirety.

All the right moves

Still, those glorious initial minutes are absolutely precious. You are introduced to interdimensional travel in a chaotic scene that makes your adrenaline spike, and then you are given the exposition (which is the background information or context that you need to understand what you are seeing on screen). Now, the way expositions are done are usually through a cleverly placed question or some sort of flashback or so on. But not this film.

Redux Redux sees the exposition, not as something you get over with, but as an opportunity in its own right. Introducing, a post-sex confession where the protagonist randomly blurts out everything to a guy who met her half an hour ago, but whose different versions she’s been having sex with all throughout the multiverse. So you get all the info you need, while laughing hard at the steadily increasing shock on the man’s face. If that’s not a brilliant way to present the expo of your film, I don’t know what is.

Tragic ending

Still, as previously mentioned, the feature does not come without its fair share of issues. The most repeated of which is characters making completely nonsensical decisions. From leaving a kid in a random dimension alone, to leaving the person who’s just tried to kill you alive with your money, weapons, and definitely the will to murder you if they catch you in the future; the bad decisions pile up to a point where you have to commit to look the other way in order to maintain the illusion of logic.

All in all, Redux Redux is a fun film the farther you look at it. If you are the type of person who likes to look at movies closely and really appreciate a well-tied story, this is very much not for you. This is an amazing idea developed as chaotically as it could be, which is not bad if you are into it. In fact, yours truly was pretty invested despite the many, MANY plot holes.

Regrettably, it also features a disappointing ending, not because it is necessarily happy or sad, but because it makes zero sense beginning to end. A great ending could have left the film in the respectable position of “insanely chaotic but actually fun”, but alas, they’ll have to make do with being a nice promise that never actually gets fulfilled to its full capability.

Redux Redux was part of the EIFF 2025 programme. Find all the info here!

Advice to take from this movie:

• If your friend and protector is being attacked, maybe don’t just stand there watching? I don’t know, help?
• If nobody lives in a house, nobody is paying the bills, therefore, THERE IS NO HOT WATER OR LIGHT.
• If a man is capable of killing you in every dimension, maybe you shouldn’t face him alone?

What’s your take? Have you watched Redux Redux? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀