Screening as part of the ‘Freak Me Out’ programme strand for Sydney Film Festival, Redux Redux is a self-reflexive blend of science fiction and horror, coming in fresh from its 2025 SXSW premiere. Quite simply, the film tells the story of Irene (Michaela McManus), who travels through parallel universes to find her daughter’s killer.
Directed by filmmaking twins, the McManus brothers, Kevin and Matthew (who produced and wrote the film), have offered up a unique, engaging, and at times tongue-in-cheek contribution to the time travel canon. With cute references to other films in the same thread peppered throughout (even Sliding Doors gets a mention!), Redux Redux is not ashamed of where it stands in film history. And it is an absolute nail-biter.
McManus (a sibling of the directors, for those playing at home) is incredible, defining female power and strength, while also using this to reflect a deep hurt and pain in losing her 14-year-old daughter in the worst possible way. It is so much fun watching all the various ways Irene tracks the man down who kidnapped and murdered her daughter. The revenge killing, to say the least, is very gratifying (and it happens over and over again; Neville (Jeremy Holm) is deserving of the brutality as, the story unfolds, we learn Irene’s daughter was not his only victim.
The sound and music used in the film elicits goosebumps and sends the blood pressure in the upwards direction (with credit to composer, Paul Koch). The film is dark and dirty, both in its story and visually, and the shaky camera work further heightens the raw anxiety as Irene desperately escapes each multiverse to enter a new one. This becomes even more complicated when she finds a young teenager, tied up in Neville’s home, by the name of Mia (Stella Marcus), who comes along for the ride. The interactions between Irene and Mia skate between kind and generous, and downright frustrating; this is what happens when two powerful, and somewhat criminal, women collide – but they have a common enemy.
Redux Redux is an engaging action-packed thrill ride that delves into some pretty traumatic events that cover themes including family, death, maternal love, and sweet sweet revenge. It’s a great film for those who are looking for something a little bit more murky. And after seeing it, exciting to see what the McManus brothers do next.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Redux Redux is screening as part of this year’s Sydney Film Festival, running between June 4th and 15th, 2025. For more information head to the official SFF page.
