SXSW Review: ‘Redux Redux’ is an Enthralling Tale of Multiversal Revenge

Theories of alternate universes come in many shapes and sizes, and there’s no one concept of exactly how the multiverse, if it does exist, works. The rules aren’t always as important or relevant as the story that such an idea frames, but they need to be there to make sure it all makes sense. Redux Redux is a thoroughly engaging, dark exploration of what it means to get lost in a cycle of revenge that almost abandons its initial purpose, creatively brought to life thanks to a machine that allows its protagonist to travel from parallel universe to parallel universe in pursuit of the same unending vengeance each time.

Irene Kelly (Michaela McManus) walks into a roadside diner and sits down to order food. Moments later, she sees the man she’s looking for, takes out a gun, and pulls the trigger. She always has a plan, which involves climbing into the coffin-like machine that enables her to go to the next universe, disappearing in a small explosion and, in most cases, showing up in the same motel room and clicking the many car keys in her pocket until she finds the right rental vehicle they unlock. Her carefully-perfected process is disrupted when she meets a teenage girl (Stella Marcus) with nothing to lose who also has a strong desire to repeatedly kill the man who abducted and nearly killed her.

Redux Redux comes from directors Kevin and Matthew McManus, whose past credits include The Black Island Sound and the Netflix series American Vandal. It’s a family affair since Kevin, Matthew, and Michaela are all siblings, and this collaboration is a great case for them working together again many more times. There’s a minimal focus on how this machine works and how Irene came to learn of its existence, and more about how having the technology leads to potential abuse and a fundamental lack of positive connection with anyone else since everything becomes about just getting to and leaving the next place.

Ideas like time travel and parallel universes have been explored countless times in film and television, and it’s great to find a film that doesn’t offer anything startlingly new but instead puts a fresh spin on something that feels appropriately familiar. Like in Bernardo Britto’s Omni Loop, this lead character has been through this so many times that she’s lost count of how many times she’s killed the same man or the instances where things have gone wrong, like an arrest by the police that’s made it more difficult to get back to her literal get-out-of-jail-free tool. There’s a reason she’s doing this, however, which is that this man kidnapped and murdered her daughter, and while she’s acquired a bloodlust that can only be quenched by shooting, stabbing, or strangling him time and time again, what she desperately wants is to find just one world where things are different enough that her daughter is still alive.

Much of this film’s success relies on the effectiveness of its lead performance. Michaela, whose first major screen credit was on the TV series One Tree Hill, brings a true resolve to Irene, still full of energy and capable of making an occasional joke but resigned to this repetitive existence of nothing but revenge. She’s well-paired with Marcus, who challenges some of what Irene says to her but more just wants to be like her. Ultimately, this appropriately gritty and captivating film works because it stays so dedicated to its dark themes and the effect they have on those who succumb to them. It’s certainly not a positive or uplifting story, but it’s a well-paced thriller that completely demands its viewer’s attention.

Movie Rating: 8/10