Horror Enters the Multiverse in Captivating Lo-Fi Sci-Fi Redux Redux (SXSW)
Title: Redux Redux
First Non-Festival Release: TBD
Director: Kevin McManus, Matthew McManus
Writer: Kevin McManus, Matthew McManus
Runtime: 107 Minutes
Starring: Michaela McManus, Stella Marcus, Jeremy Holm
Where to Watch: Check out where to find it here
This film’s review was written after its screening at the South by Southwest Film Festival in 2025.
Processing the trauma of particularly violent events can take a lifetime for even the most well-adjusted individuals. Finding healthy ways to manage your emotions is crucial to the healing process. It isn’t always possible though.
Irene (Michaela McManus) travels the multiverse via an unassuming metal coffin-like device in pursuit of justice for the man, Neville (Jeremy Holm), who killed her daughter (Grace Van Dien). Along the way, she rescues his next victim, a runaway teenager named Mia (Stella Marcus), and she reluctantly agrees to take her along for the ride. As they glide through the slightly different worlds, they find their respective traumas catching up to them.
A dark, unrelenting ride through the multiverse, Redux Redux uses grounded sci-fi horror sensibilities to tell a high-octane tale of revenge.
Thrust into Irene’s world without much explanation, Redux Redux takes its time world building its multiverse in an organic way. Subtle world building is a delicate art, and Redux Redux starts off with a compelling array of brutal vignettes where Irene arrives in a new world, stalks her prey, and coldly eliminates her target. Much isn’t needed to understand the mechanism. Writer/directors Kevin and Matthew McManus expect the audience to fill in the blanks long before Mia shows up for Irene to guide. By establishing Irene’s routine, Redux Redux sets up its disruption to showcase the importance of its thesis.
It would be easy to imagine all the fun ways Irene seeks out revenge against her daughter’s killer, but Redux Redux chooses an alternative path in exploring what revenge does to a person. When we are introduced to Irene, it’s clear she is a shell of her former self. Sure, there are glimmers of her past that still resonate. Her longing for connection betrays her steely confidence in committing murder after murder in the name of justice for her daughter. The introduction of Mia disrupts her life. Suddenly, avenging her daughter matters less, and ensuring Mia doesn’t get herself killed with her teenage impulsivity to enact revenge herself becomes the new priority. It takes Irene seeing Mia go through her own journey of processing trauma to realize the risk and pointlessness of her endeavors. At this point, she’s killed Neville hundreds – thousands even – of times and she isn’t happier at all.
This is what makes Irene’s relationship with Mia so important for her growth following her daughter’s death. Mia may not understand Irene’s grief because in her world she only just escaped murder; she hasn’t lived with the cold loneliness of grief that Irene has in every lifetime. She’s not without trauma, of course. Mia’s terrible home life and longing for connection drives her, too. The pair make for perfect puzzle pieces that only take so long to fit because of the fierce reluctance and assertions of independence from both players. Healing requires vulnerability, and both Irene and Mia are hardened by worlds that seem determined to calcify them further. Some might find the messaging safe, but it takes courage to portray the messy, raw, and gray nature of living with grief.
Despite all the great character work and thematic attention to detail, Redux Redux never skimps on action or scares. From its exhilarating opening montage to its unbearably tense finale, Redux Redux understands the importance of tension and release. The dangers of its universe are explored in fresh and unexpected ways, making each scene feel dangerous or otherwise affecting. It’s not all car chases and explosions in Redux Redux either. Even its quieter moments feel monumental, giving more credence to its mediation on grief.
The McManus brothers have created another banger of a science fiction horror film that pushes the boundaries of the sub-genre and puts a fresh spin on the current multiverse trend dominating in film. Focusing on layered storytelling, crafting genuine and nuanced characters, and lo-fi sci-fi horror sensibilities, this genre bender leaves viewers with plenty of questions to self-reflect on their own humanity long after it’s credits close. Michaela McManus and Stella Marcus sell the hell out of it too, making Irene and Mia’s arc satisfying and beautiful all the same. Redux Redux may not be on your radar right now, but once it finds its audience it’s destined for critical and audience acclaim.
Overall Score? 8/10
