Redux Redux (2026) Dir. Kevin and Matthew McManus

Reading through the various synopsises of Redux Redux, the third feature film by writer/director siblings Kevin and Matthew McManus, I can’t help but wonder if they do the film a disservice. While the idea of a grieving mother travelling through parallel universes to murder her daughter’s killer on repeat sounds like the basis of a fast-moving, if repetitive, thriller, it gives little indication of the emotionally driven moments in this film – the scenes that are arguably the best in the film.

Michaela McManus plays the grieving mother, Irene, and we kickstart the film with a brutal series of kill sequences as she sets the killer Neville (Jeremy Holm) on fire, then in the next universe drops a bed frame on his head before shooting him and then shoots him in the middle of a diner before going on the run.

It's a great, fast-paced opening which showcases the physicality that Michaela brings to the role, as well as the McManus brothers’ sense of pacing. But where the film really succeeds is when they slow it down and focus on Irene’s loss of self, her loneliness in her never-ending pursuit of justice.

There are some really quite tender scenes as she reconnects with a hook-up from multiple universes, Jonathan (Jim Cummings), and McManus is excellent in these scenes – tense, agitated, but yearning for something other than the constant need for vengeance. The introduction of Mia (Stella Marcus), a runaway and near-victim of Neville adds another nice touch. The two have good chemistry and Irene is forced to choose between putting Mia back into danger – even when Mia wants to – and protecting the teenager.

This isn’t perfect, however. There’s a wholly unnecessary scene around fixing the machine Irene uses to travel between universes. It’s entertaining sure but feels designed to add a moment of jeopardy when the film already had an enticing hook. It’s also an exposition dump about the existence of a whole universe-hopping black market; an information overload for audiences who have already bought into the premise.

More forgivable is the rather generic end sequence, that does little to humanise Neville, instead keeping him as a near-faceless monster.

One wonders if an effort to explore the antagonist would have helped with Irene’s story of coming to terms with her grief. Still, these are relatively minor blips in what is a hugely entertaining, surprisingly brutal and often heartfelt thriller. It’s certainly head and shoulders above the endless rip-offs of Taken, and a film that is well worth checking out.

★★★½

3.5 / 5

Matthew Tilt

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ON DIGITAL PLATFORMS 23 FEBRUARY 2026