A woman travels through parallel universes, killing variations of her daughter’s murderer in Kevin and Matthew McManus’ Redux Redux.

Modern cinema has toyed with the multiverse, but it has not yet fulfilled its promise. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has dabbled without fully tapping the concept, while Spider‑Man: Into the Spider‑Verse, its sequel, and Everything Everywhere All at Once have taken bolder, more inventive swings. Still, there is untapped potential for using infinite realities to explore the roads taken and not taken, radically different worlds, and anything imaginable. Redux Redux flips that expectation by following Irene, a traveller between parallel worlds, who discovers that in every universe, almost nothing changes.

This film’s approach is unexpectedly subdued, built on how similar each world is and how frustrating that sameness becomes. Irene (Michaela McManus) travels between universes to kill variants of the man who murdered her daughter. She has Neville’s (Jeremy Holm) routines down to a tee. Thursday is the best day to strike, because his payday gives her the funds for her next jump. She is caught in an endless cycle of violence, seeking closure on her daughter’s death. That closure always eludes her, because no matter how many times she ends Neville’s life, her daughter remains gone.

It is a clear meditation on grief and on how the need for vengeance can prevent people from moving on and healing. In the film’s strongest exchange, Irene admits she feels the essence of who she was has vanished, replaced by a vengeance‑fuelled assassin who thinks only of killing the man who destroyed everything she cared about.

The metaphor of being unable to change the past is powerfully expressed through the film’s use of the multiverse. No matter where Irene goes or what she does, her daughter remains dead, leaving her only two options: continue a futile and endless mission of vengeance or find a way to move on. She actively avoids moving on, lingering outside a grief‑support meeting she cannot bring herself to enter, fully committed to vengeance as the only thing she has left. The multiverse traps her in a self‑imposed loop, granting infinite chances to repeat the same actions and stay locked in the spiral.

Audience expectations are subverted by making the subtle changes between universes a feature rather than a flaw. The disappointment in the lack of variety draws the viewer into the relentless futility of events that refuse to change, with each new universe holding the faint hope of something meaningfully different. These minimal shifts are likely shaped by the modest budget, but they work in the film’s favour by reinforcing one of its core themes.

Irene’s repetitive existence changes when she meets Mia (Stella Marcus), a victim of Neville she is able to save. This act sparks a surrogate mother–daughter bond that shows Irene she cannot recover what she has lost, but she can still build a future with meaningful relationships. Mia is far from an ideal daughter figure, carrying her own damage, yet the two are kindred spirits in a hostile world that has left them behind.

Mia has street smarts but has lacked positive role models, which has fostered an abrasive attitude and a habit of making choices that work against her own interests. Irene is also far from an ideal mentor, defined by her long trail of murders and singular focus, yet the two seem to be exactly what the other needs at precisely the right moment.

Irene sees in Mia both an echo of her former self and the risk of sliding into the same dark, unfulfilling path. She has accepted the empty, repetitive cycle of kill, jump, repeat, but she would never wish that life on anyone else. Mia’s casual ease with the idea of devoting her own life to the same quest becomes a wake‑up call, prompting Irene to save her in every sense of the word.

It recalls the mismatched‑buddy stories of many 1980s films, with Redux Redux offering its own spin that feels both modern and charmingly retro. Michaela McManus and Stella Marcus play off each other with ease, keeping their shared scenes consistently engaging. The surrogate mother–daughter bond is convincing, and the two challenge each other in grounded, resonant ways.

The film falters when Irene and Mia are apart. A long second‑act stretch separates them, grinding the pacing to a halt. Stella Marcus has the presence to hold focus on her own, but the story’s momentum doesn’t return until they reunite. The aim of showing Mia’s ability to handle herself in difficult situations is sound, yet the execution slows the film and pulls it far enough from the core premise that the diversion feels disconnected.

Once the momentum returns, it holds, and the film makes its message about revenge, grief and found families unmistakable as it builds toward its inevitable climax. Nothing here will surprise genre‑savvy viewers, yet the sharp execution ensures the predictability does not diminish the impact.

Redux Redux has an impressive sense of place. Its sparse, simple settings such as the diner and petrol station convenience store mirror the emptiness that defines Irene and can be easily replicated with subtle variations in each universe. The distinctions are there for those looking for them, but they are never substantial enough, which is part of the frustration. It is a strong example of location reinforcing theme and of using limited resources to explore a high‑concept science‑fiction idea.

The film hides its limited budget well in the execution of the action sequences. They are infrequent but impactful, and impressively staged. It is believable that Irene is skilled enough to evade overwhelming odds just long enough to escape to another universe. The attention given to her planning each kill, and to the police response that follows, weaves character into the action. Mia’s disruption of those carefully laid plans adds an extra layer of tension.

One glaring weakness is Neville. He remains a distant, undefined presence for most of the film, which makes sense as the object of Irene’s obsession, yet when he finally becomes an active threat there is nothing to support it. As a result, the climax lacks a fully realised antagonist. There is no clear sense of who this version of Neville is or why he suddenly commands such focus after previously serving as a near‑faceless figure that embodied the drudgery of Irene’s mission. If a version of him is to take a more active role, the film needs to justify it; here, he is little more than malicious intent. The story explains why this encounter would be the final one, but a better‑defined antagonist that ties back to the cycle of vengeance would have made the ending far more cathartic. It’s a flaw that dulls the edge of an otherwise gripping tale of vengeance, obsession and consequence.

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Verdict

An engaging film, rich in character and place, that harnesses the multiverse to explore grief, vengeance, obsession and the hard road toward healing.

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