‘Bad memories always haunt you’
The Redeeming is a 2018 British psychological thriller directed by Brian Barnes from a screenplay by Roger Thomas; it stars Robert Blackwood, Robert Coren and Ryan Wichert.
A disturbed single mother is forced to confront a mysterious stranger and the echoes of her past to protect her home…
The film is currently available on Amazon Prime, Google Play and YouTube Movies.
Reviews:
“The Redeeming is an intimate two-piece drama that has the viewer switching sides as they try to guess where the film will develop. It might be free of gore, but there’s a plentiful dark current that will keep genre fans entertained. The film also offers an interesting exploration of mental illness and the bonds that we make.” Kat Hughes, Critical Popcorn
“Although this script is so character-driven and location-based it might have been written for stage rather than screen, a great strength of The Redeeming is how comfortable it is with giving information purely visually. Shared feelings, realisations and memories are reflected in subtle moves and cuts, so the script’s tendency to over-explain character and situation is a surprise.” Rachel Knightley, Horror Talk
“While there are certainly times when The Redeeming‘s low budget comes into play, Barnes is an obviously gifted filmmaker who has crafted a slow burning, psychologically involving dramatic thriller that is light on actual gore yet intense with the actual suspense. Working from Thomas’s intelligent, involving script, Barnes and his cast and crew have crafted a winner…” Richard Propes, The Independent Critic
“The chattiness, which has a stagey feel, evokes the talk-driven TV dramas of another era – it risks seeming old-fashioned, but the rising hysteria of two people whose conversation keeps turning aggressive, with seemingly deliberate misunderstandings setting each off at times, is still an effective device. It knowingly deploys old tricks like the radio news item about an escaped mental patient cut off when the power goes out, and see-saws effectively between misdirections and knowing chat about Friday the 13th and The Cabin in the Woods.” The Kim Newman Web Site
“This is the psychological thriller at its best, the intriguing story and claustrophobic setting pulling the viewer inexorably into the mystery. Wood and Wichert expertly bring to life characters that hide dark and strange secrets — sometimes even from themselves – and every line rings true.” Laura MacLeod, The Movie Critic Next Door
Filming locations:
Somerset, England, UK
Release:
The Redeeming premiered at the Horror-on-Sea festival on January 28, 2018.