Dear Watchers,Ready to dive into multiverses and sashay with the infected? It’s another Genre Movie Wednesday, and we’re heading to places both postapocalyptic and cryptic. Our guide to the world of sci-fi, Elisabeth Vincentelli, is highlighting a parallel-universe revenge thriller as one of her picks this week. Her other selection stars an iodine-soaked Ralph Fiennes. Both movies include characters bathed in the glow of flames, contemplating existence and fighting evil along the way. Read what Elisabeth has to say about each below, then head here for more of her picks. Happy Watching. ‘Redux Redux’
Where to watch: Stream “Redux Redux” on Hulu. Wrecked by her daughter’s death at the hands of a serial killer, Irene (Michaela McManus) hopscotches from one parallel universe to another, trying to find one where her child lives — and executing the perpetrator (Jeremy Holm) over and over. Written and directed by the brothers Kevin and Matthew McManus, and starring their sister, this taut, well-crafted movie keeps taking narrative turns without overcomplicating the story — which is relatively straightforward for the multiverse subgenre. How Irene got in possession of a dimension-hopping machine is unclear, as is how it works: The McManus brothers mercifully didn’t waste their time and ours making up pseudoscience and then explaining it to viewers. The rules of this film allow two versions of one person to coexist in the same universe, which leads to a wrenching development involving a teenager, Mia (Stella Marcus), whom Irene frees from the killer during one of her avenging expeditions to his lair. “Redux Redux” is a superb action movie, but Irene and Mia’s prickly bond also gives the film genuine emotional resonance. ‘28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’
Where to watch: Stream “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” on Netflix. This sequel to “28 Years Later” picks up shortly after that 2025 film left off, as we continue our quasi-psychedelic journey in a Britain devastated by the so-called Rage virus, which turns people into rabid cannibals. After a gruesome test of strength and ingenuity, young Spike (Alfie Williams) is inducted among the followers of the Satanist psychopath Sir Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell); it’s a bad situation for the boy, but the alternative was worse. The movie really starts taking shape, however, when that unhinged group crosses the path of Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), who has built monuments to the virus victims while also looking for a cure. And Kelson has acquired new company, too: an infected alpha whom he calls Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry). Written, like its immediate predecessor, by Alex Garland, “The Bone Temple” is directed by Nia DaCosta instead of Danny Boyle. This means fewer cinematic flourishes, although there is still room for eye-popping scenes like one in which Kelson performs an interpretive dance to Iron Maiden’s “The Number of the Beast.” The movie alternates between gory violence and surreal poetry, and the final scene tees up another sequel. That’s good news.
|
