REPEAT
Directed by: Richard Miller, Grant Archer
Starring: Tom England, Charlotte Ritchie, Nina Wadia, Ellila-Jean Wood, Joshua Ford
RYAN MOORE is a cognitive psychologist who works for a local university. As he and his wife try to come to terms with their daughter's mysterious disappearance, Ryan makes a startling discovery with one of his home-made experiments - he's found a way of contacting the dead….
REPEAT is a "hard sci-fi" film which will nevertheless prove to be accessible to all thanks to its relatable drama, performances and very well imagined central conceit.
The film deals with two intertwining threads - Ryan's invention in his garage and the disappearance of his daughter, Sam, six months earlier. Ryan unfortunately is one of these cinematic people who let their obsessions outweigh their responsibilities, so part of the blame for her disappearance lies at his feet - if he'd been on time to pick her up from school, maybe she would still be here. He knows this, but does his best to deflect the blame elsewhere.
Even though his marriage with Emily is at breaking point, Ryan is becoming more and more obsessed with fine-tuning his machine, which he now knows can contact the recently deceased. He conducts seminars, inviting people on-stage who have recently lost a loved one to try and make contact. What sets Ryan apart from the charlatan spiritualists is that he is a scientist first and foremost. Secondly the people who they contact seem to be confused and aren't saying what you'd expect relatives to want to hear. These scenes really start to build an atmosphere of dread as the responses from the other side all seem to be saying the same thing.
The central McGuffin of Ryan's invention is very well realised. It definitely looks like something cobbled together rather than something made by design. The effects of switching on the machine are very well done also giving it real presence in the room. I was a little bit reminded of another sci-fi film, Shifter, which also had a home-made feel to its device. This is a film which works within the confines of its budget without the need to embellish with obvious CGI.
THE VERDICT
There are a lot of interesting narrative threads here which intertwine in unexpected ways. There is a mix of mystery and wonder mixed with familial drama and an ending which I can only describe as brilliantly horrific.