SXSW: ‘Redux Redux’ Is Great Contemporary Sci-Fi

Kevin McManus and Matthew McManus, colloquially known as the McManus Brothers, are no stranger to the festival circuit. Their latest film, Redux Redux , is a special sort of homecoming for them, premiering at the festival where their acclaimed debut, Funeral Kings, first showed: South by Southwest. As it turns out, SXSW 2025 is the perfect place for Redux Redux (2025), a wonderfully understated take on the multiverse that doubles as a poignant story of the messiness of letting go of past wounds.

At the start of Redux Redux (2025), Irene Kelly (Michaela McManus) is in the midst of revenge, lighting Nelson (Jeremy Holm) who killed her daughter on fire. As it turns out, this is only one step in a futile journey of killing the same man across an infinite number of alternate universes. Her endless journey takes a detour when, in one universe, she manages to save young victim Mia (Stella Marcus) from Nelson. When Mia follows Irene into the machine that allows her to hop universes, Irene begins to view her personal quest in new ways, attempting to stop Mia from making the same mistakes she has.

Irene is a great heroine for Redux Redux (2025) to hang its hat on. Bottling up her demons far below the surface, Michaela McManus portrays a terse, driven individual who’s practically addicted to revenge by this point. Stella Marcus’ Mia is the perfect foil for her—a foul-mouthed, headstrong teen whose chaotic nature forcefully shakes Irene out of her routine.

The Lone Wolf & Cub dynamic that’s been parroted by the likes of The Last of Us and The Mandalorian can be overdone in modern media, but the authenticity of McManus and Marcus’ performances keep the dynamic feeling fresh. A big help is the script from the McManus Brothers, who show themselves just as adept at crafting real-sounding dialogue as they were when they wrote for the underrated American Vandal.

Redux Redux (2025) benefits from making its sci-fi rules very clear.

Moreover, serious kudos to the world-building in this film. A trend in independent science fiction that’s really taken off is a lore-heavy, brain-melting focus on the mechanics of a science fiction concept, popularized in films made by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, or even ones they’ve produced like 2024’s excellent Things Will Be Different. Redux Redux (2025) goes the opposite direction, instead making the rules of hopping across alternate universes very clear to the audience. Transportation occurs using a coffin-like device that zaps its user into the same physical space in an alternate dimension. The multiversal coffin must be given proper maintenance to continue to run properly.

Whereas the other kind of independent science fiction makes the strange a reality through extreme explanation, the simplicity of Redux Redux (2025) sells the reality just as much. Cinematographer Alan Gwizdowski quite naturally captures the lived-in feel of the rustic towns Irene and Mia find themselves in. Although the universes are different, much is still the same, leading for the opportunity for the audiences to get familiar with the space, so that whenever a new wrinkle, such as multiversal black market traders, are introduced, it’s easy to go along with.

Critically, the McManus Brothers center the space of Redux Redux (2025) as a reflection of the protagonist’s emotional state. Just like the characters, the different variations of the town they travel to are broken down, decayed memories of a more prosperous time, filled with shifty characters and a devil- Nelson- haunting their every move. This is the perfect place for a story about the cyclical nature of revenge, a truly timeless concept, to play out.

Redux Redux (2025) isn’t a flashy film. The McManus Brothers’ latest effort puts strong, simplistic storytelling above the theatrics, allowing for a great piece of meat-and-potatoes science fiction to break through the tedious glut of alternate universe stories. It just goes to show that no matter how tired a concept might seem, all it needs is a genuine hand to make it soar.

Redux Redux (2025) premiered at the SXSW 2025 Film & Television Festival. There is currently no plans for theatrical distribution.