Review of Regression (2015) by Brett B — 11 Feb 2016

The "Satanic Panic" of the 1980s has been an underused subject from which to mine spooky material, as has the idea of cults in general, which have been the focus of genre cinema all too infrequently.

REGRESSION, for the most part, makes strong use of the material in the service of a chilly, moody mystery yarn that flirts with outright horror while maintaining much more of a thriller flavor. Right from the start, we get the sense that something is off, and while the movie is certainly shot with the intention of hinting towards potential paranormal angles, the way it plays out for the majority of its length is much more on the ambiguous end of the spectrum; how much the audience will accept the movie playing coy is subject to debate, but it didn't bug me in the slightest because I found the mystery - and question of what, exactly, is going on - to be quite engaging and satisfyingly unnerving.

These qualities are heightened by some intensely creepy imagery, a great sense of building paranoia (particularly throughout the second half) and a wonderfully uneasy, Bernard Herrmann-ish score. In terms of the central players, Hawke is great, playing what could have been a stock "gruff cop" role with total credibility, and Thewlis - with whom Hawke is paired for much of the movie - has a nicely low key energy that contrasts nicely with Hawke and makes them an interesting double act to watch.

Watson, for her part, does some terrifically emotional work, though the character is slightly underserved by the screenplay, which keeps her at somewhat of a remove for much of the story. The person who pretty much steals the movie, though, is Dencik, who contributes a layered and affecting portrait of a deeply confused character.

The movie is not perfect by any means (in a really odd move, we spend a lot of time with the largest and busiest small town police department in the history of cinema), but it is much better than I was expecting it to be, and it's FAR better than the lukewarm (at best) critical response would indicate.