Retreat (film)

Last updated

Retreat
Retreat film poster.jpg
Directed byCarl Tibbetts
Screenplay by Janice Hallett
Carl Tibbetts
Produced by Gary Sinyor
Sir David Frost
Starring Cillian Murphy
Jamie Bell
Thandiwe Newton
CinematographyChris Seager
Edited byJamie Trevill
Music by Ilan Eshkeri
Production
companies
Magnet Films
Ripple World Pictures
Distributed by Vertigo Films [1]
Release date
  • 14 October 2011 (2011-10-14)
Running time
88 minutes [1]
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget$6.4 million[ citation needed ]

Retreat is a 2011 British horror-thriller film and the directorial debut of former film editor Carl Tibbets. The film stars Cillian Murphy, Jamie Bell, and Thandiwe Newton as three people isolated from the rest of the world on a remote island. Two of them are told they are survivors of a fatal airborne disease that is sweeping over the entire world. However, their induced isolation may be the result of a lie, and it may be that they are being held at the whim of a madman.

Contents

Plot

London architect Martin Kennedy and his unhappy journalist wife Kate often visit a small, remote, uninhabited island off the west coast of Scotland called Blackholme Island for their holiday retreats. The only dwelling on the island, Fairweather Cottage, is seasonally operated by owner Doug from the mainland and only reachable by ferry. After recently suffering a miscarriage, Kate's relationship with Martin has become tense, and in an effort to rekindle their marriage they decide on a return visit to the island. A few nights in, the generator in the cottage explodes, injuring Martin's arm and leaving them without electricity. They use the CB radio, the only source of communication to the mainland, to call Doug, who ferries out to help them.

Kate spends the next day waiting at the jetty for Doug to arrive, but to no avail. A man in green combat fatigues washes up, bloodied. When he awakes, he identifies himself as a soldier, Private Jack Corman. He tells Martin and Kate that there has been an outbreak of an airborne disease, Argromoto Flu, codenamed R1N16, that started in South America and has spread over the entire world in just a few weeks. The disease is incurable and highly contagious, attacking the respiratory system and causing victims to choke on blood with a 100% fatality rate. The British military have lost control, and are now advising civilians to seal themselves up in their homes. With only static coming from the CB radio, Martin decides to help Jack, who aggressively takes command and boards up the door and windows.

Over the next few days, Jack becomes increasingly strange and erratic, and his intimidating behaviour begins to disturb the couple further. They suspect that the virus may be a lie and that Jack is insane. The couple decides to leave the cottage and take their chances outside, but Jack refuses to let them, forcing them into the bedroom at gunpoint and locking them in. Martin sneaks outside through a skylight, finding the bodies of Doug and his wife at the pier, killed by gunshot. Using Doug's hunting shotgun, Martin gets the upper hand on Jack. Just as Kate begins to tie Jack up, Martin suddenly coughs up blood; it appears the Argromoto Flu is real and he is infected. Kate is forced to shoot her husband dead to spare him a slow and agonising death.

Forced at gunpoint, Jack reveals to Kate that he was experimented on at a military compound and released without anyone having realized he was a carrier of R1N16. Jack had infected his wife, killing her, and fled to Blackholme Island to quarantine himself, where the couple found him. The CB radio worked all along; Jack had just changed the settings so Kate and Martin would not be able to reach anyone.

Jack fixes the CB radio, and the military broadcast on it claims the soldiers have a vaccine against the virus. Jack tells Kate that the military are lying; there is no vaccine, and the military would kill them both if they were discovered. Kate does not believe him and, angered by the possibility that Martin could have been saved, shoots Jack dead. As she attempts to leave the island in the boat with Martin’s body, a military helicopter flies over and she is killed by a sniper who shoots her in the head.

Cast

Release

Retreat premiered at the Fantasia Film Festival on July 18, 2011 [2] and received a limited release in the United Kingdom and the United States respectively on October 12 and 14 2011.

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the Retreat holds a score of 62%, based on 13 reviews, and an average rating of 5.5/10. [3]

Bloody Disgusting rated it 4.5/5 stars and praised the intense, chilling atmosphere and plot twists. [4] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian rated it 3/5 stars and called it "a neat, tense thriller from a first time director that provides a decent role for Jamie Bell". [5] John Anderson of Variety wrote, "A potential menage a trois of terror is served up as rather weak tea in Retreat, which fails to make its alleged suspense, thrills or even its mist-enshrouded landscapes particularly plausible." [6] Neil Smith of Total Film rated it 3/5 stars and called it "tense if rather monotonously bleak". [7] Mark Adams of Screen Daily wrote, "An unrelentingly moody and claustrophobic three-handed thriller, Retreat is an assured and nicely staged debut from Carl Tibbetts that might feel all rather familiar but manages to keep the story suitably unpredictable and nicely paced." [8] Damon Wise of Empire wrote that the performances make up for the story. [9] David Nussair of Reel Film Reviews wrote that "Retreat inevitably (and lamentably) establishes itself as a generic and hopelessly uninvolving thriller that grows more and more tedious as it progresses." [10] Scott Weinberg of Fearnet concluded that the film is "certainly more engaging than its basic premise might imply". [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Corman</span> American film director, producer, and actor (1926–2024)

Roger William Corman was an American film director, producer and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he was known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thandiwe Newton</span> English actress (born 1972)

Melanie Thandiwe Newton, formerly credited as Thandie Newton, is a British actress. She has received various awards, including a Primetime Emmy Award, and a BAFTA Award, as well as nominations for two Golden Globe Awards. She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to film and charity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cillian Murphy</span> Irish actor (born 1976)

Cillian Murphy is an Irish actor. His works encompass both stage and screen, and his accolades include an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award and a Golden Globe Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noah Taylor</span> Australian actor (born 1969)

Noah George Taylor is an Australian actor. He is best known for his roles as teenage David Helfgott in Shine, Locke in the HBO series Game of Thrones, Darby Sabini in the BBC One series Peaky Blinders, Mr. Bucket in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Danny in the Australian cult film He Died with a Felafel in His Hand. Taylor also starred as Adolf Hitler in both the American television series Preacher and the 2002 film Max. In 2023 he starred as Dr. Friedrich "Fritz" Pfeffer in A Small Light.

<i>Flirting</i> (film) 1991 Australian film

Flirting is a 1991 Australian coming-of-age comedy drama film written and directed by John Duigan. The story revolves around a romance between two teenagers, and it stars Noah Taylor, who appears again as Danny Embling, the protagonist of Duigan's 1987 film The Year My Voice Broke. It also stars Thandiwe Newton and Nicole Kidman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brad Anderson (director)</span> American film director (born 1964)

Brad Anderson is an American film director, producer and writer. A director of thriller and horror films and television projects, he is best known for directing The Machinist (2004), starring Christian Bale, psychological horror film Session 9 (2001) and The Call (2013), starring Halle Berry. He also produced and directed several episodes of the Fox science fiction series Fringe. Earlier in his career he directed the romantic comedies Next Stop Wonderland (1998) and Happy Accidents (2000).

<i>Red Eye</i> (2005 American film) 2005 film directed by Wes Craven

Red Eye is a 2005 American psychological thriller film directed by Wes Craven and written by Carl Ellsworth based on a story by Ellsworth and Dan Foos. It stars Rachel McAdams, Cillian Murphy, and Brian Cox. The story follows a hotel manager ensnared in an assassination plot by a terrorist while aboard a red-eye flight to Miami.

<i>Bloody Mama</i> 1970 film

Bloody Mama is a 1970 American exploitation crime film directed by Roger Corman, and starring Shelley Winters in the title role, with Bruce Dern, Don Stroud, Robert Walden, Alex Nicol and Robert De Niro in supporting roles. It was very loosely based on the real story of Ma Barker, who is depicted as a corrupt, mentally-disturbed mother who encourages and organizes the criminality of her four adult sons in Depression-era southern United States.

<i>Shade</i> (film) 2003 American film

Shade is a 2003 American neo-noir crime thriller film directed and written by Damian Nieman and starring Stuart Townsend, Gabriel Byrne, Thandiwe Newton, Jamie Foxx, Melanie Griffith and Sylvester Stallone. The film follows a trio of grifters who attempt to set up a legendary card shark nicknamed "the Dean". The film had a limited release in the United States on May 7, 2004.

Retreat or re-treat may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fearnet</span> American horror cable network

Fearnet was an American digital cable television network, website and video on demand service owned by Comcast. The network specialized in horror entertainment programming through a mix of acquired and original series, and feature films.

The Factory is a 2012 American crime thriller film directed by Morgan O'Neill and starring John Cusack, Mae Whitman, Dallas Roberts, Mageina Tovah, Cindy Sampson, and Jennifer Carpenter. In the film, Cusack plays a Buffalo, New York cop who has been chasing a serial kidnapper who abducts young women.

Target: Harry is a 1969 thriller film directed by Roger Corman.

<i>Fertile Ground</i> (film) 2011 American film

Fertile Ground is a 2011 horror film directed by Adam Gierasch. The film was released as part of the After Dark Originals line on January 28, 2011 and stars Leisha Hailey as a pregnant woman who finds herself subjected to several strange supernatural occurrences.

<i>Transcendence</i> (2014 film) 2014 film directed by Wally Pfister

Transcendence is a 2014 American science fiction thriller film directed by Wally Pfister and written by Jack Paglen. The film stars Johnny Depp, Morgan Freeman, Rebecca Hall, Paul Bettany, Kate Mara, Cillian Murphy and Cole Hauser, and follows a group of scientists who race to finish an artificial intelligence project while being targeted by a radical anti-technology organization.

<i>The Conspiracy</i> (2012 film) 2012 Canadian film

The Conspiracy is a 2012 Canadian found footage conspiracy thriller horror film written and directed by Christopher MacBride. It features actors Aaron Poole, James Gilbert, Alan C. Peterson, and Julian Richings. It tells the story of two documentary filmmakers who set out to create a film about a conspiracy theorist named "Terrance G" who disappears during the making of the film. The two filmmakers are subsequently drawn into the world of a global syndicate whose aims and machinations are clouded in secrecy.

<i>Separation</i> (2013 film) 2013 Canadian film

Separation is a 2013 Canadian thriller film directed by Greg White and his feature film directorial debut. The film was released on video on demand on April 15, 2013 and stars Sarah Manninen and Peter Stebbings as a married couple struggling to save their lives as well as their marriage.

<i>The Returned</i> (2013 film) 2013 Spanish-Canadian thriller film by Manuel Carballo

The Returned is a 2013 Spanish-Canadian thriller film directed by Manuel Carballo, written by Hatem Khraiche, and starring Emily Hampshire, Kris Holden-Ried, Shawn Doyle, and Claudia Bassols. When a rare and difficult to obtain medicine that requires daily doses to stave off the effects of a zombie infection runs low, a physician (Hampshire) and her infected husband (Holden-Ried) go on the run to avoid angry demonstrators.

Oliver Parker is an English director, producer and screenwriter. He wrote and directed the 2018 musical film Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.

<i>All the Old Knives</i> 2022 American thriller film

All the Old Knives is a 2022 American spy thriller film directed by Janus Metz Pedersen and written by Olen Steinhauer. It is based on Steinhauer's 2015 novel of the same name. The film stars Chris Pine, Thandiwe Newton, Laurence Fishburne, Jonathan Pryce and David Dawson.

References

  1. 1 2 "RETREAT (15)". British Board of Film Classification . 4 October 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  2. ↑ Jagernauth, Kevin (27 June 2011). "Cillian Murphy Thriller 'Retreat' Will Make World Premiere At The Fantasia Film Festival". Indiewire . Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  3. ↑ "Retreat (2011)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango . Retrieved 7 October 2021. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  4. ↑ "Retreat (DVD)". Bloody Disgusting . 28 July 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  5. ↑ Bradshaw, Peter (13 October 2011). "Retreat – review". The Guardian . Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  6. ↑ Anderson, John (24 July 2011). "Review: 'Retreat'". Variety . Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  7. ↑ Smith, Neil (11 October 2011). "Retreat". Total Film . Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  8. ↑ Adams, Mark (5 October 2011). "Retreat". Screen Daily . Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  9. ↑ Wise, Damon. "Retreat". Empire . Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  10. ↑ Nussair, David (20 February 2012). "Sony's February '12 Releases". Reel Film Reviews. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  11. ↑ Weinberg, Scott (11 January 2012). "Movie Review: 'Retreat'". Fearnet . Retrieved 5 April 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.