Remnant // By Mike Horan. With Megan Bell, Remi Webster and Shaun Foley.
Genre cinema has often been a space for creativity and risk-taking, but not every attempt succeeds in transforming an ambitious idea into a captivating work. Remnantdirected by Mike Horan, presents itself as a low-budget, bold-concept film. However, despite some potential, it vacillates too often between inspiration and laborious execution. While its homage to masters of suspense and horror such as Hitchcock, Romero and De Palma is obvious, it struggles to achieve the same level of impact. From the first minutes, Remnant attempts to establish an intriguing atmosphere with its images of threatening clouds and windswept fields.
A tragic accident, a fractured mind, a body healed by experimental technology. A young woman becomes supernaturally linked to the horrors of her past. Haunted, hunted, tormented, she must discover the truth to be free.
These visual elements are successful, but the effect quickly runs out of steam, in particular because of a rhythm that lacks liveliness. The heroine, Grace (played by Megan Bell), is thrown into a chaotic situation after a traumatic car accident, but the initial intensity is diluted in an overly contemplative narrative. If the introduction of a universe on the border between dream and reality could have captivated, it stretches in length, multiplying the symbols without the latter always finding their meaning or their usefulness. The hesitation between mystery and the supernatural ends up frustrating more than it fascinates. At this point, I felt like the film was asking a lot of patience from me without offering enough in return.
The choice to develop several parallel narrative arcs – a slasher plot, a psychological dimension and even a secondary friendship – is laudable on paper. Unfortunately, on screen, this ambition turns into a scattering that makes emotional involvement difficult. The explanatory dialogues weigh down the first part of the film, and the scenes supposed to deepen the characters, although sincere, often lack energy and conciseness. At 112 minutes, Remnant would have benefited from being tighter. I found that certain passages, particularly those devoted to Grace’s interpersonal relationships, unnecessarily slowed down the main plot. If Isabelle Weiskopf offers a solid performance in a secondary role, her character does not add much to the whole.
It is only in its second half that the film begins to reveal its qualities. Mike Horan demonstrates that he knows how to handle the aesthetics of genre cinema with a certain skill. The horrific elements become stronger, and the staging becomes more immersive. A climactic sequence, shot in a historic theater, even manages to capture a genuine moment of visual and dramatic tension. This scene illustrates what Horan is capable of accomplishing when he channels his ideas in a more concise and impactful way. However, this burst of quality comes too late to compensate for the lengths at the start. Even in these more dynamic moments, the impact remains limited by effects which sometimes lack finesse.
Rather than keeping me in suspense, I found the film struggled to maintain emotional and narrative coherence, alternating between visual ambition and uneven execution. As if to underline his penchant for excess, Remnant introduces a mid-credits scene that shifts into body horror and science fiction. While this attempt to expand the film’s universe is interesting, it appears more like a box to check than a true narrative necessity. This turnaround, far from bringing a satisfactory conclusion, rather gives the impression of one experiment too many. It would be unfair not to recognize Mike Horan’s efforts to create an ambitious film with limited means. It’s obvious that he loves cinema and has a vision, but that vision sometimes lacks clarity.
By wanting to embrace too many genres and themes, Remnant loses coherence and rhythm, offering a barely passable experience. As a viewer, I was intrigued by some ideas and impressed by some moments of direction, but the whole thing often left me indifferent or distracted. The film gives the impression of a promising sketch which has not yet found its final form. If Remnant demonstrates potential in Mike Horan, there is still a way to go to transform this ambition into a truly significant work. In summary, Remnant is a film which attempts to sink its teeth into genre cinema, but whose result, despite some isolated successes, often proves too disjointed to fully convince.
Note : 4.5/10. In short, a nice attempt, certainly, but which never really goes beyond the stage of a stylistic exercise.
Coming soon to Amazon Prime Video
