Resurrection is a film that sits with you long after you’ve watched it. At first it may feel like a simple film: Margaret is faced with the return of her abusive ex David, and she’ll do whatever it takes to keep her and her daughter safe. However, it’s a little bit more than that. It’s a paranoid thriller, it’s a revenge tale, it’s a cat and mouse detective movie, but most of all it has that one specific element about it that will pick at your brain forever and drive you mad. With Resurrection, director Andrew Semans delivers a unique, white knuckled thriller with yet another exceptional performance turned in by Rebecca Hall.

 

I feel I should say: this is 100% Rebecca Hall’s movie. With the intense paranoia and horrors at hand, Rebecca Hall carries a certain timidness to her performance that add to the film's most dreadful scenes. As the film progresses, we find out more information about Margaret’s past, and here are the scenes where Hall delivers quite possibly some of my favorite stuff I’ve seen from her. It’s one that shines in its more quiet and reserved moments, but still wows during its bigger scenes. Semans’ direction and script guide her through an incredibly unpredictable journey that is both hair-raising, and quite fascinating.

 

You also have the supporting performance from Tim Roth, playing Margaret’s abusive ex, David. Though Hall definitely delivers the film’s more focused performance, Roth is sinister every chance he gets here. With very small dialogue exchanges and certain facial twitches, Roth is able to successfully bat-home David’s inhuman presence, and makes the character feel entirely evil. The rest of the supporting cast is rather fine; Grace Kaufman’s performance as Margaret’s daughter brought the film some levity, but you also get the weird boyfriend character from Michael Esper, who is the film’s only hiccup.

 

With Resurrection’s set up, it seems as if the story can really only go one way. Though it does follow a somewhat predictable route, the ending of the film has a certain twist that leaves a fair amount to chew on, with lasting notes reminiscent of Park Chan Wook’s revenge thrillers (ex. Lady Vengeance). With its subtly evil characteristics that just pick at the back of your neck, mixed with its more intense elements, Resurrection is sure to be a satisfying watch. With Rebecca Hall’s top notch performance, Semans delivers a thriller that’s bound to go down as one of my favorites this year.