Written and directed by Chris Newberry, Retreat pulls us into the strange world of Jamie (Harry Walters) and his mother Jane (Denise Wilton). Jamie is a teenager with little interest in his mother and an unhealthy interest in a recently murdered girl. Jane is a middle aged women desperate for something to pull her out of the dark, lonely hole her life has become. However, Jane’s struggles aren’t just a mid-life crisis – something much darker haunts the back rooms of her mind, and Jamie’s too. So when Jane announce they’re both going away to a mind-set retreat, it could be just what the pair need. Jamie isn’t convinced, but doesn’t have much choice in the matter.
As the pair make their way to the final destination, Jamie becomes enthralled by an Italian girl staying in the same hotel. The pair have an enchanting evening getting to know each other. Jane has a similar idea, however instead of an ethereal night of whimsy, it’s a drunken tumble in the dark with a bloke she doesn’t much care to find out the name of. It’s here we being to understand the depths of her unhappiness and cast glimpses of the root causes.
At the retreat, both mother and son seem to find their crowd. Jamie goes off drinking in the woods with Sophia, the daughter of the retreat host, and Jane feels at home amongst the other women. Here, the story more or less splits into Jane and Jamie’s perspectives. We see Jane get drawn deeper and deeper into what starts to look more and more like a cult while Jamie develops his relationship with Sophie and their shared hatred of the relentless positivity spewed by the retreat/ cult leader, Candice.
As the narrative splits in two, so do the psychological thriller aspects. Jane’s storyline is more immediately and obviously chilling, mostly due to the way it is presented by the filmmakers. The use of cinematography, sound effects and narrative devices to build tension keep viewers on their toes. A cabin in the middle of the woods, led by an eccentric woman who parrots phrases like “always be aiming” certainly seems to have all the hallmarks of horror. What’s interesting is that for all eerie cut aways, creepy music and odd cult-like behaviour, nothing truly horrifying happens at the retreat. At least not in the way the direction of the tension building suggests. The horrifying elements to the film start to feel like a blood soaked palimpsest laid over a narrative to distract or misdirect from the true horror that unfolds in Jamie’s storyline.
One interpretation of this approach is that the retreat is being portrayed from Jamie’s perspective. Is this really a cult of evil witches with a leader who is baying for her next sacrifice or is it a gathering of sad, lonely women who are desperate to find something to cling to, some phrase to believe in. It’s evident the women at the retreat are vulnerable but this is never fully explored. There are hints towards abuse in Jane’s past but the full impact of this is overshadowed by the palimpsest of Jamie’s perspective. We only really get to see what Jamie wants to see. For example, while Candice (the retreat leader) is most likely exploiting these women for money by selling them the idea that a better life is just one positive mind set away, it’s Jamie’s perspective that plunges her character into the realms of truly evil cult leader. The misogyny that underpins this becomes more apparent in Jamie’s narrative as the true horror comes to light.
Denise Wilton perfectly captures Jane’s character, brining nuance to the role. While it feels like there could have been more space to develop Jane’s character within the narrative, Wilton makes the most out what there is to work with. Veronica Caddick as Candice gives the most engaging performance, constantly teetering on the edge of becoming unhinged. Izzy Kidd as Candice’s daughter, Sophie, is brilliantly rebellious and plays well against Harry Walters as Jamie. Walters holds his cards close to his chest in his portrayal of Jamie, being sure to give nothing away. Although the character is very reserved, Walters manages to work within these confines to keep audiences guessing.
Retreat is a mysterious film with a lot of winding pathways of understanding to choose from. Check out the full film on Amazon Prime here!