''Regression'' is a 2015

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a genre combining the thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting. In terms of context and c ...

horror

mystery film A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means of clues, i ...

directed and written by

Alejandro Amenábar Alejandro Fernando Amenábar Cantos (born March 31, 1972) is a Spanish-Chilean film director, screenwriter and composer. He has won nine Goyas—including a Goya Award for Best Director for his 2001 film '' The Others''— two European Film A ...

. The film stars

Ethan Hawke Ethan Green Hawke (born November 6, 1970) is an American actor and film director. He has been nominated for four Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award. Hawke has directed three feature films, three off-Broadway plays, and a doc ...

and

Emma Watson Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson (born 15 April 1990) is an English actress and activist. Known for her roles in both blockbusters and independent films, as well as for her women's rights work, she has received a selection of accolades, includi ...

, with

David Thewlis David Wheeler (born 20 March 1963), better known as David Thewlis (), is a British actor, author, director and screenwriter. Thewlis rose to prominence when he starred in the film ''Naked'' (1993), for which he won the Cannes Film Festival Awa ...

, Lothaire Bluteau, Dale Dickey,

David Dencik Karl David Sebastian Dencik (born 31 October 1974) is a Danish-Swedish actor. He has acted in both Swedish and Danish films, and has also had major roles in English-language films and series including '' Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'' (2011), ''The ...

Peter MacNeill Peter MacNeill is a Canadian film and television actor and voice-over artist who has starred in numerous television series and films. His film credits have included '' The Hanging Garden'' (for which MacNeill won a Genie Award for Best Suppor ...

, Devon Bostick, and Aaron Ashmore in supporting roles. The film had its world premiere at the

San Sebastián International Film Festival The San Sebastián International Film Festival ( SSIFF; es, Festival Internacional de San Sebastián, eu, Donostia Zinemaldia) is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of Donostia-San Sebastián in September, in ...

on September 18, 2015. It was released in the United States on October 9, 2015, by

The Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film studio, founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in March 2005. TWC was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America pri ...

under the banner RADiUS-TWC. The film received mostly negative reviews from critics.

Plot

The film takes place in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...

, in 1990. Detective Bruce Kenner (

) investigates the case of John Gray (

), who admits to sexually abusing his 17-year-old daughter Angela (

) but has no recollection of the abuse. They seek the help of Professor Kenneth Raines (

) to use

recovered-memory therapy Recovered-memory therapy (RMT) is a catch-all term for a controversial and scientifically discredited form of psychotherapy that critics say utilizes one or more unproven therapeutic techniques (such as psychoanalysis, hypnosis, journaling, past ...

on John Gray to retrieve his memories, and come to suspect that their colleague Detective George Nesbitt ( Aaron Ashmore) is involved. They detain him but fail to find evidence against him. Detectives suspect a

satanic cult Satanism is a group of Ideology, ideological and Philosophy, philosophical beliefs based on Satan. Contemporary religious practice of Satanism began with the founding of the atheistic Church of Satan by Anton LaVey in the United States in 19 ...

is involved because of Angela's testimony, in which Angela says that she was abused by people in masks and someone took pictures of it. Bruce and Kenneth meet Angela's estranged brother Roy Gray ( Devon Bostick) to inquire about why he left the house. Using the regression technique on him, he recalls hooded figures entering his room while he was young. Bruce and Kenneth suspect Roy's grandmother, Rose Gray ( Dale Dickey), has some involvement but find nothing after a search of her house. Meanwhile, Bruce begins having nightmares involving satanic rituals. Angela tells him that the cult is out to kill her as she has shown her demonic mark to him and that he is in danger as well. She tells him that her mother received miscellaneous calls and saw strange figures staring at her in the street before she herself had an accident. Bruce starts to experience the same things and his nightmares increase in intensity. Rose jumps from the window of her house after seeing ghostly figures, injuring herself. Bruce meets Angela in the church's cemetery to reassure her and after an emotional outburst, she kisses him. Shocked, Bruce leaves her there and returns to his home. He sees a soup advertisement on the street and recognizes the woman in it as the one he sees in his nightmares. He concludes that his imagination has run away with him. He tells Kenneth that all these past memories are induced by therapy and the whole situation is just the result of mass hysteria. Though the professor is initially resistant to the idea, he too comes to suspect that these memories were not real. Bruce is attacked by two hooded figures who finally reveal themselves as George and their colleague, Farrell (

Aaron Abrams Aaron Abrams (born 12 May 1978) is a Canadian actor and writer, who has worked in both film and television. Born in Toronto, Abrams has appeared as a regular on several series, including Hannibal, Blindspot, ''The State Within'', ''Slings an ...

). George was seeking revenge after Bruce detained him as a child molester and ruined his career. Bruce offers to forget the whole situation if George tells him everything he knows. After George reveals things, Bruce confronts Angela about her abuse and she insists she told the truth. Finally Bruce concludes that she was fabricating everything from the beginning as she wanted to escape from her family, whom she thinks are responsible for her mother's death. She wanted to elope with George, as they had a sexual relationship for some time, but he refused to elope with a minor. Angela accused her father in order to escape the house. When Bruce confronts her, she tells him that no one is going to believe him, especially if she tells them that they kissed in the cemetery. Bruce tells John everything but John decides to take the blame and pleads guilty in order to rescue Angela and hopes that she will forgive him one day for being a bad father. The film ends with a statement that many cases like this were reported before the satanic abuse hysteria faded.

Cast

as Detective Bruce Kenner *

as Angela Gray *

as Professor Kenneth Raines * Lothaire Bluteau as Reverend Murray * Dale Dickey as Rose Gray, Angela's grandmother. *

as John Gray, Angela's father. *

as Police Chief Cleveland * Devon Bostick as Roy Gray, Angela's brother. * Aaron Ashmore as Detective George Nesbitt *

Adam Butcher Adam Butcher (born October 20, 1988) is a Canadian actor. Early life Born in Cambridge, Ontario, Butcher has an older sister, actress Mandy Butcher. Butcher started acting at the age of nine when his aunt (a talent agent) and uncle (a stunt ...

as Brody *

Kristian Bruun Charles Kristian Bonnycastle Bruun (born October 25, 1979) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his roles in ''Orphan Black'' and ''Murdoch Mysteries''. Life and career Bruun was born on October 25, 1979, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where ...

as Andrew *

as Farrell *

Julian Richings Julian Richings (born 30 August 1956)''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at Ancestry.com is a British-Canadian character actor. He has appeared in over 225 films and television series. Career After touring th ...

as Tom *

Wendy Lyon Wendy Lyon (born 1960) is a Canadian film and television actress. She began her career in television, appearing on the miniseries ''Anne of Green Gables'' (1985) before having a recurring role on the Canadian series ''The Campbells'' (1986–199 ...

as Norma * Janet Porter as S. Cooper

Production

On October 31, 2013, it was announced that

would star in the thriller film ''Regression''. On February 5, 2014,

joined the film to star with Hawke, and on March 25,

was added to the cast, playing a man who is arrested in a Minnesota town for allegedly sexually abusing his daughter. On May 23, Devon Bostick was added to the cast of the film.

directed his own script, while

FilmNation Entertainment FilmNation Entertainment, LLC is an American film production, co-financing and international sales company, founded by film executive Glen Basner in 2008. History 2008: Founding FilmNation Entertainment is an independent film production and d ...

holds international rights.

Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as ...

began on April 15, 2014, in

Mississauga Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popu ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. Emma Watson stated, ''"First day shooting Regression today – a very cool birthday present xx."'' On the day, which was her 24th birthday, she filmed a church scene at the

University of Toronto Mississauga The University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM), also known as U of T Mississauga, is one of the three campuses that make up the tri-campus system of the University of Toronto. Located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, the campus opened in 1967 as Eri ...

. Shooting was taking place in

Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Wal ...

on May 5. On June 3, it was reported that Watson was back in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

to continue the rest of filming after spending some time in the UK and graduating from Brown. Principal photography concluded June 12. On January 28, 2015, the crew filmed several additional scenes or reshoots in Mississauga.

Marketing

On June 10, 2014, TWC-Dimension revealed a first look photo from the film. On February 12, 2015, the first trailer was released, and on February 1, 2016, the U.S. trailer premiered.

Release

In November 2013, TWC-

Dimension In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a mathematical space (or object) is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any point within it. Thus, a line has a dimension of one (1D) because only one coord ...

acquired US distribution rights to the film. The film had its world premiere at the

on September 18, 2015. It was released in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

on October 2, 2015 and in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

on October 9, 2015. ''Regression'' was originally set for an August 28, 2015 release in the U.S., but was pulled from the schedule. It was then pushed back to its eventual U.S. theatrical date of February 5, 2016, and was released on

Amazon Instant Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pr ...

thirty days later.

Reception

''Regression'' received generally negative reviews from critics, mostly focused on the film's

third act Third Act is the third full-length album by the Swedish/Danish band Evil Masquerade. Track listing All songs written by Henrik Flyman. Black Ravens Cry was released as a single in 2012 by Dark Minstrel Music Personnel ;Evil Masquerade *Hen ...

Review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reported a 15% rating, based on 40 reviews, leaving a rating average of 4.1/10. The site's consensus reads, "''Regression'' boasts a pair of eminently likable leads – neither of whom are able to dislodge the movie from the mire of psychological thriller mediocrity." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the film has a score of 32 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews."

References

External links

* *
Regression
' at

*
Regression
' at

Box Office Mojo Box Office Mojo is an American website that tracks box-office revenue in a systematic, algorithmic way. The site was founded in 1998 by Brandon Gray, and was bought in 2008 by IMDb, which itself is owned by Amazon. History Brandon Gray began ...