"Retreat" is a suspenseful but simple film about a couple who are out on a tiny island with a single large cottage, trying to enjoy their vacation/work on their marriage when I bloodied solider collapses on the pathway to the house. The tension quickly builds when the solider, Private Jack Colman, tells the couple, Martin and Kate, that there has been a deadly epidemic released in England and elsewhere and that the three must quarantine themselves away in the cottage. The virus has a 100% kill rate and the victims are dying slow painful deaths as they cough up blood as their lungs quickly deteriorate. At first Martin and Kate do as they're told, but as Jack's behavior starts to shift and his story stops making sense, the two try to find a way out of their hostage-like situation and a means off the secluded island.
What makes this film work so well are the strong performances of the three lead actors. Cilian Murphy isn't a stranger to this kind of film, and Jaime Bell and Thandie Newton prove without a doubt that they also know how to play off the tension that is growing between the characters. This is a solid film that first time director Carl Tibbetts should be proud of and I can't wait to see if he creates any other tense, chilling films in the future.
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