The film should appeal to fans of 28 Days Later.
Our TV movie pick for tonight is Retreat, the excellent if slightly forgotten 2011 Cillian Murphy-starring thriller.
The film sees Murphy and Thandiwe Newton (Line of Duty, Westworld) play a married couple, Martin and Kate, whose relationship has become tense in the wake of Kate experiencing a miscarriage.
As such, Martin takes Kate back to a small, remote, uninhabited island off the west coast of Scotland called Blackholme, where they shared happy memories years previously.
The holiday retreat gets off to a rocky start as buried resentments between the couple rise to the surface and their cottage suffers a series of power outages.
However, things go from bad to worse when Kate spots an injured armed man (an excellent Jamie Bell – All of Us Strangers, Snowpiercer) passing out near their holiday house.
When the stranger awakens, he informs the couple that his name is Jack, that he is a soldier and that a deadly airborne virus has reached the UK. Because of this, he says the three must barricade the cottage to avoid becoming infected.
So far, so 28 Days Later – particularly given the presence of Cillian Murphy.
That said, given Jack’s outlandish claims and his domineering, erratic behaviour – which sees him appear to pit Martin and Kate against each other – the couple quickly suspects that Jack may be less interested in trying to save them. Instead, he may want to trap them.
Taking place entirely on and around the island and mostly in the holiday cottage, Retreat is a tense and tight 90-minute thriller that hits a couple of classic beats very well.
Comparisons to the likes of 28 Days Later are inevitable. Yet, the script by director Carl Tibbets (Black Mirror) and novelist Janice Hallett (The Examiner) is more psychological in nature – focusing nearly completely on three people thrust into a situation where they can’t trust one another and must constantly manipulate each other in order to get what they want or need.
And whether or not Jack is telling the truth, the character’s claims of global collapse do ratchet up the tension. As such, it truly does feel like the claustrophobic clashes between the central three characters have real-world consequences.
Even better, as Retreat nears its end, the film’s screenplay has some sharp stings in its tail that will have you reconsidering everything that’s happened before – something which makes the thriller a nifty rewatch.
Having only received a sadly limited release in cinemas, the thriller unexpectedly made headlines a few weeks ago when it was added to Netflix.
If you don’t have the streaming service and want to check out Retreat, it is also airing on TV tonight at 12.25am on BBC One (except Scotland).
Here are some of the other movies on TV tonight:
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Channel 4 – 8pm
With Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning in cinemas now, what better time to check out its predecessor?
Murder on the Orient Express – More4 – 8pm
Kenneth Branagh is the gentleman sleuth Hercule Poirot in this Agatha Christie adaptation that launched a trilogy.
Old – Film4 – 9pm
M. Night Shyamalan directs this great Twilight Zone-esque horror thriller about a beach that makes people old.
Rampage – Sky Showcase – 9pm
Dwayne Johnson stars in this sci-fi action flick in which giant animals attack Chicago.
Triple 9 – Legend – 9pm
If you missed this very tense, star-studded heist thriller movie when we recommended it recently, you have another chance to catch it.
Lone Survivor – Legend Xtra – 9pm
Mark Wahlberg headlines this tense war thriller set in Afghanistan.
Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story / New York, New York – BBC Two – 9pm / 10.40pm
A Liza Minnelli double bill.
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome – ITV4 – 9.45pm
The fun third entry in the Mad Max saga, where Mel Gibson’s road warrior is joined by Tina Turner.
National Lampoon’s Animal House – Comedy Central – 10pm
The classic ’70s college-set comedy.
Crawl – Film4 – 11.10pm
In this very fun creature feature, a daughter (Kaya Scodelario) and father (Barry Pepper) find themselves trapped in their home and preyed upon by alligators during a massive hurricane in Florida.
The Running Man – Channel 4 – 11.10pm
An ’80s dystopian action thriller about a TV show where convicted criminal ‘runners’ must escape death at the hands of professional killers. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and will be getting a remake this year.
The Enforcer – Legend – 11.15pm
A 2022 action thriller starring Antonio Banderas.
Death Trench – Legend Xtra – 11.20pm
This 2017 World War I-set zombie horror has a 93% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
