The Retreat (2021) Review – A Tense and Vital LGBTQ+ Slasher
The Retreat: Quick Verdict
The Verdict: A lean and visceral cat-and-mouse thriller that successfully uses a standard slasher template to explore contemporary themes of bigotry and hate. The Retreat succeeds by rooting its survival horror in a grounded, believable relationship, making the plight of Renee and Valerie feel deeply personal. While it relies on familiar tropes and suffers from frustratingly dark cinematography, the film is elevated by powerful lead performances and a truly hateful villain played with sadistic glee by Aaron Ashmore. It is a 3.2 star thriller that prioritises pace and tension over lore, resulting in a satisfying, if slightly under-developed, experience. For fans of the “cabin-in-the-woods” sub-genre, it offers a refreshing shift in perspective that makes the inevitable fightback all the more rewarding. It is a solid, impactful watch that proves representation in horror can add layers of genuine dread.
Details: Director: Pat Mills | Cast: Tommie-Amber Pirie, Sarah Allen, Aaron Ashmore, Celina Sinden | Runtime: 1h 22m | Release Date: 21 May 2021
Best for: Fans of survivalist horror, viewers looking for strong LGBTQ+ representation, and those who enjoy a well-paced “cat-and-mouse” thriller.
Worth noting: The film was shot in late autumn in Canada, which accounts for the vibrant, rich colour palette of the daytime scenes and the oppressive darkness of the night sequences.
Where to Watch: Amazon🛒, Shudder, Tubi
Rating: 3.2/5 Stars
(Excellent lead chemistry, visceral tension, but let down by predictability and poor lighting.)
Welcome to Knockout Horror and to our review of Shudder horror movie The Retreat from 2021.
Highlights
A Fun Cat-and-Mouse Thriller
This movie is a few years old now and we just stumbled across it in our “recommended movies” list. We decided to check it out and were left feeling pretty entertained. Given some of the crap we have reviewed on this site, that’s a massive win.
The Retreat follows the story of young couple Renee (Tommie-Amber Pirie) and Valerie (Sarah Allen) as they head out on a pre-wedding weekend getaway. When the pair arrive at the cabin, they are shocked to see that their friends are nowhere to be found. Exploring the grounds of the holiday home, they begin to notice that some things are amiss. Little do they realise, they have walked into a trap that will have them fighting for survival.
“Traditionally, horror has been the home of young, white, straight people. Minority characters were often featured purely to become ‘first kill’ fodder. People will cry ‘woke’ but facts are facts.”
You can expect all of the standard slasher tropes here. Characters running for their lives and doing dumb things, maniacal killers with questionable motivations and some brutal kills. The Retreat isn’t exactly trying to rewrite the script when it comes to these types of horror movies. It is perfectly content offering up a few simple thrills and some relatively decent tension.
LGBTQ+ Characters and Themes
It goes without saying that horror is becoming more diverse as time goes on. Traditionally, horror has been the home of young, white, straight people with very limited deviation. Minority characters tended to be featured purely to become “first kill” fodder and characters from other groups were often depicted as strange or, potentially, dangerous. People will cry “woke” but facts are facts.
Horror has a really troubling history in this regard. The sad thing is, it has been up to LGBTQ+ and minority directors to bring added diversity to the genre. There has been no major push from the horror film making community, as a whole, to reflect the experiences of other groups. We are still in something of a dark age when it comes to this. There is light at the end of the tunnel, though, and attitudes are beginning to change.
Hateful Motivations
The Retreat‘s protagonists being gay does actually play into the plot somewhat. With writer Alyson Richards‘ aggressive screenplay going into some detail to reflect the everyday hate and bigotry encountered by LGBTQ+ people. But it is predominantly in the motivations of the antagonists that we see the real reason for why the couple being gay matters. That’s not to say that it is the antagonist’s only motivation, far from it. But representation is very important and the events taking place here feel all the more real and spiteful due to their cause.
You really relate to Valerie and Renee and root for them. They are a tremendously likable couple and not your typical “last girls”. The Retreat goes a long way to emphasising just how horrific their situation is and just how hard they are willing to fight.
“Representation is very important and the events taking place here feel all the more real and spiteful due to their cause. It is in these moments of survival that The Retreat is at its best.”
This is helped greatly by just how maniacal and savage the antagonists, lead by Aaron Ashmore who is clearly having a great time, are. They are incredibly violent and motivated by simple greed and hate. It’s effective stuff and makes the couple’s struggle seem all the more impossible to overcome. It in these moments of survival that The Retreat is at its best.
Genuinely Tense in Parts
Whereas The Retreat doesn’t really try to do anything new. It is still very effective in some of its moments of tension. The cabin is surrounded by woods and a lake. Offering ample opportunity for characters to slip away and hide in the darkness. Building suspense and letting the cat and mouse scenarios develop. It never goes too far into the realms of silliness with the decisions made by the characters. Avoiding some of the typical pitfalls of movies like this.
The scenarios stay believable, as well. This is something that could genuinely happen, especially if motivated by hate and director Pat Mills never forgets this. Keeping the ridiculousness to a minimum and maintaining a satisfyingly visceral tone throughout. The movie never manages to escape from its predictability, though. There are no major surprises here and you will probably see most of what happens coming.
“The movie can be way too dark in places and can feel poorly fleshed-out in parts, but our protagonists are incredibly likable and the tension doesn’t really let up.”
There are some extremely satisfying moments, despite this, and the movie provokes smiles for some of its more hilarious scenes of characters fighting back. Whereas some of the themes presented here could have done with a little more exploring. Everything works quite well and it all leads up to an ending that feels extremely fitting and a lot of fun.
A Few Issues
The Retreat takes place, predominantly, at night and it is extremely dark. Like, maybe even the darkest horror movie I have ever watched. This is probably going to annoy a few viewers. Cinematography is decent with a glorious autumn palette looking rich and vibrant throughout but it is hard to ignore how gloomy the movie can be, in parts. As soon as the sun drops you are going to be spending more than half of the movie squinting at characters shrouded in black. It’s a bit of an uncomfortable watch, to be honest.
It’s hard not to think that there was a lot left on the table here, as well, there are so many elements that remain unexplored. Mills offers us a tantalising taste of a truly intriguing mystery but is all too eager to wrap things up. Never really going into any great detail about the antagonists, the cabin itself, or what the overriding motivation was for what takes place.
Mills is desperate to get to the sneaking around and ass kicking and, while this is enjoyable and commendable when compared to some slasher movies that get lost in the minutia. It is difficult not to feel disappointed and a little undernourished when it comes to background and details.
Excellent Acting
Tommie-Amber Pirie, as Renee, is very good here. I covered one of her more recent films, The Amityville Curse, and hated it. Finding her performance there to be very good but feeling she was, perhaps, a little bored. I think her role here fits her like a glove and she clearly has a great time. She is incredibly fitting as a bad ass woman that is the wrong person to pick on. Managing to make her character feel human and vulnerable while also being strong and absolutely determined to fight back.
Likewise for Sarah Allen as Valerie. She is depicted as slightly less capable but she is no less bad ass. With Allen expertly reflecting her character’s growing resolve as the movie goes on. Aaron Ashmore is really good. He seems to be having a ton of fun playing a horrible bastard and does great with it.
I, also, really enjoyed Celina Sinden as Layna but felt there was so much meat left on the bones with her character. I would have loved to know more about her and seen some background. This is somewhat indicative of the issues I mentioned earlier. The Retreat is too eager to get to the violence. Leaving many of the characters unexplored.
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
The Good
- The Leads: Tommie-Amber Pirie and Sarah Allen share a genuine chemistry that makes their survival feel vital rather than just a plot point.
- Visceral Pacing: Once the trap is sprung, the film moves at a relentless speed, keeping the tension high until the final frame.
- Grounded Terror: By basing the antagonists’ motivations in real-world bigotry, the film adds a layer of genuine spite and dread to the slasher formula.
- The Villain: Aaron Ashmore is fantastic as the remorseless lead antagonist, providing a formidable and hateful presence.
The Bad
- Standard Slasher Tropes: Beyond the central relationship, the film hits every predictable beat of the “cabin-in-the-woods” genre without much deviation.
- Under-developed Lore: The film teases an intriguing and larger operation behind the killers but refuses to explore it, leaving the world-building feeling thin.
- Side Characters: Supporting players like Layna are barely given room to breathe, existing primarily to move the plot toward the next violence.
The Ugly: The Lighting. The night scenes are so poorly illuminated that the viewer is forced to squint to discern the action, occasionally draining the suspense of its power.
Should You Watch The Retreat?
Yes, it is a 3.2 star thriller that provides a refreshing and necessary shift in perspective for the slasher genre. While it doesn’t reinvent the wheel and suffers from some technical lighting issues, its breakneck pace and fantastic lead performances make it a satisfying watch. If you want a visceral fight for survival with characters you actually care about, The Retreat is a great option for your next horror night.
Our Scoring Philosophy: A Fair Fight
Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.
A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.
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