‘Rebel Ridge’ movie review: Jeremy Saulnier’s tense, slow-burn thriller packs a quiet punch

A nonetheless from ‘Insurgent Ridge’
| Photograph Credit score: Netflix

For all of the movies in Netflix’s rising ‘Insurgent’ catalogue, Jeremy Saulnier’s Insurgent Ridge feels essentially the most tame. It’s an unsuspecting thriller that creeps up on you, unspooling its pressure, for the proper launch. Finest identified for crafting brutal, grounded thrillers like A24’s Inexperienced Room, Saulnier manages to catch us off guard but once more, however this time his protagonist isn’t a hapless underdog, however an clever predator biding his time.

We’re launched to Terry Richmond, performed with commanding authority by Aaron Pierre. A former Marine with experience in combined martial arts and jiu-jitsu, Terry finds himself on the mercy of small-town Louisiana cops who’re something however lawful. What begins as a bicycle experience into city turns right into a bureaucratic nightmare after Terry is wrongfully detained by two corrupt officers. They confiscate $36,000 from him — cash meant to bail out his cousin — leaving him on the mercy of a damaged system that grinds folks down simply as effectively because it protects itself.

Saulnier’s movies typically revel within the “unsuitable particular person on the unsuitable place” trope, however this time, the particular person in query is something however helpless. Terry is a examine in managed menace, a Jason Bourne kind who’s greater than able to flipping the script on his captors. Together with his steely gaze and velvet-voiced charisma, Pierre embodies a peaceful that belies the storm beneath. It’s riveting to observe him shift between quiet de-escalation and sudden bursts of (restrained) violence, every transfer rigorously calculated, however extra importantly, non-lethal. The second the cops realise what the acronym “MCMAP” stands for, it’s gratifying to observe them know that they’re in for greater than they bargained for.

A nonetheless from ‘Insurgent Ridge’
| Photograph Credit score:
Netflix

But Insurgent Ridge isn’t content material to be simply one other action-packed showdown. A majority of the movie’s tension-building is derived not from high-octane chases or slick disarmaments, however from the strain woven into the very material of small-town corruption. Each roadblock Terry faces is cloaked in authorized jargon and weaponised coverage. The movie methodically exposes how native legislation enforcement manipulates the justice system, how asset forfeiture — a authorized loophole that lets cops seize property with out due course of — is weaponised towards the susceptible. Terry’s predicament turns into emblematic of this systemic rot, a damning portrait of a authorized system the place energy is wielded arbitrarily.

On this approach, the movie finds an surprising rhythm. This isn’t a title that depends on showy motion scenes or gratuitous violence — there’s no outlandish slow-mo gun ballet à la John Wick. Saulnier wrings suspense from paperwork, from the ticking clock of authorized deadlines to a court docket system stacked towards the protagonist. The sweaty, claustrophobia of rural Louisiana enhances the movie’s pervasive sense of isolation, a theme Saulnier likes to discover. 

Should you’re anticipating a typical hero-villain showdown, Insurgent Ridge has a bit shock for you. Terry isn’t simply negotiating sensible, self-preserving offers to minimise confrontations with the crooked chief of police; his major battle is with the entrenched energy constructions that permit such abuse to flourish. The true horror isn’t the specter of police brutality (though there’s loads of that), however the truth that the violence is merely a symptom of a bigger, deeply entrenched illness.

A nonetheless from ‘Insurgent Ridge’
| Photograph Credit score:
Netflix

What’s additionally refreshing about Insurgent Ridge is the way it leans into its protagonist’s strengths with out undermining the strain. He’s not a PTSD-ridden vagrant or a punk rocker trapped in a neo-Nazi stronghold. He’s extremely succesful, virtually supernaturally so. However that competence doesn’t reduce the stakes as Saulnier isn’t eager about glorifying his martial prowess. As an alternative, it turns into a instrument to reveal deeper truths about how energy is abused. Terry could also be able to disarming a room stuffed with officers, however even along with his expertise, he’s nonetheless on the mercy of a system that’s been designed to carry him again. He’s a scalpel towards a tank — deadly in his personal proper however preventing a battle that’s been rigged from the beginning.

Pierre’s efficiency is magnetic, simmering with emotional depth. Terry is a person who thrives within the shadows, whose each gesture conveys a world of unstated risk and Pierre embodies that fantastically. It’s straightforward to see why the likes of Barry Jenkins — who beforehand forged Pierre in The Underground Railroad — are drawn to his explicit model of depth.

Ultimately, Insurgent Ridge is a taut, cerebral thriller that forces you to lock in, lest you mistake it for an informal, ambient dinner-time watch. It solely engages the thoughts even because it ratchets up the strain, providing the form of clever, finely crafted suspense that has been all too uncommon for Netflix as of late.

Insurgent Ridge is presently accessible to stream on Netflix