REGRESSION is one of those psychological thrillers populated by a cast of victims, police, and psychologists. From the first instance I hated the blue/greyed out colour scheme, which makes this look just like all the rest of the coldly realistic thriller/dramas that do the rounds in today's Hollywood. The story is slow-witted and involves Satanic abuse and a woman who has been raped by her own father. There's a conspiracy angle that doesn't go very far, but mainly this is dialogue based. It tries to be worthy and important but feels quite dull and unpleasant at times. It doesn't help that the lacklustre performances of Ethan Hawke and Emma Watson spoil things further, with only David Thewlis proving a high point in the casting.

It's 1990 and satanic cult hysteria has swept the nation. Police detective Bruce Kenner (Ethan Hawke) investigates John Gray who admits to abusing his daughter Angela (Emma Watson). Kenner calls in professor Kenneth Raines (David Thewlis) to use memory regression. George Nesbitt (Aaron Ashmore) is a cop and a suspect.

The story is a muddle with limited tension. This movie needs to sell the audience on the supernatural cult before surprising them with a twist. It never really sells the cult idea possibly due to the opening text. I read it as a hysteria unfounded by reality. There is a brooding atmosphere and Hawke has a brooding personality. It's trying to be Se7en without pulling it off. Filmmaker Alejandro Amenábar has done much better. Honestly, the cast is more intriguing than the movie. This may function better as a straight up horror but then the final twist is a betrayal of that.

Regression is about false memory syndrome and outbreak of mass hysteria in some parts of the USA.

Director and writer Alejandro Amenábar seems to have lost his way when he showed so much promise some years ago.

Detective Bruce Kenner (Ethan Hawke) gets obsessed about an investigation on satanic cults and ritual sex abuse. One young woman (Emma Watson) believes she was abused as a child including by her father. The more Kenner delves into this investigation he becomes unhinged, even thinks that fellow police officers might have something to hide. Eventually Kenner thinks people are seeing what they want to see and hear what they want hear as the line between lies and reality have become blurred.

The film comes across as flat, slow and subdued. It is one of these small town thrillers that actually looks cheap despite a few known stars being cast. There should had been an interesting, thought provoking film however it just ended up being dismal with cheap scares. I think you might be better off watching Rosemary's Baby.