RETREAT

RETREAT

A disturbing thriller told almost entirely in sign language

Eva travels from Berlin to the UK to hide away in an isolated, utopian community for the deaf. At first skeptical of the group’s alternative practices — and of its charismatic leader, Mia, who insists that it is the outer world of the hearing that has a problem, not the deaf — Eva gradually begins to accept the community’s rules.

When she befriends Matt, a man who has been raised collectively by the group and kept sheltered from the outside world, cracks begin to form in the façade of this supposed paradise. Eva soon discovers that even the excluded are capable of shaming and discrimination — and that she herself is not immune to being swept up in it.

“Retreat” is a slow-burn thriller that makes the audience feel like a frog in slowly boiling water. The tension ratchets up minute by minute — we know from the very first moments that something terrible will happen — but the story escalates in such unexpected directions that it’s impossible to guess where it will end. The film is shot almost entirely in sign language, immersing hearing audiences in an unnerving silence and amplifying the atmosphere of dread. There’s an unforgettable party sequence with no music and dialogues brimming with rage yet entirely wordless. The result is powerful, intimate, and deeply unsettling.

The film is written and directed by deaf filmmaker Ted Evans, who cast deaf actors and expanded on the ideas from his earlier short film exploring similar themes.