Eye For Film >> Movies >> The Rebrand (2024) Film Review
The Rebrand
Reviewed by: Jennie Kermode

Kaye Adelaide’s first feature film – after shorts Don’t Text Back and Monster Dyke – The Rebrand is presented as an episode of true crime series Crime Queens, presented by Tranna Wintour with a flair that establishes the tone from the outset. From the perspective of at least one of its characters, however, the worst crime imaginable has already taken place before the story starts: she and her fellow influencer have been cancelled.
The concept of cancellation is a decade old now but it’s still not clear that anybody really knows what it means. Sometimes it begets publicity in itself. In the case of ‘LGBT royalty’ Thistle (Nancy Webb) and Blaire (Adi E MacQueen), however, it seems to have made a lasting dent in their viewing figures. It’s never clear quite what the influencer couple did to occasion it, though they point out, somewhat petulantly, that they have already made a heartfelt apology to the trans community; but now, having weathered the storm, they are intent on relaunching their business with a rebrand. Enter videographer Nicole (Naomi Silver-Vézina), who visits their remote rural home in order to shoot some promotional footage for them.

It was never going to be an easy job. Nicole is eight months pregnant and everything is harder than usual, but she’s a professional and determined not to let it interfere with her work. She forms an easy connection with Blaire, whilst Thistle’s detailed planning and tendency to micro-manage everything at least makes scheduling straightforward. When evening comes and one thing after another gets in the way of her driving home, however, Nicole begins to wonder if she has been brought there with another purpose in mind, and the friendly, peppy atmosphere gives way to something much darker.
Made for just $5,000, this is a consummate piece of queer cinema which achieves a high camp tone without ever losing either its polish or its grip. Its evenness of tone is particularly impressive, even as the mood shifts, introducing elements of Eighties slasher and Fifties melodrama. It helps that each of the actors knows exactly what they’re doing. There is no carelessness, no assumption that the nature of the story means a wrong note doesn’t matter. The extremes of the plot don’t deplete the tension, because we can believe that the characters believe in them.
Equally important is the observational humour to be found throughout. References to other work, such as the black and white night-time security camera shots, fit neatly into place and play with viewer expectations rather than coming across – as such things all too often do – as an attempt to steal some glory. The influencer role is satirised with a particularity which keeps it from becoming snide, and the female focus means there’s room to parody aspects of femininity without simply falling into misogyny. Then there’s the delightful script, which may fall a bit flat for cishet viewers but really delivers for the target audience.
With the comedy raising the stakes in what becomes a nervy little thriller, The Rebrand is a lot of fun to watch, and very impressive for a project of this scale. Stick around for the closing credits, which feature some remarkably creepy ASMR.
Reviewed on: 19 Jan 2025