The Removals

Part-thriller, part-nightmarish examination of the widening gap between originality and technology, The Removals imagines where we go from here. A secretive, nefarious agency seeks to control the culture. They do this by covertly staging reproductions of everyday events, and by so doing, undermining the moment’s originality and currency. Society is then left to puzzle over what might be real, and what is fake. The agency employs symbols—like the fascists, like imperial powers of the past—notably a red cone, to plant their flag upon the moment. Two agents, Kathryn and Mason, exhausted by the toll each removal has taken from them, quietly, and then overtly, set out to undermine the agency. Haunting, engaging, and with a ferocity of vision that calls to mind the cerebral thrillers of Shane Carruth, David Lynch, or Andrei Tarkovsky, Nicholas Rombes’s directorial debut is a spellbinding new work and apt analogy for the wormhole where modern social communication leads.

Directed by Nicholas Rombes, The Removals leans on a strong ensemble — Milly Sanders, Jeff Wood, Joe Justus — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about thriller titles of 2016.