ReelBob: ‘Clay’s Redemption’ ★★½

By Bob Bloom

“Clay’s Redemption” is a very challenging movie.

It involves old gods, demons and people who are “Sleeve Walkers,” individuals given the ability to take over the bodies of others.

Our protagonist is Clay, a Sleeve Walker. He’s an ex-convict serving a sentence by acting as an enforcer for the gods.

The movie leaves you asking so many questions that it distracts from what is happening on screen.

Who are these entities, why are they warring, what are they fighting about and what is so important about a mute girl named Maya who Clay is ordered to protect?

Honestly, the movie does not answer the majority of these questions.

But that does not seem to concern writer-director Carlos Boellinger, whose emphasis is on technique and style rather than substance. He is more interested in creating an aura that reminds you of the midnight movies of the 1970s and ’80s than filling in the blanks.

Clay’s assignment is supposed to be his last. It’s explained that once a Sleeve Walker completes a certain number of assignments he is allowed to Exit, which is never properly explained, but most likely means he is allowed to die in peace.

A movie is something you should be able to sit back and enjoy, but Boellinger forces you to use your imagination and discern a lot of from inference.

You also wonder why, if these are such powerful entities, why do they use their fists or martial arts moves to battle each other instead of shooting laser beams from their eyes or calling down lightning bolts from the sky.

At a short 77 minutes, “Clay’s Redemption” does not tax your patience. The feature moves at a quick enough pace and piques your interest enough to hold your attention.

You want to see where it is going and how it ends up.

The cast is comprised of a group of nondescript actors whose characters remain rather blasé — and even bored — by the whole thing, as if they’ve gone through dozens of iterations of this same scenario.

Dialogue is minimal; there’s a lot of posing, glaring and staring. And the exchanges that are offered often sound as if you walked in during the middle of a conversation.

I believe, though, that was Boellinger’s intention. He is deliberately keeping us off balance, trying to force us to become involved in his movie, not just passively watch it.

In that sense, he has succeeded.

I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. I review movies, 4K UHD, Blu-rays and DVDs for ReelBob (ReelBob.com), The Film Yap and other print and online publications. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com. You also can follow me on Twitter @ReelBobBloom and on Facebook at ReelBob.com or the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My movie reviews also can be found at Rotten Tomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.

CLAY’S REDEMPTION
2½ stars out of 4
Not rated, violence