If you’re fed up with all the attention so-called Internet Influencers get in our current culture, this darkly comic psychological thriller, THE REBRAND, might be up your alley. A lesbian couple (Nancy Webb as the beautiful energetic Thistle; Andi McQueen as the reserved, artistic Blair) had been making a mint from their legion of followers until one faux pas in a livestream alienated their fans and sponsors. Cancel Culture immediately flooded the Web with everyone’s outrage, and the cash cow’s milk dried up instantly.
Their next step was the eponymous rebrand, to be achieved by hiring a videographer, Nicole (Naomi Silver-Vezina), to shoot an intimate documentary of their day-to-day lives, hoping to win back their base by showing how loving and lovely their life is. Nicole takes the job, which requires her to drive to their isolated, luxurious home, and to wind up staying with them for a while, despite being in the eighth month of her pregnancy.
The couple puts on a display of love and levity when the camera is rolling, but we start seeing the façade bursting apart at the seams. They’re not nearly as partnerly as they pretend, with Thistle clearly running the show, and Blair meekly complying with her Quixotic whims and overbearing ego. In other words, Thistle portrays the sort of preening phony skeptics assume lies beneath the surface of all such self-promoting characters.
I won’t go into details, but the situation becomes creepier and more menacing as the story unfolds, including some elements of suspense and physical danger. Kudos to Webb not only for floridly chewing scenery as such an over-the-top prima donna, but co-writing the script that crafted her as one. Credit also goes to director and co-author Kaye Adelaide, who kept things moving well, while assuring that the film, which occurs entirely at the couple’s home and grounds, never felt stagey or claustrophobic. Though much of the footage comes from the viewpoint of Nicole’s shoulder cam, the movement flows more smoothly than in many flicks that have been using the device with annoying jerks and blurred images ever since THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT.
Despite winning awards at a number of film festivals, I can’t call it a great film. But The Force of the satirical element is strong with this one, and the talents of the young trio bode well for their futures.
2 1/2 Stars out of 4.
THE REBRAND is available On Demand on July 21, 2026.
