Psyche (2025) Review

“Within the realm known as limbo lies a mysterious space between life and death,” so reads an opening line of text in Stephon Stewart’s Psyche. Arriving in this space – and immediately having to escape from the uncomfortable delivery method of a sack – is Mara (Sarah Ritter), in the midst of a near-death experience which looks very much like turning into an actual death experience if she doesn’t meet the challenges about to be set. Assigned a vintage 1980s computer to assist her quest, Mara hauls her bygone tech sidekick around a variety of deserted landscapes in the hope that they will crack the code and find a portal out of this desolate place…

The opening minutes suggest that the tale will adopt the structure of a video game, with time limits to reach the exit point of various levels and a warning that Mara should think twice about travelling at night because that’s the time that dangerous “shadow entities” roam the land. However, rather than puzzles to be solved and bosses to be defeated, Mara is faced with a series of existential questions and glimpses into her past as she looks deep within herself to find the information she needs to reach that end screen, whatever that may look like.

The settings of Psyche bring the otherworldly landscape to vivid life, with stark, almost alien stretches of desert, train tracks stretching to infinity and liminal spaces between levels which flip the visuals into their negative state and are patrolled by a memory thief wearing the mask of a plague doctor. If you were expecting an indie, sci-fi version of Tomb Raider, your mind is either going to be blown or sent into catatonia by where this does and doesn’t go.

Such experimentation with the form of a traditional adventure makes rating Psyche something of a fool’s errand. If the viewer is ready to engage with the philosophical discussions about such topics as our relationship with artificial intelligence, the need to find meaning in our lives and the somewhat cyclical nature of existence, there is so much to ponder that the relatively short run time could leave your head spinning. For those bristling at the thought of favouring an open ended, exploratory treatment of a story over clearly defined plot points and linear progression, the seventy-one minute runtime is going to feel like an eternity.

Even if the film’s concepts leave the watcher cold, there’s an undeniably strong lead performance from Sarah Ritter, often the only person on screen and given the weighty task of carrying the proceedings, which she does exceptionally well. The carefully chosen locations and visual style transport the watcher to a genuinely different plane which is both bleak and beautiful, suggesting a vast playing area which needs sharp skills – and ongoing advice from a classic MacIntosh – to negotiate.

Failing that, if you do happen to be curmudgeonly enough not to appreciate Ritter’s sterling acting chops or the striking scenery, allow me to point you in the direction of the superb soundtrack by first time feature composer Tom Hawk, providing an emotionally charged, dramatic, propulsive score which drives our protagonist onwards to the ultimate confrontation with Psyche’s version of Death. Mara is fully aware that “everything gets erased” but maybe she’s not ready to be wiped from the board of life just yet.

Psyche may delight those who wish to delve into and discuss its deep themes or it may confound those who have come for specifics rather than suggestions, but Stephon Stewart’s vision is an uncommon one which never opts for the predictable route while regularly striking familiar chords about Mara’s – and by extension, many of our own – life choices. It’s also interesting to note that there are issues with tech support even in limbo, although having worked in IT for some time now that shouldn’t have come as any sort of surprise to me.

Peculiar and intriguing, I can’t guarantee you’ll enjoy Psyche but I would hope you’ll give it a chance and then sit here thinking about it like I am right now. Five stars? One star? Somewhere in between? Depends how your mind works and where it wanders both during and after the movie. Let’s agree upon our differences and take the average of both extremes.

Movie Rating:

Psyche trailer