The Workout (2025)


REVIEWER RATING: 
7/10

DIRECTOR:

CAST:


It’s been a good minute and a half since my last James Cullen Bressack film review. This revelation hit me hard last night after screening The Workout. I’ve really missed this guy’s work, damnit! Bressack (who is responsible for one of the most unsettling pieces of work that I’ve ever viewed – Hate Crime) has returned to the world of found footage with this action-packed movie, carrying grit, fury and the ultimate vengeance.  

Wyatt and his pregnant wife Becca are producing an enriched workout video to help market their business through Becca’s brother Levi, when a life-changing event suddenly transforms Wyatt’s life into a vicious hunt of retribution. Upon his awakening from a month-long coma to discover the cruel murder of his beloved partner, Wyatt vows to make amends for their miracle baby girl by pursuing and killing every mobster attached to the loss of his precious wife.

His pain and upheaval when faced with his own mortality due to his traumatic brain injury, are unmatched against his determined revenge, even when he slowly loses more cognitive functionalities along the path through destructive chaos that follows.  

With Levi in tow to not only fight but also document this journey, Wyatt begins the inevitable payback, starting with a brutal bar brawl. Their angst for spilling blood becomes their venom in retaliation for (ultimately) orphaning the precious baby waiting in ICU. Battles ensue and escalate as casualties increase until Wyatt finally gets his answers. However, they are far from what he imagined and now he faces an internal struggle, twisted by elements of betrayal.

Peter Jae (Wyatt) has a heartbreakingly poetic stance, especially during his tribute tapings for his new baby whom he knows will grow up without him. His touching moments between father and daughter dedications will easily turn on the water faucet right through the very end. Josh Kelly (Levi) brings a levelheaded balance to Wyatt’s now turbulent life that needs to be remedied before all memories are lost forever. They supplement each other like Batman and Robin, knowing their intentions are all for the loss of Becca, and for the love of newborn Becca. The Workout is an unexpected poignant experience through the lens of a grieving husband/father seeking justice before meeting his maker.

OVERALL: 
Once again, Bressack not only structures a tale beyond the good old-fashioned revenge flick but adds in healthy doses of ingenuity (check him out as “Glitch” who literally portrays…. a glitch!), excitement and of course, violence. Although the action sequences become a bit arduous, the droplets of allure such as Ava Maria playing over the infiltration of a mobster’s home are profound. Even watching Wyatt and Levi enter an onslaught of armed thugs looks more like a replay of 2 ninjas invading a section right out of Kill Bill. Say what you will about an independent, no-nonsense payback flick that may be construed as formulaic - no one can ever accuse Bressack of being boring.


UHM is an independently owned site that relies solely on ad revenue. We ask that if you like this site and what we do to help support by temporarily disabling ad block (if you're using one). If you'd rather help in other ways you can also send a tip by clicking here (or the button below). Any amount helps and will go towards the costs to maintain the site. Anyone who donates will also be listed in our thanks page.