Dead Again

Dead Again

Year: 2020

Runtime: 75 mins

Language: English

Echo Score: 32
Science FictionHorrorComedy

In a quiet, rural village untouched by crime, a retiring police sergeant finds his boredom interrupted by the arrival of a newly graduated recruit. Soon, an unseen threat emerges, plunging the community into an apocalyptic horror scenario. A virus is unleashed, and the arrival of the young officer signals the beginning of a terrifying ordeal, as the village faces an unprecedented crisis.

Warning: spoilers below!

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Timeline & Setting – Dead Again (2020)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Dead Again (2020). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

1948, 1991

In 1948, the original murder of Margaret Strauss occurs in a wartime/postwar context with a wealthy family and a divided household. By 1991, a private detective uncovers the case anew, using hypnosis and past-life regression to uncover buried memories. The film juxtaposes a mid-20th-century murder with a late-20th-century investigation, revealing truth through shifting timelines.

Location

Los Angeles, London, Nazi Germany

The story primarily unfolds in Los Angeles during the 1990s reconstruction of a past trauma and in London tied to the killer's backstory, with flashbacks to Nazi Germany. The mixed settings contrast the modern sleuthing environment with the smoky, old-world atmosphere of the 1940s and the earlier war era. The cityscape of Los Angeles anchors the investigation while the legacy of the past haunts the characters through memories and artifacts like Margaret's anklet and the murder weapon.

🏙️ City backdrop 🕰️ Historical settings

Last Updated: October 14, 2025 at 04:01

Main Characters – Dead Again (2020)

Meet the key characters of Dead Again (2020), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Mike Church

Private detective who grew up at the orphanage and becomes obsessed with solving the amnesia mystery. He forms a bond with the amnesiac woman and falls in love, even as he fears destroying the fragile truth she represents. His journey reveals how personal longing can color forensic inquiry and memory itself.

🕵️ Private detective 🧠 Memory seeker 💘 Romance

Grace / Amanda Sharp

Amnesiac woman with nightmares who discovers through hypnosis that her identity intersects with the past lives of Margaret and Roman. She evolves from fear to courage as she confronts Mike and the truth about her own history. Her evolving identity lies at the heart of the mystery.

🧠 Amnesia 💘 Identity 🔍 Mystery

Roman Strauss

A once-wealthy composer whose jealousy and financial ruin fuel a volatile marriage with Margaret. His memory of events remains central to the unfolding mystery as the past bleeds into the present.

🎼 Composer 💔 Jealousy 🕵️‍♂️ Mystery

Margaret Strauss

Victim of the 1948 murder whose death triggers a decades-long investigation. Her memory, through hypnosis and artifacts like her anklet, drives the revelations about her life with Roman and the true motives behind the crime.

💔 Victim 🧭 Memory 🕵️‍♀️ Mystery

Franklyn Madson (Frankie)

Antiques dealer and hypnotist who orchestrates the past-life regression to manipulate memories and conceal his role in the murder. He embodies the theme of deception behind the veneer of professionalism.

🧭 Hypnosis 🗡️ Murderer 🕵️‍♂️ Manipulator

Inga

Housekeeper who saved Roman's life in Nazi Germany and later becomes entangled in the unraveling of the Strauss murder. Her loyalties are questioned as family secrets surface.

🧼 Housekeeper 🗝️ Keeper of secrets 🕊️ Survivor

Gray Baker

Reporter who occupies a nursing home and is convinced of the film's hidden truths, hinting at the possibility that the killer's story may be closer to home than expected. He is a conduit for the truth beyond the hypnotic regressions.

🗞️ Reporter 🧠 Witness 🧭 Guide

Pete Dugan

Friend of Mike who helps publish the amnesiac woman's image and contact information, aiding the public pursuit of the truth. He becomes a catalyst for the investigation and the memory-recovery process.

🤝 Friend 🗣️ Publisher 🕵️‍♂️ Ally

Doug

Actor hired to pose as the woman's fiancé, a deception that intensifies the emotional stakes and misleads the investigation.

🎭 Actor 🧭 Deceiver 💬 Distraction

Katherine

The supposed fiancé figure who complicates the love triangle and the timeline, representing the way deceit can masquerade as romance.

💘 Romance 🕵️‍♀️ Deception 🗝️ Secret

Last Updated: October 14, 2025 at 04:01

Major Themes – Dead Again (2020)

Explore the central themes of Dead Again (2020), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

🧠 Memory and Identity

The plot centers on how memories shape who people are and how memory can be manipulated. Past-life regression exposes hidden truths, but also creates false narratives that characters must untangle. The shocking revelation that Mike is actually Margaret and that Grace is Roman shows how identity can blur across time and perception.

🔪 Obsession and Deception

Jealousy, ambition, and revenge drive the murder plot and the modern-day conspiracy. Frankie/Madson weaponizes memory work and manipulation to cover his crime, while others use aliases and misdirection to protect or destroy the truth. The climactic confrontation reframes violence as a test of who truly knows the killer's motive.

⏳ Time and Perception

The film plays with two eras—1940s Los Angeles and the contemporary investigation—showing how time distorts memory and reality. Hypnosis and regression become instruments that pull the past into the present, for better and for worse. The ending montage solidifies the idea that truth emerges only when past and present align.

Last Updated: October 14, 2025 at 04:01

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Dead Again Summary

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Dead Again Summary

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Dead Again Timeline

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Dead Again Spoiler-Free Summary

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