After a lengthy period of anticipation, Red Circle has arrived at Nigeria’s cinemas. Its massive social media rollout lent the film the weight of promise, especially as its director, Akay Mason has had quite an interesting career, marked by films like Elevator Baby (a suspense story set entirely in an elevator) and Day of Destiny (marketed as Nollywood’s first time travel film).
This time, Mason turns his attention to the inner workings of a sprawling underground crime syndicate, one whose influence cuts across all levels of society. Written by Abdul Tijani-Ahmed, Red Circle stars Folu Storms as Fikayo Holloway, the pampered child of an elite family who chooses to pursue journalism, a decision that proves useful when her best friend, Venita (Omowumi Dada) turns up dead after seeing something she wasn’t supposed to.
It’s a decent premise—a rebelling journalist going after a shadowy syndicate—but coming after Kemi Adetiba’s era-defining King of Boys, Red Circle feels less like a step forward than a hesitant shuffle for Nollywood’s crime thriller genre. What is supposed to be high stakes just isn’t. The incident Venita sees, for instance, is violent but it really is just another grim abuse of power—tragic, yes, but hardly enough to justify murder and an elaborate cover-up. In fact, Venita’s admirer Oshisco, a neighbourhood thug played by Lateef Adedimeji, does something far crueller in his very first scene and there are no consequences. This misalignment within the film’s universe undermines the story that unfolds.
As Fikayo goes on to investigate her friend’s murder, she is helped by her colleague and casual lover Mustapha (Timini Egbuson) as well as Kalu, a detective played by Tobi Bakre. A love triangle emerges but, again, it is one with low stakes. Storms and Bakre have no real chemistry. Their inevitable sex scene arrives is more awkward than compelling. Bakre hasn’t yet developed the kind of muscle needed to anchor roles like this. The character itself is a sketchy one. His backstory is barely brought up before it’s brushed aside just so viewers can get a quick hookup scene. And yet, the failure of Tobi Bakre’s casting is nothing compared to that of Bukky Wright.
With vapid sex scenes and generic power plays, Akay Mason’s Red Circle proves more underwhelming than groundbreaking.
EfikoScore: 5.5/10
News of Wright’s return to Nollywood and announcement of her role in the film created a stir on social media, as part of a trend of bringing back beloved stars from earlier times. It worked with Chidi Mokeme in Shanty Town. It doesn’t quite work with Bukky Wright. She is tucked away, a rarely used prop—until the film tips its own hand too early by underestimating its audience. This is Red Circle’s main problem. Its cheap method of building suspense is too obvious to be effective for the enlightened audience it seems to covet. Its big reveal, its “groundbreaking” twist is telegraphed long before it lands. And when it does land, nothing really changes. A character revealed to be central to the story remains crowded out by other characters. The whole thing feels like there was no real strategy behind the “big” twist.
Red Circle is not a terrible Nollywood film; instead, it is a film without rigour. This is a film that constantly chooses the easiest, most obvious narrative route. Its sex scenes are vapid, its displays of power are generic, and its villains are forgettable. The dialogue is hardly convincing. When one character makes a supposedly provocative misogynistic joke, it lands with a try-hard clunkiness. So, for all of its high-concept marketing and star-studded cast, Red Circle ends up gravely underwhelming. Its promotional videos posted online are packed with a lot more excitement than the film itself.
