Safe Haven

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Safe Haven

PG-13

2013

1h 55m

Romance

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

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Popcornmeter

13%

Tomatometer

147 Reviews

67%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Katie Feldman moves to a small town on the North Carolina coast, determined to make a new life for herself. She takes a job as a waitress and keeps a low profile, but she is soon won over by the warmth and caring of the close-knit community, especially that of Alex, a widower. With the help of Alex and his children, Katie learns to love and trust again, but when a mysterious stranger arrives and starts asking questions, Katie's dark past threatens to reclaim her.

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Critics Consensus

Schmaltzy, predictable, and melodramatic, Safe Haven also suffers from a ludicrous plot twist, making for a particularly ignominious Nicholas Sparks adaptation.

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Larushka Ivan-Zadeh

metro.co.uk

How long can writer Nicholas Sparks trade off his iconic blub-fest The Notebook?

Rated: 2/5

Sep 5, 2017

Full Review

Wesley Morris

Grantland

A movie whose punch line is so delightfully absurd that even after you pretty much know what's coming you spit out your Pepsi anyway.

Jan 3, 2014

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Drew Hunt

Chicago Reader

Keeping up with the movie's inane plot twists makes for a capricious good time, but an unimaginative denouement turns the whole thing into a fool's errand.

Mar 7, 2013

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James Croot

The Post NZ

However, despite some added bite to Sparks' traditional mix of beachside frolics and attracting opposites, there's just a sense of déjà vu about the whole enterprise...

Rated: 2/5

Apr 18, 2023

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Kip Mooney

College Movie Review

Still has all the eye-rolling trademarks of a Nicholas Sparks production.

Rated: C+

Sep 18, 2021

Full Review

Jade Budowski

Decider

Josh Duhamel is smokin' hot, the love story is sweet, and it's all undeniably watchable.

Mar 8, 2021

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Jacalyn R

I think this review is partially my fault. I'm an avid book reader and love the details in stories that makes them come alive. Being that I just read this book a week or so ago, I was excited to find out there was a movie about it. Despite the storyline being similar to the book, there's a lot of major changes to me that made it lose it spark. Even at the ending, finding out a "surprising" ( me not trying to spoil it) detail wasn't as shell-shocking as it was reading the book. I feel like this lacks the intimacy that the details in the book created. Not saying it's a bad movie, I just think that there was better details to change and leave out versus the ones that they did. Not only that, they could have done a little bit better character building /relationship building to really punch the impact. As a movie I would watch it again, but as one who loves Nicholas Sparks novels, I think I'll stick to his books.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/26/25

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Allison B

Its frivolous but very watchable.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/25/25

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Audience Member

Seriously. What’s not to like? The plot was interesting, the acting was awesome. Julie Hough is easy on the eyes and the music was epic. I really don’t care what other people think. The plot twist at the end was unexpected and handled very well. I saw it when it was first released and I’ve watched agin on tv.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/27/25

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Jennifer A.

Absolutely love this movie!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/17/25

Full Review

Co D

Julianne Hough is not the best actress but I never get tired of watching this one

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/17/25

Full Review

Frans B

Much better than expected after reading lots of negative reviews. Cast all shines in character, cinematography is great, locations are really stunning. Well made. The plot, well, okay it is a bit predictable and ending is totally "absurd", but still surprising, hey? But, as a movie, really not deserving of all the bad rap, imo ...

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/29/25

Full Review

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Lasse Hallström

Director

Josh Duhamel

Alex Wheatley

Julianne Hough

Katie Feldman

Cobie Smulders

Jo

David Lyons

Kevin Tierney

Noah Lomax

Josh

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Synopsis

Katie Feldman moves to a small town on the North Carolina coast, determined to make a new life for herself. She takes a job as a waitress and keeps a low profile, but she is soon won over by the warmth and caring of the close-knit community, especially that of Alex, a widower. With the help of Alex and his children, Katie learns to love and trust again, but when a mysterious stranger arrives and starts asking questions, Katie's dark past threatens to reclaim her.

Director: Lasse Hallström
Producer: Ryan Kavanaugh, Wyck Godfrey, Marty Bowen, Nicholas Sparks
Screenwriter: Dana Stevens, Gage Lansky
Distributor: Relativity Media
Production Co: Temple Hill, Relativity Media, Nicholas Sparks Productions
Rating: PG-13 (Thematic Material|Sexuality|Threatening Behavior|Violence)
Genre: Romance, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 14, 2013, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): May 6, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $71.3M
Runtime: 1h 55m
Sound Mix: Datasat, Dolby Digital

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