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The Surrender

Play trailer 1:24 Poster for The Surrender 2025 1h 39m Horror Mystery & Thriller Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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85% Tomatometer 41 Reviews 48% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
A fraught mother-daughter relationship is put to a terrifying test when the family patriarch dies and the grieving mother hires a mysterious stranger to bring her husband back from the dead. As the bizarre and brutal resurrection spirals out of control, both women must confront their differences as they fight for their lives -- and for each other.
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The Surrender

The Surrender

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Critics Consensus

Extracting a maximum amount of creepy mood from a simple setup while reaching surprising poignancy as a mother-daughter story, The Surrender is a victorious feature debut from writer-director Julia Max.

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Critics Reviews

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Claudia Puig FilmWeek (LAist) Jun 3
It's a very strong strong directorial debut... It's really fun to watch as an acting exercise, too. Go to Full Review
Simon Abrams RogerEbert.com May 23
3/4
“The Surrender” accomplishes a lot with a sketch-sized story and matching compositional agility and precision. It’s short (less than 90 minutes!) and sweet and the best kind of upsetting. Go to Full Review
Alexandra Heller-Nicholas AWFJ.org May 18
The Surrender is a solid horror film, but where it truly excels is in its wholly singular, authentic and deeply empathetic portrait of palliative caregiving, which – as anyone who has ever done it knows – is a nightmare in and of itself Go to Full Review
Nicolás Delgadillo Knotfest Oct 29
Minimalist in design, maximalist in consequence, and it lingers like a bruise. Go to Full Review
Alex Saveliev Film Threat Aug 21
7/10
Horror fans will appreciate the grotesque examination of grief that is The Surrender. Go to Full Review
John Daniel Tangalin The Cinema Spot Jul 19
4/5
The Surrender is focused on how carefulness and carelessness can go hand-in-hand. It’s one thing to attend to word of mouth, but it’s another thing not to take one’s beloved into consideration. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Karly C @classickarlz 11h Much like the main character, I had no idea what was going on for half of the movie— but the confusion was entertaining and scary. Will probably watch again someday. See more Muhammad T Oct 27 The Surrender” is the best horror movie of 2025. Most modern horror films rely on cheap jump scares, loud noises, or awkward CGI, but The Surrender takes a completely different path. It pulls you in with a story so gripping that you never want it to end. The atmosphere is tense, intelligent, and deeply unsettling in the best way possible. The film keeps just enough mystery to let your imagination create the horror itself, which is far more powerful than anything shown on screen. There are no pointless sex scenes and no tired clichés, only pure, masterfully crafted fear. It delivers everything a true horror fan could hope for. See more Ted J Sep 7 Please don't waste your time watching this movie, I can't even think how terrible it was, no story, no sense, no horror, no ending, no acting, I think even a 5 year old can do better than this movie, it's the first time I really waste around 2 hours of my life watching this, See more Hidden P @HiddenPopi Sep 6 I really liked this movie. I've been trying to find new, original, genuinely scary movies, and I've had hard time doing so. The first thing I liked about this movie is that it feels very human, very real. The characters are flawed, relatable, even funny sometimes. The pacing is good, the images really striking, and at times truly nightmarish : it's been a long time since I've seen such unsettling visions, and I'm becoming rather difficult. The whole subtext about grief, memory and acceptance is very powerful and spot on. If I had one negative thing to say about this movie, it would be that I regret not seeing more of the ... [POSSIBLY SPOILER NEXT] "other" side. It looked awesome, and I really wish it would have been explored more, although I understand it was not the point of the movie. Anyway, if you're searching for something that'll give you some chills, don't expect too much but you're definitely in for some, and the originality of the movie will provide the rest of the enthusiasm. See more Alejandra C Sep 4 I give it points for not going like i thought it was going to go. If you ran out of great movies, this is a good movie too. There is just something about it that when you compare it to the rest of the movies made on this decade, you appreciate some details too. See more Jen G Sep 2 This movie is based on grief and from my prospective; it circle around “I’ll be there for you” kind of moment. Key take aways is to learn how to let go, though it hurts but it’ll hurt you more by holding on. The ending could’ve been better tho. Honestly, the whole movie could’ve been better. It’s definitely one of those movies you might wanna watch while playing a game of uno or while sewing or something. See more Read all reviews
The Surrender

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Movie Info

Synopsis A fraught mother-daughter relationship is put to a terrifying test when the family patriarch dies and the grieving mother hires a mysterious stranger to bring her husband back from the dead. As the bizarre and brutal resurrection spirals out of control, both women must confront their differences as they fight for their lives -- and for each other.
Director
Julia Max
Producer
Julia Max, Mia Chang, Lovell Holder, Ian McDonald, Robert J. Ulrich
Screenwriter
Julia Max
Distributor
Shudder
Genre
Horror, Mystery & Thriller, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 23, 2025, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
May 23, 2025
Runtime
1h 39m
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