The Dreadful, 2026.
Written and Directed by Natasha Kermani.
Starring Sophie Turner, Kit Harington, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurence O’Fuarain, and Jonathan Howard.
SYNOPSIS:
The Dreadful follows Anne and her mother-in-law Morwen who live a solitary, harsh life on the outskirts of society – but when a man from their past returns, he will set off a sequence of events that become a turning point for Anne.
With the pseudo-psychological thriller The Dreadful, writer/director Natasha Kermani serves up a Game of Thrones reunion between stars Sophie Turner and Kit Harington, which is about the only thing this film has to offer, considering it more than lives up to the title.
Set in medieval England, the film concerns the deeply religious Anne (Turner), an impoverished woman living with her mother-in-law, Morwen (Marcia Gay Harden), while they await the former’s husband, Seamus (Laurence O’Fuarain), to return from a prosperous war that, in theory, should elevate their wealth and social status. Instead, his battlemate Jago (Harington) turns up (apparently, several years after they had left for war) with the bad news that Seamus didn’t make it. He tells the tale of what happened in the field, which naturally triggers different kinds of breakdowns in Anne and Morwen.
In a disturbing turn of events, it leaves Morwen so desperate to stay afloat financially that she begins killing anyone who washes ashore to pillage them of any belongings that might be worth a pretty penny. Of course, she feigns innocence around Anne, pretending that they were dead when she found them. Her behavior only becomes more unhinged as she notices Anne, in an effort to accept reality and move on from Seamus’ death, bonding with Jago. She doesn’t want Anne to take another man and insists that she remain pious, essentially trying to control her in all aspects of life. The three members of this love triangle were also childhood friends, which also comes into play.
Aside from some admittedly luscious imagery of forests and beaches and creeks, The Dreadful, even with its hook of an older woman crazily murdering anyone in sight (even if it’s a man of the cloth, which should provide some intrigue, considering the family’s devotion to religion, but is mostly yet another undercooked dynamic) behind her daughter’s back, is dull. There are revelations to be had about these three characters and about what savagery actually happened on that battlefield, all while Anne gradually undergoes a familiar character arc: learning to put her wants and needs first and choose what she wants from life. Some abstract flashes of a brute in medieval armor also hint at mythology, mystery, violence, and answers.
There is an impending sense of doom that none of this will end well. However, that doesn’t mean such suspense is palpable or tense. For long stretches, The Dreadful is, well, dreadfully boring to watch, with a dry ensemble performance that doesn’t do much to convince or invest viewers in this story or the journey it is trying to take Anne’s character on. One of the kindest things to say is that the craft isn’t embarrassing; rather, it’s a bland film all around. Discounting the appeal of an acting reunion between the two stars, the only appealing aspect here is the scenery.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder
