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The Surrender

Play trailer 1:24 Poster for The Surrender 2025 1h 39m Horror Mystery & Thriller Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
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 05/23/2025
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 05/18/2025
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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Avindu G @RT86379654 1d Surrender is a graphic projection of helpless longing. It's a sharp stab on the favorite parent trope. Instead of the love and grief we see on surface; Having to throw away passed memories to bring the dead back is a clever depiction that's it was subconsciously was unfinished business and obligations. Wife and daughter severing the marriage to their notions about the patriach was a powerful statement. Great work by the cast especially by Colby in intensifying the shock many of the audience might feel too. Excellent visuals and unique audio effects. Supernaturals aside it's a heartbreaking tale and a call for more of kindness in our own homes. See more Danno C. @dwcoronado1 Feb 10 Beautifully shot, full featured, but oddly unsatisfying. A quality horror film, all actors were on point. Definitely worth a watch for the supernatural set. I just wish I felt a little more satisfaction but nevertheless…recommend. See more Jorge G @Georgeh21 Jan 21 The movie The Surrender begins with an interesting idea: a family struggling to cope with grief. The beginning is okay, but it takes too long for the real horror to appear, which makes the movie lose its momentum. The film raises many questions in the viewer's mind, but fails to provide satisfying answers. Overall, I do not recommend it. See more Karly C. @classickarlz Jan 12 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 @RT84801457 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 @RT46344961 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 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