IMDb 5.4 2025 HD

The Surrender

The Surrender

2025
Drama Horror
95 min NR USA
5.636 / 10
5.4 IMDB

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…

Personnel // Cast & Crew

Director Julia Max
Starring
Kate Burton / Colby Minifie / Neil Sandilands / Vaughn Armstrong / Mia Ellis / Pete Ploszek / Chelsea Alden / Riley Rose Critchlow

How Viewers Describe This Film

Common themes and sentiments

atmospheric devastating flawed lingering unsettling predictable tense emotional slowburn ambiguous compelling bleak

Reviews

A
Anika Sharma
Feb 26, 2026
4.0 / 5
4.0

The Surrender succeeds as a poignant drama first and a supernatural thriller second. The genius lies in its casting: Kate Burton embodies a specific, formidable maternal grief, while Colby Minifie provides the film’s necessary, clear-eyed heart. Their combative…

D
David Chen
Feb 26, 2026
3.0 / 5
3.0

The potent premise and strong cast of The Surrender promise more than the film ultimately delivers. Burton is, as ever, compelling, and the early scenes of grief are sharply observed. However, the introduction of the resurrection plotline lacks…

C
Chloe Bennett
Feb 26, 2026
4.5 / 5
4.5

A devastating and elegant horror film that understands true fear is emotional. The Surrender weaponises silence and strained glances between a magnificent Kate Burton and Colby Minifie, building a foundation so real that the intrusion of the occult…

M
Marcus Thorne
Feb 26, 2026
3.5 / 5
3.5

This is a film of compelling halves. The first is a superb, grounded drama about a splintered mother and daughter, powered by exceptional work from Burton and Minifie. The second half, as the supernatural premise takes hold, feels…

E
Eleanor Rigby
Feb 26, 2026
4.0 / 5
4.0

The Surrender is a masterclass in atmospheric dread, where the most terrifying spectre is familial grief. Kate Burton delivers a devastating performance as a widow unmoored by loss, her decision to hire Neil Sandilands' enigmatic stranger feeling less…

FAQs

Thematically, it joins a respected tradition of horror that uses the supernatural to manifest internal anguish, akin to films like 'The Babadook' or 'Hereditary'. Its specific focus on a mother's refusal to accept death and the hiring of a mystical intermediary offers a fresh ritualistic angle. The success will hinge on its unique voice within this psychologically fertile subgenre.