The Surrender A Haunting Dive Into Grief, Ritual, and Family Shadows - Review

Colby Minifie faces the horrors of grief in Julia Max’s chilling debut The Surrender.

In her gripping feature debut, The Surrender, writer-director Julia Max delivers a chilling and emotionally charged supernatural horror film that explores the wounds we inherit, the people we lose, and the ghosts we welcome—intentionally or not. Anchored by a sharp script and unnerving performances from Colby Minifie (Fear the Walking Dead) and Kate Burton (Grey’s Anatomy), this dread-soaked tale uses family tension as a gateway to something far more sinister.

Set in a shadowy space where grief and resentment fester, The Surrender introduces us to Megan (Minifie) and her mother Barbara (Burton), two women fractured by past betrayals and barely held together by the impending death of their family patriarch. When Barbara hires a mysterious stranger to perform a ritual aimed at resurrecting her late husband, the film plunges into a nightmare that warps time, trust, and reality itself. Thematically rich and rooted in recognizable grief, the narrative explores obsession, control, and the painful question of whether the dead should ever be disturbed.

Visually, Max leans heavily on atmosphere and strong production design, crafting haunting spaces with smart, shadow-driven cinematography that favors suggestion over spectacle. But make no mistake: the film also delivers on the horror front, incorporating sharp, practical gore and clever sound design that often makes the unseen feel vividly present.

What elevates The Surrender beyond familiar haunted-house fare is its commitment to mystery. Even as the story reveals what lurks in the dark, Max never gives away too much. The dread lingers, the emotional stakes remain taut, and the ambiguity invites revisits. The pacing is tight, and the film is steeped in a deep respect for both horror tradition and emotional realism.

If you’re drawn to psychological horror with a strong emotional core and unnerving family dynamics, The Surrender is one of the most compelling watches of the year so far. A strong showing for Shudder, it drops May 23rd—and we give it a confident 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Don’t miss it. Let the darkness in—but only for a little while.

3.5 /5

Director: Julia Max

Screenwriter: Julia Max

Cast: Colby Minifie, Kate Burton, Neil Sandilands, Vaughn Armstrong, Mia Ellis, Pete Ploszek, Chelsea Alden, Alaina Pollack, Riley Rose Critchlow, Lola Prince Kelly

Producers: Mia Chang, Lovell Holder, Robert J. Ulrich, Julia Max, Ian McDonald

Executive Producers: Susan Gelb, Adam Maffei, Rob Massar

Director of Photography: Cailin Yatsko

Editor: Sushila Love

Composer: Alex Winkler