The very first shot of The Apology suggests the kind of movie that would make many thriller and horror fans happy. It may not seem like much, but the aerial take instantly establishes that whatever happens next will be in a cold and isolated place, so you’ll know that screaming for help is no use. With one shot, director Alison Locke defines the quiet oppression of the setting, which already makes us fear for the protagonist’s safety, and puts us on the edge of our seats as we wonder what’s about to happen. That’s why it’s so disappointing that the movie’s best moments end right there.

The Apology tells the story of Darlene (Anna Gunn), a woman who’s tried her very best to lead a somewhat happy life despite the fact that her daughter has been missing for two decades. One Christmas night, she is cheered up by her best friend Gretchen (Janeane Garofalo), and just when she thinks she’ll settle in for a quiet night, she receives a surprise visit from a long-time friend.

People often underestimate the power that horror movies have to make us think about grief and loss – which is something that makes some of them real masterpieces. With Darlene’s situation it isn’t much different, but while it’s pretty easy to relate to her, it seems like The Apology isn’t interested in spending time with the character and really letting us walk in her shoes. Out of the 90-minute runtime of the story, we spend barely three getting to know the main character and seeing how a day goes for her. Considering how the events play out, not taking the time to flesh out Darlene’s emotional state is almost criminal.

Image via Shudder

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Almost 100% of the story happens inside Darlene’s house, and this choice drastically limits the film’s potential. The house doesn’t feel claustrophobic, and you also never feel like Darlene is in real danger by not being able to run outside. In other words, confining the characters to one scenario doesn’t add any layers of tension, it just gives you the sensation that the story is standing still and a monotonous exploration of the same incidents. Limiting the space makes it hard for an invader to have vantage points, and the antagonist from this movie is often found unarmed inside a house filled with sharp knives and glass bottles, so you constantly feel like Darlene has the higher ground.

Another thing that The Apology fails to do is to work on the dynamics of its initial duo. From the moment that Jack (Linus Roache) arrives, the movie makes it abundantly clear that these two characters have a romantic past, and yet they never get to properly explore their connection: They rush through points like how they connected when they were younger, if they trusted each other, how their relationship was affected by the little girl’s disappearance… If you are locking two characters inside a room and not having them talk their feelings out, then what are you doing?

Image via RLJA Films

It also doesn’t help that The Apology doesn’t seem to know what exactly its antagonist is. Are they a psychopath? Do they want their victims to struggle a little before killing them? At some point, it’s even revealed that they are none of that, that, in fact, they want forgiveness and have a death wish. While this would explain why on Earth the movie’s killer doesn’t ever have a plan B, it only makes the story worse – because if you have a killer that actively seeks their own death, then nobody is really in danger.

More than once throughout its run, characters from The Apology ask lead character Darlene if she has a revenge fantasy planned for whenever she finds the guy who kidnapped her daughter. Even though she says she doesn’t, it feels like this movie goes out of its way to prove the opposite. The script wants to throw its characters into horrible situations that are totally avoidable, just for the sake of watching them suffer. All the while ignoring the fact that the protagonist is a woman that has suffered more than enough.

Image via RLJE Films

The Apology is a dreadful story told horribly. It fails to understand its own protagonist, underestimates character development, and ignores the rules it establishes for itself. The movie also fails to realize how pairing a killer who wants to die with a victim that won’t kill immensely reduces the stakes of what is supposed to be a thriller. By playing into the revenge fantasy that it so desperately wants to display, the movie ends up just being a final torture session for its main character, who, by sticking to her morals, ends up being forced to witness in agonizing detail a tragedy she played in her mind for twenty years. The movie clearly thinks it achieved some form of catharsis (“I am so lucky,” a character says with a smile after nothing got resolved), but all it accomplishes are some trigger warnings.

Rating: D

The Apology is available in theaters now. You can also stream it on Shudder or AMC+.