Echo Valley (2025) is directed by Michael Pearce and written by Brad Ingelsby. It stars Julianne Moore, Sydney Sweeney, Domhnall Gleeson, Fiona Shaw, Edmund Donovan, Kyle MacLachlan, Katya Campbell, Melanie Nicholls-King, Rebecca Creskoff, and Audrey Grace Marshall. The film follows Kate Garretson, a horse trainer struggling to pick up the pieces after her wife’s sudden death. One night, her heroin-addict daughter (from her first marriage), Claire (Sweeney), returns home covered in someone else’s blood, begging for help. Due to a mixture of fear and unconditional love, Kate agrees to help, but only succeeds in worsening the situation. Now in the crosshairs of a demented local drug dealer (Gleeson), Kate is forced to commit acts she never could’ve imagined.

Julianne Moore is unsurprisingly effective as the lead. Without such a solid emotional portrayal, Kate would feel like an inconsistent character rather than a complex one. In what’s essentially the film’s inciting incident, she commits a terrible act that’s out of line with who she’s initially established to be. Still, Moore’s performance effectively sells the character’s eventual regret. Her acting in a way she typically wouldn’t is precisely the point, and it motivates the character throughout the film’s second half, especially. The only frustrating aspect of the character is her tendency to be willingly manipulated. Granted, she eventually stands her ground, but it takes a frustratingly long time. 

Sydney Sweeney is well-cast as Claire, resulting in one of her strongest performances outside of Euphoria (2019- ). The only issue is that Claire often doesn’t feel like a fully-formed character. Instead, she’s usually used as either an obstacle for Kate or as a tool to propel the plot. Once she serves the plot, she essentially just disappears from the film. This would make sense if she were to die or something, but it’s clear that the script just doesn’t care about who she is or where her journey leads. As a sort of obstacle, however, her relationship with Kate effectively highlights the darker implications of unconditional love. On the other hand, it also doesn’t forget that the hard times are precisely why a concept like unconditional love exists in the first place.

The surprise standout here is easily Domhnall Gleeson as the film’s central antagonist, Jackie. It’s not the first time he’s played a villain, but it is the first time he’s played one who’s truly threatening. He exudes a kind of overconfident, morally corrupt bravado that serves as a perfect foil for Kate. Where he uses people to keep himself out of danger, Kate puts herself in danger to help others. Yes, she commits horrible deeds, but for human, understandable reasons. Jackie, on the other hand, doesn’t give a damn about what he does, no matter how disturbing it might be. Both do terrible things, but only one is a horrible person. If you accept the fact that nearly everyone, at some point, has acted or will act in morally corrupt ways, you’ll quickly realize that evil is defined by much more than simply one bad deed. 

The characters are all broken in their own unique ways, which can often make them tough to like. Thankfully, the script’s sure-handed thriller elements keep the viewer engaged even when the characters don’t. There are plenty of smart surprises throughout, and the story is generally well-paced. I was never able to predict where it was heading, which is a hallmark of any competent thriller. This all culminates in a final scene that’s either uplifting or devastating, depending on how the individual interprets it. It represents both the downfalls of such unwavering loyalty and its inherent humanistic beauty.

Overall, I enjoyed Echo Valley significantly more than expected. It’s easily one of the year’s best thrillers so far, with only a handful of issues that hold it back from greatness. The characters could’ve been written a tad sharper, and the script could’ve stretched believability a bit less, but there isn’t much else to complain about. It’s one of the rare ‘straight-to-streaming’ releases that doesn’t simply kill two hours; It’s actually memorable and worth talking about. It’s not quite worthy of any awards consideration, but if you like thrillers in any capacity, check it out. If you’re already subscribed to AppleTV+, then you have no excuse. It’s tough to justify not rolling the dice when you have a free bet. B