Apex (2026) is directed by Baltasar Kormakur and written by Jeremy Robbins. It stars Charlize Theron, Taron Egerton, Eric Bana, Matt Whelan, and Aaron Pederson. The film follows Sasha (Theron), a thrill-seeker who travels to an Australian national park to escape the memory of a tragic mountain-climbing accident. Upon arrival, she’s warned about the park’s treacherous terrain–a logical explanation for the abnormally high number of people who’ve gone missing in the area. Soon after, she befriends Ben (Egerton), a suspiciously friendly local who gives her directions. After going their separate ways, the two eventually cross paths once again–this time deep in the forest, miles from civilization. After he brings her to his campsite, Sasha quickly realizes that Ben isn’t the friendly nature enthusiast he claims to be. Gaining the upper hand, Ben strips Sasha of her gear and forces her into a deadly game of hunter vs. hunted. 

Despite being a two-character story, neither Ben nor Sasha is particularly memorable or original. Thankfully, Theron and Egerton provide their roles with some much-needed authenticity. This saves the characters from falling flat, but it’s clear that very little of the credit should go to the writing. It’s especially true for Sasha, who’s yet another horror movie protagonist dealing with some kind of past trauma. That being said, Theron’s assured performance puts her in the better half of characters defined by this cliche.   

Egerton plays the flashier character and, by extension, the more memorable one. The zany, loud-mouthed Aussie serial killer slasher has nearly become its own subgenre at this point, and rightfully so. The talkative, sometimes hilarious nature of the Aussie killer archetype helps energize the otherwise basic hunter-versus-prey setup. Egerton is a fantastic performer who commands the screen, so Ben is never particularly boring, yet he falls short of the seminal Aussie serial killer, Johnn Jarratt’s Mick Taylor from the Wolf Creek franchise. This character struggles to bring much new to the table, constantly reminding me of Jai Courtney’s far superior Aussie killer from the recently released shark-themed slasher, Dangerous Animals (2025). Ben is written as just a hodgepodge of serial-killer tropes the genre has toyed with over and over again. It’s an overall good performance from Egerton, but he doesn’t have a lot to work with. 

The eventual reveal that Ben is a cannibal isn’t very surprising by that point in the story, but it’s also a worn-out concept in terms of the genre. I won’t argue with people who’re creeped out by cannibalism, but it’s not exactly an idea that’s pushing the limits in 2026. Take a look at horror films such as Cannibal Holocaust (1980) and eventually The Silence of the Lambs (1991), just to name a few. What makes it worse is that they don’t actually do anything with the fact that he’s a cannibal, so it ultimately just feels like a desperate attempt from the writer to make their main villain seem scarier, but it completely falls flat.

For the most part, this is a barbones cat-and-mouse chase movie that’s best described as a modern take on “The Most Dangerous Game,” but without the timeless explorations of social and economic class. It mostly sticks to the hollow “I have to push myself” survival themes we’ve seen countless times before. Thankfully, the action itself is consistently tense and eventually leads to a climax that’s unexpected and atypical for the subgenre, but doesn’t feel out of place for the story being told. 

Overall, this is a serviceable cat-and-mouse survival thriller anchored by two solid lead performances and some exciting action. Unfortunately, it never quite distinguishes itself from the countless other films with a similar premise, despite making some admirable attempts to do so. This is a solid crew of filmmakers, but it never feels like they ever had a story worth telling. It’s an ok thriller, but you’ve probably seen it all before. It’s worth a shot to stream if you’re already a Netflix subscriber and like the subgenre, but I wouldn’t have recommended paying for a ticket if it had been given a theatrical release. C+