The Boys star's new horror movie gets great first reactions calling it "truly terrifying" featuring some of the "best performances" of 2025 so far

Julia Max's feature film debut The Surrender, starring The Boys star Colby Minifie, is getting very positive early reactions following its world premiere at SXSW. Critics are calling it a "truly terrifying" horror movie with "formidable" lead performances and some "edge-of-your-seat" sequences.

Co-starring Grey's Anatomy star Kate Burton, the film explores the complicated relationship between a mother and her daughter as they are forced to confront their differences in order to survive a supernatural threat of their own making.

"Despite the odds, it does [sustain its high-wire act], delivering a Final Girl movie with a metaphysical twist. If Charlie Kaufman scripted Sam Raimi’s Drag Me to Hell, it would look something like this," reads Variety's review.

"The Surrender’s big scare set piece rattled me to my core because I cared and fully understood what landed them there. It’s well crafted and well earned. A true edge-of-your-seat sequence while watching, and one I’ve yet to shake well after," wrote journalist Perri Nemiroff on X.

"It’s a wholly unique vision of grief, filled with carnage and unspeakable horror that escalates at a steady clip. To see it interpreted in this way, a visceral, thrilling and high-stakes vision without ever dampening the complicated, messy, and unglamorous nature of loss, marks Max as one to watch," said Bloody Disgusting, calling Colby Minifie a "formidable lead."

The Surrender is yet to announce a release date. The official synopsis fo the film reads: "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 from the dead. As the bizarre and brutal resurrection spirals out of control, both women must confront their differences as they fight for their lives, and for each other."

Mireia is a UK-based culture journalist and critic. She previously worked as Deputy Movies Editor at Digital Spy, and her work as a freelance writer has appeared in WeLoveCinema and Spanish magazines Fotogramas, Esquire, and Elle. She is also a published author, having written a book about Studio Ghibli's 'Kiki's Delivery Service' in 2023. Talking about anime and musicals is the best way to grab her attention.

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