March 6, 2026
by Carla Hay
Directed by Natasha Kermani
Culture Representation: Taking place in an unnamed town in England during medieval times, the horror film “The Dreadful” features an all-white cast of characters representing the working-class and middle-class.
Culture Clash: A woman, her husband’s best friend, and her mother-in-law have their lives disrupted when an evil spirit causes one of them to become a serial killer.
Culture Audience: “The Dreadful” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and don’t mind watching a time-wasting and muddled horror film.
Not only does the “The Dreadful” describe the low quality of this horror movie, but this flop also can’t be saved by the two former “Game of Thrones” stars and the Oscar winner in the cast. The incoherent plot is about an evil spirit in medieval times. “The Dreadful” is an endurance test for any viewer watch the entire movie, because boredom or annoyance might prompt viewers to stop watching “The Dreadful” long before the movie ends.
Written and directed by Natasha Kermani, “The Dreadful” takes place in an unnamed rural town in England, during an unnamed wartime year in medieval times. The movie was actually filmed in Cornwall, England. The atmospheric locations (including foggy cliffsides and rocky beaches) are among the few highlights of “The Dreadful.”
“The Dreadful” begins with this opening caption: “Long ago, it was born from war and raised in rain. It walks along a dark path. It feeds on envy and acts without mercy. It does not rest; it does not tire. It whispers … and waits for you.”
The “it” in this description is an evil spirit that will soon plague the story’s three main characters, by turning one of these people into a serial killer. Anne (played by Sophie Turner) is an obedient young woman who lives with her bossy and religious mother-in-law Morwen (played by Marcia Gay Harden) on a small farm. Anne and Morwen are anxious because Anne’s knight husband Seamus (played by Laurence O’Fuarain), who is Morwen’s only child, has gone missing during the war.
One day, Seamus’ best friend Jago (played by Kit Harington), who went away with Seamus to serve in the war, appears in the town, after Jago was last known to be in Tewkesbury, England. Jago is reluctant to tell Anne and Morwen where Seamus is. Jago tells different stories until the truth is revealed. The first time that Anne and Morwen ask Jago where Seamus is, Jago gives this vague non-answer: “You know me. I’m a fisherman, not a soldier.”
As time goes on, Jago makes it known to Anne that he’s very attracted to her. Anne is still pining over Seamus, but she eventually begins to make Jago think that the attraction is mutual. The romance subplots in this movie are extremely dull, since former “Game of Thrones” stars Turner and Harington do not have believable chemistry together as Anne and Jago.
“The Dreadful” sluggishly stumbles along with monotonous scenes of worried and confused Anne, scowling and stern Morwen, and mysterious and dull Jago having forgettable conversations. A clergyman named Brother Penros (played by Jonathan Howard) stops by for a visit, but the way this character is performed is too modern for this movie that’s supposed to take place in medieval times.
There are no worthy scares in “The Dreadful,” which shows that the evil spirit likes to inhabit a certain knight’s helmet. The movie has close-ups of this helmet, as if that alone is supposed to make viewers frightened. The serial killings in the movie are tedious and done in an almost mechanical way. The entire movie is just a hodgepodge of conversations, murders, Anne’s occasional nightmares/hallucinations, and some tacky visual effects.
None of the acting performances in “The Dreadful” can be considered impressive. Oscar winner Harden, who is the most experienced movie actor in the cast, just seems to be going through the motions in this embarrassing movie. There is no real explanation for why the evil spirit and cursed helmet exist, except for the opening caption that says the spirit was “born from war.” By the time, “The Dreadful” limps to a chaotic showdown and a vague ending, most viewers won’t care about any of these characters and will have a hard time remembering the movie’s hollow and terrible plot.
Lionsgate released “The Dreadful” in select U.S. cinemas, on digital and VOD on February 20, 2026.