Spoiler-Free Review of “Verity” in Theaters: Dakota Johnson Uncovers Dark Secrets in this Lifetime-Esque Erotic Thriller

*This is a spoiler-free review so feel free to read on!*

“There is no light where we’re going…”

Verity premiered in theaters on October 2nd 2026. The erotic psychological thriller film (based on the novel of the same name) stars Dakota Johnson, Josh Hartnett and Anne Hathaway. It runs for approximately an hour and fifty-five minutes.

After agreeing to be a ghostwriter for famous author, Verity Crawford, Lowen uncovers dark and deadly secrets within her autobiographical notes as she begins to lose her grip on reality while dealing with feelings for Verity’s husband.

Here is the trailer:

Verity is a guilty pleasure thriller with plenty of juicy and twisty moments built in, channeling films like Gone Girl and The Housemaid. Is it worthy of your next watch? Let’s find out…

The Pros:

Images courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios

Stacked cast.

When I think about a dream cast, this one is definitely up there for me personally. I am a huge fan of Josh Hartnett, Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson and I loved the deranged dynamic between their characters. I would have liked some more one-on-one moments with Hathaway and Johnson, but the tension was there and I was definitely feeling it. While I wouldn’t say that anyone really blew me away with their performance in this, they all understood the assignment and delivered enough in this soapy thriller.

Lots of twists and turns.

The initial ones weren’t that shocking, but if you enjoy Lifetime-esque thrills, you’ll get some of those standard twists here. That last twist though…wow! The reveals kept me invested until the very end as I tried to piece together everything. I didn’t read the novel so I don’t know how much it strayed from the source material, but the reveals were entertaining enough for a rainy Sunday at the theater.

The Cons:

Images courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios

Dragged things out too much.

I was never bored, but I think things could have been wrapped up a little bit sooner. This film really should have hovered around the 90 minute mark. On another note, the trailers for this seemed so diabolical and dark. We definitely got some sprinkles of chilling moments, but I think they could have pushed the envelope even more.

There were some steamy moments as well, but too much emphasis on biting furniture, which was laughable at times. I’m never complaining about a shirtless Josh Hartnett though…

So am I in or out?

Images courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios

I’m in about 75 percent…

(3.5 out of 5 stars)

VERITY is a soapy thriller with enough twists to keep you entertained with a gorgeous cast and lovely setting.

The reviews I’ve seen so far on this have not been very positive. I don’t think the film was that bad at all. I enjoyed it but I also love guilty pleasure thrillers like this. Was it perfect? Absolutely not…but I’d give it a shot if you enjoy this genre.

I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts and theories on Verity in the comments section below. Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!

Best,

Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl

This competition is killer…

When former friends, Shay and Adriana team up to participate in a Halloween scavenger hunt with a cash prize, they temporarily put their differences aside to outsmart their opponents. However, they soon start to realize that a dangerous threat is playing their own version of the game, stalking them during each hunt.

Winning is now a necessity as their lives are at stake. As old wounds and memories re-surface, Shay and Adriana attempt to unmask the threat before the night is over, but soon learn that Scream Hunt is not done with them just yet…

My young adult horror thriller is out now! I hope you enjoy!

Scream Hunt is available here!

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Spoiler-Free Review of “The Order” season 1: Secret Societies, Werewolves, and Magic

“Magic isn’t good or evil.  It just is.”  Welcome to The Hermetic Order of the Blue Rose, a secret society filled with magic practitioners, but this is no Hogwarts, as we dive into a dark war between werewolves and The Order.  Our main character, Jack Morton, finds himself in the middle of it, uncovering secrets about himself and his family, but what side will he end up choosing?

Love the premise?  Me too, which is why I was initially very excited to binge-watch this show.  The Order  premiered on March 7th 2019 and is available to stream all 10 episodes on Netflix. 

After watching the entire season within two days, I have a lot of mixed feelings on it.  I absolutely love that the show takes place on a college campus, rather than the typical high school setting we see with these types of series that are filled with teen drama with some light horror around the edges.

The show has a feel of The Covenant mixed with The Secret Circle, which should give you a good indication of whether you will like it or not.  I was also excited to see some familiar faces like Sam Trammell from True Blood, Max Martini from Revenge, and Jewel Staite from Firefly.

The show has a lot going on, but I wasn’t really pulled in until the third episode.  This was slightly underwhelming, as there are only 10 episodes in season one, but the plot was intriguing enough to keep me invested.  The spells gone wrong are fun and the show is not afraid to kill off main characters, keeping our attention.

Even the main love story is not nauseating and it doesn’t take away from the plot, which was a plus.  However, I wasn’t overly impressed with the acting from the majority of the cast and some of the humor did not land the way it was intended to.

I also felt like the show started to go in a few different directions, but ended up having a solid ending, leaving us with a major cliffhanger that will have you wanting a second season.  It has been confirmed that The Order has been renewed for season 2 so it looks like we will get some answers after all.

Overall, I enjoyed the series, but I wouldn’t say that I had to stop what I was doing to watch it.  If you like these types of shows, you will be entertained enough, but I recommend first watching shows like Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Light as a Feather, which did a better job of holding my attention.

However, if you are finding yourself in need of a quick show to binge-watch, this might be the perfect option for you, as it does have a lot of redeeming qualities.

I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts and theories on The Order in the comments section below.  Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!

**Goodreads Giveaway currently going on for The Search for Alice (100 copies available) from 2/21/19-3/14/19. Enter Goodreads Giveaway Here!

**I am so excited to announce that my book, The Search for Alice, is now available!  If you enjoy dark fantasy, fairy-tale retellings, paranormal romance, horror, and mystery, then this might be the book for you or someone you know!  Thank you for taking the time to check it out and I appreciate any feedback as well.  I hope you enjoy!

The Search for Alice Feb 2019

The Search for Alice is available here!

Free Instant Preview of The Search for Alice is available here!

Best,

Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl

@TV_Fanatic_Girl

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**If you enjoyed this blog, I would love it if you would click the follow button on your way out to subscribe.  Thanks for your support!

Do you love horror series?  Of course you do!  Please also check out 12 Nights of Horror Series Coming Soon.  It’s your home for everything you need to know about new and returning horror television series including new trailers, premiere dates, reviews, recaps, and renewals!