The Vibe
We were all ready for a spicy, high-stakes erotic mystery, right? The industry has been lowkey obsessed with cozy crime lately, so Verity promised to be the main character of the thriller genre. Adapted from the Colleen Hoover book by screenwriter Nick Antosca, the film features some pretty intense moments—including a scene where someone literally leaves teeth marks on a headboard. However, the film might leave you wanting to bite the seat in front of you, and not in a fun way.
The Plot
Dakota Johnson is back in her Fifty Shades era, playing Lowen, a struggling writer who gets a life-changing offer. A legal team recruits her to finish the book series of Verity Crawford, a mega-famous author played by Anne Hathaway. Lowen agrees to the bag and heads to Verity’s gorgeous Vermont lakeside mansion.
Once there, the plot thickens. Verity is immobile, using a wheelchair, and unable to speak. Lowen also gets distracted by Verity’s husband, Jeremy (played by Josh Hartnett), who is giving major sensitive-but-problematic energy. Things get chaotic when Lowen finds a secret manuscript that suggests something dark is happening in the house.
Why it flops
While the movie starts with some Du Maurier and De Palma energy, it quickly loses the plot. Key characters—like a sinister nurse played by Irina Dvorovenko—randomly disappear without explanation. By the third act, the story completely falls apart into a series of plot holes that just aren't hitting. It’s supposed to be mysterious and ambiguous, but it ends up feeling like it needed a serious rewrite.
Why it matters
Verity is a high-profile adaptation of a massive Colleen Hoover hit, but it proves that even star-studded casts like Hathaway, Hartnett, and Johnson can't save a script that doesn't hold up. The film hits theaters in Australia on October 1 and in the UK and US on October 2.
