The Apology (II) (2022) User Reviews

Offers No Surprises

[johnnyhbtvs27 · 4/10 · 17 December 2022]

The Apology is a dark thriller just released on Shudder starring Anna Gunn & Linus Roache. It has a promising opening and a good tense 30 minutes but ultimately loses itself in the third act.

The film is fine but doesn't really offer much in the way of surprises and the subject matter just kind of plods along. By the end, i was just pretty bored.

Janeane Garofalo improves any movie she's in and has made a career of stealing the movies with the limited screen time she gets. Here, Garofalo doesn't really do much and it's a shame she's wasted so badly.

For a movie of it's kind, The Apology goes nowhere and really, there isn't much point watching. A quick plot summary will tell you all that happens and it never veers from the course. Disappointing.

Gunning It

[hazzah1 · 4/10 · 1 January 2023]

This is a script which seems to have just gone ahead and filmed the second draft.

Anna Gunn; she's good. She's much more thank Skyler White. Jeneane Garafalo is always worthy of a watch - she's completely wasted here. Linus Roache does a great job playing both sleazy and urbane. That's pretty much been his whole career.

But the dialogue- ugh- way too much exposition and it was all delivered so awkwardly. The writer/director just didn't seem to believe the audience could fill in blanks using context or other means.

Perhaps that was something the producers insisted on?? But, audiences are not stupid (for the most part), and we can gather clues ourselves.

If you're looking for a good single-setting drama, there are far worse out there.

How Abusers See Themselves

[thalassafischer · 6/10 · 18 March 2023]

This film is misnamed because there's no real apology offered, in fact the murderer sexually assaulted the missing daughter as a sixteen year old minor and blamed her for screaming saying "it was an accident." He took a child to an isolated area and started kissing her and broke her neck for screaming.

He even tried to sexually assault the mother earlier in the film, after not seeing her in nearly twenty years, claiming he returned because he "loves her" so much. This entitled man actually thinks he's going to have a calm talk with the love of his life about how he murdered her underaged daughter and his niece (by marriage) during an attempted rape.

He brought a gun "for his protection" and cut the phone lines because "she's so smart." THEN after he's tied up to a chair in a basement after she managed to sneak attack him when he holds her hostage, he proceeds to complain about how "he was used for money" during his marriage to her sister.

This isn't the best film I've ever seen and it's certainly not a surprising or satisfying mystery but it's still decent for this accurate portrayal of how "normal" and entitled the average white male abuser thinks he is our society, fifty years after the second wave of feminism.

The Apology (But not really)

[fredrik-m-987-845353 · 3/10 · 17 December 2022]

I was looking forward to watching a new movie with Anna Gunn as one of the main characters. I always thought she was absolutely amazing in Breaking Bad. However, there was not much she could do with this script. The movie is pretty short but it feels like it drags on for way too long. It started off pretty decent but the whole thing goes down the drain around the midway.

I can live with the fact that the script was very predictable. When Jack knocks on the door everyone with half a brain knows why he's actually there. However, Jack comes to apologize and make amendments but proceeds to lie until the bitter end about exactly what happened to Darlenes daughter. He then goes completely crazy wanting to kill both Darlene and her neighbor Gretchen and refuses to be recorded. It doesn't make any sense. It made me ask why he would bother to come knocking in the first place.

The movie is a bit of a mess and in the end i could not help but feeling disappointed.

A decent and quick story of a missing person solid watch.

[LordCommandar · 6/10 · 19 December 2022]

After twenty years of sobriety a grieving mother finally learns the truth about what happened to her daughter who's has been missing as long as her sobriety by a very unlikely person who shows up at her home to confess to her everything that happened to her daughter. With a very small budget and cast, this was a decent and very quick story of a missing person reveal. I was actually ready to turn it off because I thought it was going no where but after the reveal of the daughter's demise, my interest piqued and I decided to stay engaged and watch to the end. A dialog film more than a visual meaning that you could easily just listen and not watch the film and still manage to follow the story without missing anything. Not sure why it fell under the genre of horror and thriller because it's neither. It's a suspense dialog in one place with a cast of three people done proper. And let me just add one more thing, some family members are absolute trash and sometimes end up being your worst enemy.

Decent movie, tons of holes

[cyclops_screener · 2/10 · 20 December 2022]

It happens with too many movies -- an interesting premise falls apart because a poor script cannot hold its weight.

A grieving mother, Darlene Hagen, who has mourned her missing daughter for 20 years is visited one snowy and thundering night by her brother-in-law, Jack Kingsley, who confesses to killing her daughter.

What ensues is a reasonably well-acted disaster. When Jack asks Darlene if she would like to see her daughter French book (which he kept from the day he killed the 16 year old girl), Darlene says yes. Jack goes to his car. It's Darlene's chance to lock him out of the house, but the inept script dictates that she does not do this.

Turns out Jack has brought a gun for his protection.

Jack and Darlene struggle several times through the movie, the gun changes hands, Darlene opts to tie up Jack in a few locations in her home, rather than simply shooting him and incapacitating him. It's amazing how many ligatures Darlene has just lying around.

Janeane Garofalo appears in the film and is horribly under-utilized.

How does a film like this get green lit? I don't want to berate the actors or even the writer, director, producer by asking that question. The whole thing is just so weak and filled with holes, the talented actors can only bolster it so much. Ultimately, this weak and, under cooked script takes them down with the ship.

low budget feature

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 25 June 2023]

Darlene Hagen (Anna Gunn) is still struggling 20 years after the disappearance of her daughter Sally. Jack Kingsley (Linus Roache) comes by claiming car trouble. In fact, he has a dark secret to reveal. Her friend Gretchen Sullivan (Janeane Garofalo) joins the horrific gathering.

New filmmaker Alison Locke is trying to write and direct a low budget feature. I don't know how, but she got three solid actors to do this. They make this as interesting as possible. The script isn't much. It has one surprise in the first half and the second half struggles. It has no more twists or turns to keep the interest. Mostly, this concept needs a few additions to keep it going all the way to the end.

Christmas, grief, and drama.

[jmbovan-47-160173 · 3/10 · 27 December 2022]

This isn't a horror film. It's barely a thriller. This is a generally a two person play they decided to film. The main character is hosting family Christmas after 20 years. She also lost her daughter, 16, 20 years ago who simply disappeared. Her ex-brother-in-law arrives unexpectedly, and this starts the drama. Unfortunately, the drama is a two person morality play of contrived dialogue and weakest of characterizations. This film triggers a lurid reaction to watch to the end, but only to see if any truth is found. Along the way, information that is meant to shock us is disclosed, and secrets are shared. All leading to the ending that is supposed to build faith in humanity? What I found was grief that goes without processing leads to dissatisfied and unhappy lives. Could have done something better with the 90 minutes.

Amazing Performances

[pseawrig · 7/10 · 16 December 2023]

There's a lot to recommend this film. The plot is taut, if familiar, the writing is thoughtful, if theatrical, and the mood is carefully developed throughout. Still, the performances of Roache, Gunn, and Garafalo are what sell it. Imo, Linus Roache is always added value, so that was no surprise. I haven't seen Gunn in a whole lot since Breaking Bad, except that Ok-but-not-so-great American version of Broadchurch. She's powerful here playing a wronged, angry, hurt character with a lot of unattractive emotional baggage. It's also a treat to see Garafalo onscreen in a dramatic role again after her years fighting the culture wars on radio and popping up just here and there in her friends' comedies. Overall, I'd say that The Apology is a solid entry in the bad-memories-for-Christmas subgenre.

Somewhat of a disappointment.

[Her-Excellency · 3/10 · 1 January 2023]

The subject matter is bleak and depressing, but could have made for a good film (especially seeing as it has been done before).

With Janeane Garofalo as one of the title characters, there was even more of an expectation that the IMDB score of 5.5, was a fluke and/or that reviewers were just missing the point. Say what you will about Garafolo, but she's a powerhouse of acting skills and much more charismatic and attractive than some give her credit for being. Anna Gunn too, was a draw. THE woman who portrayed Skyler White of BB fame SO distastefully well, that the character's name became synonymous with cold, unsupportive wives everywhere, and this was something I could not miss.

Lamentably, after watching it, I kind of wish I had.

Among the worst of the film's foibles is that given the aforementioned talent, surprisingly, the acting from all three leads left a lot to be desired. Most of the interactions between Gunn and Garafolo felt forced and not very organic - almost as if you are watching two strangers working at attempting to form a friendship. Worse still, the portrayal of the sleaze bucket by Linus Roache, was exceptionally terrible. Perhaps it isn't that he was not believable as said sleaze bucket; maybe it is that he was too believable as a sleaze bucket - and nothing else. The range of emotions necessary to pull off the nuances of his role, were never part of the actor's almost uninterested delivery.

On a better note, the soundtrack to The Apology is pretty good, with the Ages and Ages version of the closing "Auld Lang Syne", being SO particularly noteworthy and resonant, that I bought it.

Brilliant psychological drama

[alexfiles · 8/10 · 17 June 2023]

This is not a Shudder horror movie, but it is excellent drama by first-class actors around a horrifying subject.

It reminded my husband and me a little of when we first started watching David Mamet's movies. At first, you're a little taken aback, because all of his characters speak in such a way that the words, not the emotional delivery, convey the power of the moment, so that when you first start watching a Mamet film, you think for a moment, "What's wrong with all these people?", and then the magic clicks, and you're entranced.

Not that Locke's style in anyway copies Mamet, it's all her own. Nevertheless, we had a similar experience with this movie. At first, we wondered why these wonderful actors seemed a little awkward, and then suddenly what was being conveyed clicked, and we were caught up.

Excellent film.

One of the better Shudder films, though that's not saying much

[plurlife1989 · 6/10 · 24 February 2023]

For a low budget psychological thriller produced by Shudder, this film was actually not half bad. The screenplay is definitely not great even by Shudder standards. However, Anna Gunn's terrific performance is the saving grace that carries this film & makes it actually watchable. We already knew Anna Gunn is an incredibly talented actress based on her work in Breaking Bad, but in this film she portrays a broken mother who's daughter has been missing for the last 20 years - a nightmare every parent dreads happening to them. Anna Gunn's heartbreaking anguish is all on full display and it helps make the film a compelling watch. While the overall film is not perfect and I understand why some may not like it, id recommend watching it just for Anna Gunn's performance alone. The movies only 90 mins long, so it won't feel like a total waste of time.

Turned it off with 20 minutes left

[zack_gideon · 3/10 · 18 December 2022]

I watched most of this film or at least tried to. It's an interesting premise I suppose, but it's also not in a lot of ways. The moment the guys (at the very beginning) car "breaks down" and she doesn't question it at all I knew the script wasn't going to be great.

It's basically a play format. A few characters and A LOT of dialogue. The acting is okay, but it just doesn't go anywhere and I personally didn't care about the outcome, the characters or really the whole story.

Overall, I can't give a full review because I got annoyed with all the yelling and arguing and fake tension I just turned it off to watch the Warriors game. We lost the game, but I won by ending the the struggle of watching this film.

Predictable and average.

[deloudelouvain · 5/10 · 27 February 2023]

The Apology is a cheap movie and by that I don't mean just the budget. Sure it is a low budget movie but there are good low budget movies, unfortunately this isn't one of them. The story is very predictable, not well written in my opinion and the execution was just average. The acting wasn't that great either. Linus Roache, I can't say I'm a big fan of his performance, found it a bit bland and not convincing at all. As for Anna Gunn it was just average as well. Never been a big fan of her either. The Apology is the kind of movie I will forget everything about it by tomorrow and that's a good thing.

Truly and unbearably dreadful.

[manuelasaez · 2/10 · 1 January 2023]

You've seen this movie done 100 times before. Mother's daughter goes missing, she spends 20 years looking for her, and someone from her past comes back to offer an apology for the things he's done. It's exactly what you expect seeing after reading that synopsis, nothing new, interesting or engaging even slightly deviating from the tired formula, and the whole ordeal came off as a more "men are bad, and much worse than bad women/mothers".

People who write these movies really need to stop and think about the kind of impact they are leaving behind. Will this movie be remembered as a required viewing experience, or will it be forgotten as every other lame feminist revenge fantasy has been (meaning, not at all)? It's sad that movies like these even get financed when they beat the same already battered and pulpy horse to death, but it seems like people are more interested in furthering the "men are bad" agenda than actually make compelling films.

This movie was absolute, total garbage and nothing about it will be remembered by anyone, fondly or otherwise.

Umm, last minute school project

[pauljgunn-93232 · 2/10 · 26 December 2022]

Started out ok enough. That is if you forgive the whole 'car broke down' thing. But still, we will give them the benefit of the doubt there. Was actually getting into it. Obviously there was no shock or surprise with the big reveal, I think we could see that one ambling down the road for some time. Again, forgivable, there are only so many stories out there and it soon becomes apparent that we aren't watching anything new. Still nice enough little story. But then.......one can only assume that whoever was writing this had left it until the last minute and it was due in the next day. The scrip falls apart completely with some cringe-worthy dialog (fair play - the two leads managed to deliver it without looking for the director to check it was actually correct). The introduction of the 'neighbour' character who was nonchalantly walking the dog was equally as contrived. I expect the writer had recently watched Fargo and thought - "that was good - I'm going to do one of them". It seems It isn't that easy though is it.

Don't bother

[elirose-96112 · 1/10 · 27 December 2022]

The movie had so so much potential. It had a good plot and really started off amazing. The whole plot of the movie is this woman's missing daughter. Missing is the key word here. This man comes and is telling her this whole confession and there is a lot of action and had me really going. You go through this whole movie with this lady wanting to know what happened to her daughter. Finally is getting answers and then the movie just goes to poop. Let me tell you she never finds where her kid is. Yeah she gets a confession but that's it. Never even asks where her body is. So disappointed. Just no.

Great acting. Good story

[cmlawrence-21255 · 8/10 · 23 July 2023]

This film was fantastic. A mom who's daughter disappeared twenty years ago finally gets closure. Darlene finds herself in a tough situation with having to make some tough choices on that wintery Christmas Eve....

Anna Gunn was fantastic in this film. Could not have been better. Suspenseful and exciting. One of her best films. Great camera work. Great story line. For taking place in a house with the lights going on and off it wasn't bad. The story was well written and director Allison Locke did a fantastic job on this one. When the ex brother in law comes over one would not suspect him. As the film goes in it gets better and better. The end was just as good. It does not disappoint. 8/10 must see!

I can fix all of this

[nogodnomasters · 4/10 · 21 December 2022]

Darlene (Anna Gunn) is preparing on Christmas Eve to have family over for Christmas at her place. It has been 20 years since her daughter Sally has gone missing. The neighbor Gretchen ( Janeane Garofalo) is there with encouraging words. It is a dark and stormy night with snow thunder. Her sister Julie and her kids will be over. Unexpectantly Jack, Julie's ex-husband shows up at Darlene's door claiming his truck skidded. He had planned to surprise everyone at Christmas and to make peace with the family. The two of them had a fling a couple of decades ago. The conversation always leads back to Sally which turns into something nasty, like something you might see in a Farrah Fawcett/James Russo film, although not as intense and heart throbbing.

Watching Darlene wallow in self pity didn't endear me to her. Failed to connect.

Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.

Don't bother

[RandomTard · 1/10 · 19 March 2023]

Well after 20 minutes I just simply decided to not suffer anymore of this boring conversation. I've seen some tedious movies but oh my this one is right there at the top. There is nothing to get interested about, I mean absolutely nothing. Just boring people talking boring things to each other.

Acting seemed very strange, somehow forced. Well I guess it would be with basicly no script or plot to speak of, but seriously it is so bad. The snowthunder or whatever makes no sense, what kind of an electric system does that house have? That's not how electricity works - lightning does not make electricity pause for a minute.

Truly one of the worst films I've ever endured.

[HurricaneDaddy · 1/10 · 19 March 2023]

I don't even know what to say about this movie. There are three excellent actors performing in one of the most contrived and idiotic plots I have ever encountered. Pick any other film containing any of these three fine actors and you will have made a very wise decision. Anna Gunn does the best she can do with an idiotic script. Jeanine Garofalo is always excellent (and is in this film too in what amounts to little more than a cameo). I was very pleased to see her because it seems like it's been forever. Linus Roache is a very versatile actor who can be a good guy or a villain. Thomas Wayne, King Ecbert, and Jeremiah Sand are all among his extraordinary credits. But this...oh no. This is really the worst role of his career. I will say that if a middle school kid decided to write a dramatic encounter, you would not be surprised to witness something like this.

A mind numbingly predictable color-by-numbers project that probably had a script colored on the back of a napkin with a full orange crayon, and still managed to be just icky.

Maybe Rifftrax can bail this one out and give it second life.

Could have been a much higher score.

[kjjames81 · 4/10 · 1 January 2023]

Last night for New Year's Eve I watched two movies back to back, as I had just come out of hospital and had to take it easy.

The first movie I watched was The Apology. Now only knowing the basic story line and nothing else I settled down.

The film contained roughly three actors or less at the most on screen, this can be good if there is any tension in the film.

The two main actors, Linus Roache and Anna Gunn we're excellent in this, the storyline was interesting but what let it down for a much higher score? The script, yes this is what let this film down badly.

Not even thirty minutes in and I guessed what had happened and why Roache was there, especially when he said ' I have something to tell you.' Well if you have many movies like me, you can guess the storyline straight away, having this happen so fast took most of the tension out of the film.

Overall I enjoyed it but this movie. With the right script could have been a great film.

Overall not bad to waste and hour and a half.

Where is my apology?

[mls4182 · 1/10 · 15 December 2023]

Who wrote this? Who approved this? More importantly who financed this?

Horrible. Bad writing. Baaaad overacting. Ludicrous premise. The plot is stretched threadbare and filled with inane dialogue and lake physical fighting.

I only watched this for Jeanne Garafalo. There isn't enough of her to make up for this awful movie.

I can't believe I am holding out for the ending which has to be lame and predictable. This isn't even worth the required characters to qualify for a review but I want to earn others for wasting nearly two hours.

There are free old movies on YouTube better than this that can be watched for free.

Taut thriller

[scoopdiddle-12584 · 8/10 · 20 December 2022]

Rarely write reviews but I was surprised at the low scores this was getting.

Its a taut, claustrophobic thriller. Mainly a two hander until Janeane Garofolo rocks up and makes me feel ancient by declaring her character is retired (Baby Bowler is retired! Damn I'm old).

At its core its a revenge thriller and it's opened up some interesting conversations with the people I watched it with, something really lacking in films these days.

I found the performances spot on. Some of the plot decisions were questionable to me, but after the film that just opened up more discussions and I found other people found them relatable.

The Apology proves to be a disappointing entry in the horror genre

[kevin_robbins · 3/10 · 9 December 2023]

I recently viewed The Apology (2022) on Shudder. The storyline revolves around a mother grappling with her daughter's mysterious disappearance, and her unexpected encounter with her long-lost ex-brother-in-law brings forth revelations about the incident.

Directed by Alison Locke, in her directorial debut, the film stars Anna Gunn (Breaking Bad), Linus Roache (Mandy), and Janeane Garofalo (Mystery Men).

The movie invests its entire runtime in character development and backstory, but unfortunately, it falls short as not much transpires. Despite solid acting and a promising premise, the film primarily consists of prolonged arguments, and the climactic event at the end lacks the execution to justify the time invested.

In conclusion, The Apology proves to be a disappointing entry in the horror genre, deserving a score of 3.5/10, and I would advise skipping it.