3 out of 5 stars

A story about devotion and betrayal in co-dependent relationships, Apple TV’s Echo Valley enlists a talented cast to depict a mother-daughter drama layered with suspense and psychological depth. However, such an ensemble can’t overcome the many character faults that are apt to leave audiences frustrated—while the harrowing implications of animal cruelty, though slight, don’t help.

Kate Garrett (Julianne Moore) is a recently widowed woman who runs a failing farm mostly by herself. As Kate grapples with the recent death of her husband, she leads a quiet life giving horse riding lessons on her isolated, but beautifully quaint, southern Pennsylvania property.

But one night, her drug-addict daughter Claire (Sydney Sweeney) arrives at her door covered in someone else’s blood. Crying and desperate for her mother’s help, she confesses a shocking secret, and Kate must decide how far she’s willing to go to protect her daughter.

Essentially, Echo Valley is an exploration of motherly love, but it also attempts to comment on the broader issue of parental responsibility. Sweeney portrays Claire with a strong sense of co-dependency and teenage folly rather than dangerous dalliances of youth. She’s needy and manipulative, but also someone who uses her pain to control the people around her. In scenes when Claire and Kate argue over money, Sweeney yells at the top of her lungs, projecting shrill notes that leave audiences wincing while they eagerly reach for the volume on their remote.

These scenes are emotionally affecting and the film doesn’t shy away from portraying tough moments. When Kate’s dog Coop gets dragged into an argument between mother and daughter, using even the implication of animal cruelty, at least in the way that screenwriter Brad Ingelsby does, can come off as an easy, if heavy-handed, choice to drive suspense. Audiences may benefit from alternative methods.

As Kate continues to protect Claire against the consequences of her actions, tensions rise when one of Claire’s drug-fuelled mistakes finds its way to Kate’s farm in the form of stock villain Jackie (Domhnall Gleeson). Claire, having gotten what she wanted from her mother, is nowhere to be seen. Once again, the film relies heavily on the implication of Kate’s beautiful horses being mortally threatened during a grim extortion plot designed to progress the narrative.

By the time audiences have followed the typical consequences that accompany being the mother of an unreliable, junkie daughter, we struggle to find a reason to care that much about Claire, who’s so detestable that Sweeney’s character virtually disappears halfway through the movie. But without exploring her past or providing key scenes that establish anything beyond fleeting moments of emotional blackmail, audiences must rely on their heroine Kate to anchor their interest and enjoyment in the thriller. Despite Moore’s exceptional ability to have us relate to Kate’s character, the story asks: can we really root for Kate when she seemingly makes the wrong decisions constantly?

The film saves its explanation for the climax, which may test the audience’s patience, but the writers also pile on a lot of emotional baggage for viewers to sort through while deciding whether Kate will actually slay her own horses to pay off Claire’s drug debtor Jackie. At times, this emotional weight compares to Synchronic (2019). In the latter film, which starred Anthony Mackie, a man travels through time and in one instance takes his dog along for the ride, unwittingly leaving him stranded halfway through the film. The connection between these films is simple: when you put animals in danger, it’s hard for audiences not to focus wholly on the safety of the animal over the actions of the characters. In Echo Valley, it’s not only Coop, her cattle dog, who’s in danger.

The supporting cast play their part to hold the narrative up after the more emotionally affecting scenes between mother, daughter and animal, although they’re scarce. While Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks) is criminally underused, reduced to a forgettable footnote, Fiona Shaw fills the role of Kate’s best friend Jessie Oliver where direly needed. Her presence becomes crucial when the script turns increasingly grim: Jackie drugs Kate, takes up residence on her farm, and begins manipulating her for the money Claire owes—a plot twist that feels both disturbing and implausibly rushed.

Scenes with Shaw, which are superior in acting and provide positive energy in light of Kate’s harrowing situation, shift the film’s theme from parental responsibility to a lighter-toned discussion about female friendship in the midst of tragedy. Although some may find this a flimsier road to travel down, it still attempts to answer the key narrative question: who can you trust when you can’t trust family?

The filming itself is one of the hallmarks of its creative endeavours. Director of photography Benjamin Kračun uses gorgeous shots of lakes and roads, mostly captured at night, to complement the film’s themes about parental obligation and choices that lead to dark realities. He did this in earlier projects, The Third Day (2020) and Promising Young Woman (2020).

Echo Valley still holds up as a useful, entertaining thriller mainly due to its acting talents and pacing controlled by a skilful cinematographer and director. However, some viewers find fault in stock characters populating scenes where they aren’t needed, and Claire’s problems seem to go over our heads when all we can think of is the wellbeing of Kate’s animals.

Nevertheless, the film’s resolution executes a few useful plot twists that wrap everything up nicely. However, the final frame of the film will undoubtedly leave viewers with an impression that’s undesired. Still, a grey area about Kate’s fate (whether she’ll still entertain Claire’s tiresome antics and complaints) lingers like smoke before the end credits. Many will ask themselves if this ambiguity about her final decision is necessary with what we know about Claire’s true intentions. However, we should know that Kate has changed throughout her harrowing journey thanks to Moore’s always engaging performance. Still, the lack of clarity about Claire and Kate’s relationship can come across as unnecessary.

USA | 2025 | 103 MINUTES | 2.00:1 | COLOUR | ENGLISH

Cast & Crew

director: Michael Pearce.
writer: Brad Ingelsby.
starring: Julianne Moore, Sydney Sweeney, Fiona Shaw, Domhnall Gleeson & Kyle MacLachlan.