Lily Sullivan
Rory
Overview
In a post-apocalyptic world, a virus has transformed humans into violently deranged cannibals. A bereaved mother has lost everything and takes refuge in an isolated mountain cabin, until a desperate wounded stranger arrives with a story of hope.
Cast
12 people
Reviews
5 min readThe Howl and the Hollow
I’ve been thinking about the sound. Not the gunshots, not the screams—though there are plenty of those—but the way the wind moves through the empty valleys of Forgive Us All, a low, mournful whistle that feels less like nature and more like a warning. It’s the kind of noise that gets under your skin before you even realize you’re listening for it.
That’s the film’s first trick, and maybe its best: it makes you wait. And waiting, in a horror movie, is supposed to be the point. But what happens when the waiting never quite pays off?
Jordana Stott’s debut feature is a stubborn thing. Here’s a film that wants to be a Western, a zombie flick, a grief study, and a survival thriller all at once, and it refuses to apologize for the mess. That mess, though, is the problem. Forgive Us All is so busy trying to be everything that it often forgets to be anything at all.
The premise is simple enough: Rory (Lily Sullivan), a mother hollowed out by loss, lives alone in the New Zealand wilderness, her only company the ghosts of what she’s buried. When a wounded stranger (Lance Giles) stumbles into her life, she’s forced to decide whether to trust him—or whether trust even matters anymore. The world outside is overrun by the "Howlers," fast-moving, ravenous creatures who hunt by scent and sound.
They’re not zombies in the traditional sense; they’re something meaner, more animalistic. And they’re always just one misstep away. Stott leans hard into the Western tropes—wide shots of empty landscapes, a lone figure against the horizon, the moral weight of a gun in your hand.
But the film’s heart isn’t in the shootouts or the chase sequences. It’s in the quiet moments, the ones where Rory’s grief is so thick it feels like another character in the room. Sullivan, who’s been quietly building a career out of playing women on the edge (Evil Dead Rise, Monolith), is the film’s anchor.
There’s a scene early on where she sits at a table, staring at a half-empty bottle of pills, her fingers trembling just enough to make you wonder if she’s going to take them or throw them against the wall. It’s the kind of small, human detail that makes the apocalypse feel real. The problem is, the film doesn’t always trust her to carry the weight.
Audience Opinions
Audience 4.0/10
"A visually ambitious but uneven horror-western hybrid that struggles to balance its genres and deliver consistent scares."
Viewers appreciate the film’s bold attempt to merge Western and horror elements, noting its striking visuals and atmospheric tone. However, many find the pacing sluggish and the narrative disjointed, with underdeveloped characters and a lack of sustained tension. The cast’s efforts are acknowledged, but the execution often falls short of its ambitious premise.
What viewers praise
- Striking visuals The cinematography and production design create a moody, immersive atmosphere that stands out in the genre.
- Ambitious genre blend The fusion of Western and horror themes is praised as a fresh and intriguing concept.
- Atmospheric tone The film’s eerie and unsettling mood is a recurring highlight for those who enjoy slow-burn horror.
Common complaints
- Slow pacing Many find the film drags, with long stretches lacking momentum or meaningful development.
- Underdeveloped characters The cast’s potential is undermined by thin character arcs and weak dialogue.
- Inconsistent scares The horror elements are criticized for failing to deliver sustained tension or memorable frights.
- Disjointed narrative The story’s structure feels uneven, with some plot threads left unresolved or poorly integrated.
Recommended for
Fans of atmospheric horror Western-horror hybrid enthusiasts Indie film experimenters
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsExclusive First Look: Forgive Us All (2025) – The Kiwi Horror-Western Set to Haunt Netflix
Jordana Stott’s Forgive Us All is shaping up to be one of 2025’s most anticipated genre mashups—a horror-western hybrid landing exclusively on Netflix, with Lily Sullivan leading a cast of New Zealand’s heavy hitters. Early buzz suggests the film blends brutal choices, eerie frontier tension, and a runtime just shy of 95 minutes, but details remain tightly guarded. Here’s what we know (and what’s still rumor) about the project.
A Horror-Western Hybrid with Kiwi Muscle
Forgive Us All marks director Jordana Stott’s bold leap into feature filmmaking, blending two notoriously tough genres: horror and the western. The film is confirmed as a New Zealand production 
, and its 93-minute runtime [2] hints at a lean, high-stakes narrative—no room for filler when the opening scene already forces Lily Sullivan’s character, Rory, into "tough, horrific choices" .
The cast reads like a who’s-who of Australasian talent:
- Lily Sullivan (Evil Dead Rise, Monolith) stars as Rory, a role that reportedly demands physical and emotional extremes.
- Callan Mulvey (300: Rise of an Empire, Batman v Superman) and Richard Roxburgh (Moulin Rouge!, The Crown) bring gravitas as morally ambiguous figures in a lawless landscape.
- Lawrence Makoare (The Lord of the Rings, Aquaman) and Dean O’Gorman (The Hobbit) add depth to the ensemble, while relative newcomers like Bree Peters and Zack McCracken round out the frontier posse.
The film’s dual-genre identity—labeled as both "Western" and "Épouvante-Horreur" (horror) [2]—suggests a fresh take on the "elevated horror" trend, with the isolation and brutality of the Old West serving as a pressure cooker for supernatural (or psychological) terror.
Streaming Exclusively on Netflix: A Strategic Play?
Netflix has locked Forgive Us All as an exclusive [1], a move that could either catapult the film to viral status or bury it in the platform’s algorithm. The streaming giant has had mixed success with original horror—hits like The Night House and His House prove the audience is there, but flops like The Midnight Sky’s horror-adjacent elements show the genre’s unpredictability.
Early chatter positions Forgive Us All as a potential sleeper hit, but the film’s 4.1/10 rating on SensCritique (based on 84 votes) [2] raises eyebrows. Is this a case of premature backlash, or a sign of mismatched expectations? Without a trailer or official synopsis, it’s too soon to tell. What is clear: Netflix is betting on Stott’s vision and Sullivan’s rising star power to draw viewers.
What’s Still Unconfirmed (and Why It Matters)
- Release Date Confusion: While Rotten Tomatoes lists Forgive Us All as a 2025 film [1], SensCritique pegs it for 2026 [2]. Neither source provides a specific date, leaving fans in limbo. A 2025 release would align with Netflix’s push for mid-year horror content, but a delay to 2026 could signal post-production hurdles.
- The Horror Hook: The Rotten Tomatoes snippet teases "horrific choices" in the opening [1], but is the film supernatural, psychological, or purely survivalist? The western setting suggests themes of vengeance or redemption, but horror-westerns (Bone Tomahawk, The Wind) often subvert expectations. Will Forgive Us All lean into gore, dread, or something more cerebral?
- Stott’s Directorial Debut: Jordana Stott’s background isn’t detailed in the available snippets, but her ability to juggle horror and western tropes will be make-or-break. If Forgive Us All stumbles, it could be dismissed as a gimmick; if it soars, it might redefine the subgenre.
The Bottom Line: Hype or Hokum?
With no trailer, no official synopsis, and conflicting release dates, Forgive Us All is a mystery box wrapped in a Netflix algorithm. The ingredients are promising—Sullivan’s intensity, a stacked cast, and a director unafraid to blend genres—but the proof will be in the execution. Horror fans craving something beyond jump scares and western buffs tired of revisionist clichés might find a new favorite here. Or they might log off disappointed.
One thing’s certain: When Forgive Us All drops, it won’t be for the faint of heart.
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.
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