Apex (2026)
Directed by: Baltasar Kormákur
Premise: An American vacationer (Charlize Theron) explores the Australian wilderness. Deep in the forest, she encounters a psychotic murderer (Taron Egerton).
What Works: Apex is a survivalist thriller comparable to Deliverance especially in the way it combines elements of adventure stories and horror films. It’s really important for movies of this sort to be grounded and credible. That’s done quite successfully. Filmmaker Baltasar Kormákur previously directed 2012’s The Deep, 2015’s Everest, and 2018’s Adrift. He’s experienced at this kind of survivalist filmmaking and Apex is exceptionally well made. The film is beautifully shot but it’s a rugged beauty. The cliff faces and riverways and forestry have an organic and tactile quality. If Apex was created using digital imagery, it doesn’t look that way. The camerawork is also impressive. Kormákur and his crew keep the camera moving, especially during the chases, and there is one particular shot of Charlize Theron’s character slipping down a hillside into a river that’s extraordinary. Apex is paced well, with the filmmakers knowing when to speed up but also when to slow down, and the action is visceral and credible. Apex also earns comparison with films such as Revenge, Gator Bait, and I Spit on Your Grave. It’s partly about the threat men inherently pose to women and this idea fits into the movie’s naturalistic setting; the filmmakers draw out that subtext in the film’s quiet moments. Charlize Theron is well cast in the lead role. She has the physicality required for the character and she balances toughness with vulnerability. Taron Egerton is effectively placed as her adversary and he’s well matched with Theron, giving a frighteningly unhinged performance.
What Doesn’t: Apex opens with Charlize Theron’s character scaling a mountain with a friend (Eric Bana) which comes to a tragic end. While the opening is done well and effectively establishes Theron’s character, the sequences is also very familiar. We’ve seen similar set pieces in other movies, namely Cliffhanger and Vertical Limit. Theron’s character consistently looks a little too clean. She is engaged in low impact camping, spending her days hiking, kayaking, and portaging. She’s not glammed up but her dirtiness is controlled as to not obscure Theron’s beauty. She looks a touch too Hollywood for what is otherwise a scrappy film. The ending of Apex is drawn out. The climax is a bit underwhelming and it seems the filmmakers know that so they keep going, in search of a more decisive place to end the film. They never find it.
Disc extras: Available on Netflix.
Bottom Line: Apex is a well-crafted thriller. Much like the natural environs in which it is set, the film is simultaneously beautiful and foreboding. It gets a little lost in the ending but Apex is often frightening and exhilarating.
Episode: #1099 (May 17, 2026)