After years of delivering unbeatable scares — beginning with his 1974 bestseller Carrie, which has been adapted multiple times, including Mike Flanagan’s upcoming miniseries — Stephen King earned the well-deserved title “King of Horror.” Among his acclaimed works is a standout thriller published in 2018, which was adapted into a near-perfect series starring a House of the Dragon and MobLand star two years later. Widely regarded as one of King’s creepiest adaptations, the show is now staging a surprise resurgence on a global scale.

Having aired on HBO for only ten episodes from January 12 to March 8, 2020, The Outsider is set in a small town in rural Georgia and begins with the discovery of the horribly mutilated body of 11-year-old Frankie Peterson (Duncan E. Clark). In Collider’s review, Tom Reimann describes the horror miniseries as “one creepy-as-hell detective story that’s equal parts True Detective and Dracula,” that’s darkly entertaining, strengthened by strong performances from Jason Bateman, Ben Mendelsohn, Mare Winningham, and Cynthia Erivo, who portrays Holly Gibney from King’s Mr. Mercedes.

Six years after its impressive run, The Outsider is surging on streaming charts globally. On April 8, 2026, the Emmy-nominated crime drama ranked as the ninth most-watched show on HBO Max, with subscribers in Mexico, Nicaragua, Argentina, and Peru, among others, contributing to its success. In addition to the previously mentioned stars, Bill Camp, Paddy Considine, Julianne Nicholson, Yul Vazquez, and Marc Menchaca also appear in the series. And for his role as the accused Little League coach Terry Maitland in Frankie’s murder case, Bateman earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. Currently, the show is sitting comfortably at HBO Max’s #11 spot worldwide.

Another Creepy Stephen King Adaptation Is on the Way

Flanagan’s Carrie is easily among the most anticipated King adaptations in the works, and, as expected, fans anticipate the brilliant filmmaker delivering nothing short of perfection. Starring Summer H. Howell in the titular role, the upcoming Carrie comes after three film adaptations released in 1976, 2002, and 2013, as well as a musical adaptation that premiered in 1988. As confirmed by series star Katee Sackhoff at a Fan Expo Vancouver panel on February 14, 2026, Carrie is expected to premiere in October 2026. Also starring in the supernatural horror are Siena Agudong, Alison Thornton, Thalia Dudek, Amber Midthunder, Josie Totah, Arthur Conti, Joel Oulette, Matthew Lillard, and Samantha Sloyan.

You can watch The Outsider on HBO Max.

By Britta DeVore
| Published 20 seconds ago

When it comes to creatives who dip their toe into acting and directing, there’s almost no better man for the job than the legendary Clint Eastwood. From the Bradley Cooper-led American Sniper to the heartfelt performances between Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon in Invictus, the star-turned-filmmaker has certainly made a name for himself behind the camera. One standout in his catalog is 1986’s Heartbreak Ridge, a war drama that often flies under the radar compared to his more celebrated work.

While he’s great at giving visionary direction to some of Hollywood’s biggest names, there’s nothing like a Clint Eastwood-led movie directed by the man himself. From Gran Torino to Million Dollar Baby, the man has a knack for seamlessly moving from the director’s chair to under the bright lights. Almost two decades into his filmmaking career, Eastwood delivered Heartbreak Ridge, a film centered around the life of a hardened Marine nearing the end of his service.

Creative Liberties Were Taken

In the 1986 flick, Clint Eastwood stars as a U.S. Marine who is getting ready to celebrate his well-earned retirement. Before he can kick back, relax, and go fishing, the tough-as-nails Marine is handed a platoon of unruly recruits who he needs to get battle ready if they have any hopes of surviving the 1983 American invasion of Grenada. With a well-formed cast, Heartbreak Ridge also starred the likes of Academy Award-nominee Marsha Mason (Cinderella Liberty), Everett McGill (Quest for Fire, Dune), and Mario Van Peebles (New Jack City).

In the script’s original draft, the leading character was not meant to be a member of the Marines but was instead a soldier in the United States Army. Unfortunately, when Eastwood and the rest of his team approached the Army for their help and support in making the movie as real as possible, they turned the project down because the character was an alcoholic divorcee. Picking up the pieces and starting at square one, the film’s creatives moved on to the Marines, who, after some cajoling, agreed to help shape the leading characters.

With the Marines behind them, the crew was allowed to roll cameras in California’s Camp Pendleton, giving the training scenes a real-life edge. Unfortunately, when the final product came out, the branch of the U.S. armed forces was less than pleased with the way Clint Eastwood and the rest of the cast and crew behind Heartbreak Ridge depicted them. Essentially, they didn’t appreciate some of the creative liberties taken to make the film more dramatic and give the characters a fully fleshed-out story.

A Critical And Commercial Success

Although the film wasn’t a hit among the Marines, audiences and critics enjoyed Clint Eastwood’s latest action-centered war epic, raking in a whopping $121.7 million at the worldwide box office against its $15 million production budget. An industry standout, the title would also nab a nomination for Best Sound at that year’s Academy Awards.

Heartbreak Ridge landed in theaters in 1986, the tail end of a decade that would be rounded out by the director’s Charlie “Bird” Parker biopic, Bird. Blasting off into the 1990s with guns blazing, Clint Eastwood continued his upward trajectory as a Hollywood star and filmmaker with The Rookie, Unforgiven, and The Bridges of Madison County, to name a few. As we know, Eastwood’s star has only continued to shine over the years, with his directorial credits well over 40.

Not Presently Streaming, But Available On Demand

As of late, things have been quiet for Clint Eastwood, as the last picture he starred in and directed was 2021’s neo-western drama, Cry Macho. Since then, the icon has released Juror No. 2, which was widely reported to be his final film. With almost seven decades in the industry, Eastwood has become a household name, either starring in or backing a project in every genre, with a movie out there for everyone. The recipient of 11 Academy Awards, it’s clear that the star’s impact on the world of film has been noticed by his peers and fans alike.

As for Heartbreak Ridge, the film isn’t currently on a major streaming platform, but it is available on-demand if you’re looking to check it out. You can rent or purchase it through platforms like YouTube, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video, and Fandango at Home to see why it remains one of Clint Eastwood’s most notorious war-centered features.

What was supposed to be a normal evening for a Wisconsin couple quickly turned fatal over alleged dinner plans. 27-year-old Mikayla Kloth is reportedly facing charges after police allege she stabbed her boyfriend, Lukas Rosch when he refused to go out to eat with her and suggested to stay in and air fry their dinner instead.

RELATED: Whoa! Texas Woman Allegedly Stabbed Boyfriend After He Refused To Hand Over His Cell Phone

Air Fryer Dinner Dispute Ends In Tragedy For Wisconsin Couple

PEOPLE reports that authorities have charged Mikayla Kloth with first-degree intentional homicide after she allegedly confessed to stabbing 25-year-old Lukas Rosch. The incident happened on Friday, April 24, at an apartment in Lac la Belle, Wisconsin. Officers responded to a 911 call from Mikayla just before 7 p.m. on the 24th and arrived at the scene, where they found Lukas lying on his back and bleeding on the floor.

Per Fox 6 Milwaukee, police said Mikayla admitted to stabbing Lukas because she was “angry” that he didn’t want to go out to eat with her. She said he instead wanted to stay in and cook chicken in an air fryer. Authorities also mentioned that Mikayla allegedly told them while they transported her to the police station that she should’ve “just went to the bar” and “the whole thing was irritating.”

More About Lukas Rosch & The Fatal Incident

According to the New York Post, doctors rushed Lukas to a local hospital, but he unfortunately died shortly after from a single stab wound to the chest. While officers transported Mikayla, she allegedly made more comments about her relationship with Lukas. She allegedly said, “if his parents didn’t hate her before, they will hate her now.” Lukas and Mikayla reportedly dated for about three years. During Mikayla’s recent court appearance on Monday, April 27, Lukas’ father reportedly told the court he was a “shattered man” after losing his son. In courtroom footage, he also added, “Please never let that monster walk the streets ever again.” 

What’s Next For Mikayla Kloth?

A judge has reportedly ordered Mikayla Kloth to remain in custody on a $2 million bond. She is set to return to court for a preliminary hearing on May 29. If she gets convicted, she could allegedly face life in prison.

RELATED: Prayers Up! Machete Attack At NYC’s Grand Central Reportedly Leaves 3 Stabbed, Suspect Killed By Police (VIDEO)

By Robert Scucci
| Published 1 minute ago

If you’ve ever found yourself wondering what Alien (1979) would be like if it were a straight-up comedy, I’d like to direct your attention to 2012’s Space Milkshake, the most profoundly stupid thing I’ve watched all week. I have zero regrets because it’s the kind of low-budget, bonkers movie I love throwing on when life gets too serious and I want my escapism to actually feel earned. Both my kids have been home sick from school. They’re throwing up everywhere. I don’t like the kind of goo I have to clean up while I’m trying to work between cyclical vomiting spells and gratuitous ice-pop recoveries. But alien goo? Pass me the Kool-Aid.

Not only is there plenty of goo, there are also other things that make Space Milkshake worth your time. Babes in bubble baths. Time travel. Wisecracking AI. Sandwiches. Oh yeah, and a sentient rubber duck that may or may not actually be a giant, hostile, tentacled creature named Gary (voiced by George Takei).

Like I said, this movie is super dumb. But it’s fun dumb. It’s well-thought-out dumb. It’s 87 minutes you’ll never get back, but you won’t feel like you lost anything because the humor lands, as juvenile as it may be.

Sanitation Is Risky Business

Space Milkshake takes place on the Regina, a sanitation space station inhabited by four crew members, Captain Anton (Billy Boyd), his on-again, off-again partner Valentina (Amanda Tapping), borderline goth baddie Tilda (Kristin Kreuk), and naive newcomer Jimmy (Robin Dunne). Almost immediately, Jimmy is put to work solving impossible tasks, like fixing the entire mainframe he was just introduced to and finding a workaround that lets the crew eat something other than sandwiches. Sandwiches are their primary form of sustenance. They come from a sandwich machine, the only source of food on the ship. Every day at lunch feels like a game of Russian roulette, but with questionable cold cuts.

Everybody aboard the Regina sticks to a strict schedule. It doesn’t matter what kind of disaster is unfolding or what kind of labor-intensive job they’re in the middle of. If Wendi (Amy Matysio), their AI companion, says it’s time for lunch, it’s time for lunch. If it’s time to play Scrabble, it’s time to play Scrabble, and so on.

Their routine takes a turn for the worse during a one-off, unsanctioned garbage retrieval mission, when Jimmy stumbles upon an interdimensional device known as the Time Cube, which is either a planet-destroying weapon, a time machine, or both. After he disrupts the very fabric of reality by interacting with it, a number of unfortunate things happen. First, Tilda is secretly killed and replaced by her alien doppelganger, and nobody seems to notice or care.

Then, even worse, Valentina’s beloved rubber ducky has a doppelganger too, and it’s actually her ex-boyfriend, Gary, in disguise. Thanks to the rift in the space-time continuum, everybody aboard the Regina is living on a timeline where Earth is devoid of life, meaning they can’t contact ground control.

As their sandwich supply continues to dwindle and Gary evolves closer to his final, terrifying form, it’s up to Jimmy to maintain the peace and restore their original timeline while all hell breaks loose aboard the ship. If you thought things couldn’t get any more chaotic, Jimmy doesn’t know Tilda is an alien clone, and as they continue to bond, he falls in love with her, which only complicates things further.

Come For The Crew, Stay For The Goo! 

One conversation I have more than I’ll ever care to admit is how most modern movies have a disappointing lack of goo. If you’re like me and can’t get enough of that sweet, sweet goo, all you have to do is stick around for Space Milkshake’s third act. You’ll get your fix.

Space Milkshake is painfully low-budget, but honestly doesn’t look too bad all things considered. The only information I can find about the film’s financials suggests Telefilm Canada supported 11 films for a total investment of $9 million. If that was split evenly, it’s fair to estimate this one came in at around $800,000.

Despite its obvious limitations, the establishing shots of the space station don’t look half bad, and the creature effects, while clearly from the “affordable CGI” bin, get the job done without taking you completely out of the movie. The real appeal comes from the cast’s chemistry, especially Billy Boyd’s Anton, who’s disproportionately arrogant for a captain with startlingly little to bring to the table.

In case you didn’t already pick up on this, Space Milkshake isn’t high art. It is, however, wildly entertaining, and exactly what you need if you’ve been watching too many existential heavy hitters and want a break. If you’re willing to endure the cold void of space as a rubber duck named Gary wreaks havoc on an unsuspecting sanitation crew, you can stream Space Milkshake for free on Tubi as of this writing.

Bringing Up Bates star Travis Clark appears to be mending his relationship with wife Katie Bates following his cheating scandal.

Clark, 25, took to Instagram on Monday, April 27, to share a carousel featuring several photos of his family, including Bates, also 25, their daughter, Hailey, 3, and son Harvey, 19 months. In one snap, Clark leaned in close to his wife as they smiled for a selfie. Another photo showed Bates sitting on a plane with their children.

“No one more undeserving … and that’s what makes me this grateful 🙏🏼🤎,” Clark captioned the post.

Fans and friends in the comments section gushed over Bates and Clark’s reunion.

“The most amazing story. A beautiful display of forgiveness,” one user commented, while another person wrote, “Very much deserving of grace and mercy and forgiveness.”

Related: Bringing Up Bates’ Travis Clark Praised Wife’s ‘Love’ 3 Months Before Affair

Bringing Up Bates alum Travis Clark publicly celebrated his wife, Katie Bates, less than three months before admitting he was unfaithful in their marriage. “Happy 25th to the easiest person in the world to celebrate,” Clark, 24, wrote via Instagram in October 2025. “You love so deeply, give so much of yourself to everything you […]

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Clark made headlines in January when he admitted that he had cheated on his wife.

“This is hard to write, but I owe the truth and I owe an apology. I was unfaithful to my wife,” the nursing student wrote via his Instagram Story on January 16. “I had an affair and repeatedly broke her trust. There is no excuse for what I did. This was my failure and my responsibility alone. I know that words don’t begin to express the damage I caused or the depth of the hurt I’ve brought into her life, but I am truly sorry.”

Clark continued, “I’m sorry for the pain, humiliation and betrayal I caused my wife through my choices. I understand that an apology doesn’t repair what I broke and forgiveness is not something I deserve or can ask for.”

The reality star added that he planned to take responsibility for his actions by “getting help.”

“[I am] doing the work to change and become a more honest and accountable man, regardless of [the] outcome,” he concluded. “I ask for privacy and grace for Katie as she processes this in her own time.”

Bates later broke her silence on Clark’s admission, which came hours after Bates revealed that she had suffered a pregnancy loss.

Related: Katie Bates Recalls ‘Hard’ Couples Therapy With Husband After His Affair

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Bringing Up Bates star Katie Bates is putting in the work to save her marriage after husband Travis Clark‘s cheating scandal. Bates, 25, took to her Instagram Story on Monday, March 2, to offer an update after seeking professional help, writing, “Just wrapped up a four day therapy intensive. At some point I may share […]

“This is not how I imagined beginning this year or this new season of our lives,” Bates began in a lengthy Instagram statement on January 19. “This has been an incredibly painful time for me and for our family. As many now know, our marriage has been deeply hurt and my trust has been broken. Right now, I am taking life one day at a time and focusing on what matters most: our children, their future, and my own healing.”

The TV personality — who is one of Bringing Up Bates couple Gil and Kelly Jo Bates’ 19 children — continued, “After privately expressing deep regret and sorrow for his actions, Travis told me he felt it was important to publicly take accountability for what he has done, and I support his decision and desire for transparency.”

Katie added that she and Clark had been “working through” the situation “privately” and sought counsel together and individually.

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“This is not a quick or easy process, and it is not one I am taking lightly,” she noted. “Every decision about our future will be made slowly and carefully, with what is best for our family and our children as the highest priority.”

Clark later shared in a March update that he was fighting to repair their marriage.

“I’ve been sitting in what I did for a couple months now, and I feel so much inside but it’s hard to find the right words,” he wrote via Instagram. “At the end of last year, I made decisions I deeply regret. I’m disappointed, ashamed, and honestly, disgusted with myself. The last couple months have been humbling. A lot of hard work, therapy, time with God. I know I’m not owed anything, but I am desperately fighting for my wife and my family every single day.”

Rental scams are on the rise in Atlanta, Georgia. This, reportedly, as fraudulent individuals, one allegedly named Jakerra Hester, pose as licensed agents to sell fake apartment listings and snatch up rental deposits. Now, victims are speaking out, sharing that they were allegedly promised luxury apartments, quick approvals, and same-day keys. This, only to receive none of that.

The Shade Room’s Justin Carter is speaking to licensed real estate broker Curtis Russell of Great Homes Atlanta. And sharing how renters can protect themselves on ‘TSR Investigates.’

How Fake Realtor Jakerra Hester Allegedly Sold Luxury Apartments

According to Carter, TikTok user @_tiavonaa lured renters with a TikTok page advertising her work in Atlanta. Pure Brown, an alleged client, says she was offered the opportunity to get into a loft without having to share her background information: credit, rental history, etc. Instead, she only had to pay $500.

When she prepared to do so, Brown learned that a woman with the same name as the realtor, Jakerra Hester,  had previously been arrested for fraud. Despite this, Brown was hopeful that the woman she was dealing with was the same woman in the headlines. And she ultimately sent her money over.

Then, when it was time to pick up her keys, Brown got ghosted. Then, when she requested that her money be sent back, the woman declined.

More On The Victims Of The Alleged Rental Scam

To make matters worse. The owner of the space that Jakerra Hester was trying to rent also took to TikTok, exposing the fraud scheme.

“That is not for rent. It’s my house that I currently own,” the owner told TikTok viewers.

Scroll above to watch as Carter breaks down Hester’s elaborate scheme and how she was allegedly impersonating a licensed realtor with her photos, videos, and more. Additionally, Carter shares footage of the woman who was being impersonated and how she has addressed the scheme. Furthermore, Carter shares statements from other realtors who have been impersonated, along with what renters need to know to prevent the same thing from happening to them.

RELATED: She Spent $3,500 With This Clothing Brand — Then The Orders Stopped Coming. | TSR Investigates

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 13 seconds ago

Star Trek conventions have been an essential part of the fandom for over half a century. Fans love these events because they get to mingle with other like-minded nerds and meet their favorite stars. The stars love these events because they get plenty of under-the-table autograph money from people who basically worship them. Finally, Paramount loves Star Trek conventions because these events help advertise the franchise, keeping fans watching their favorite shows and (what else?) buying a starship load of merchandise. 

On one occasion, however, a Star Trek convention backfired for Paramount. Months before the Voyager episode “Twisted” aired, Robert Duncan McNeill and Robert Picardo dunked on it at a fan convention. This led to months of speculation about just how bad the episode really was, and more than a few fans made wagers as to whether “Twisted” would see the light of day. While their employers would likely have wanted the actors to keep their mouths shut, McNeill and Picardo were effectively vindicated: when “Twisted” aired, it quickly proved itself as one of the worst episodes of Season 2.

TFW You Get The Script

“Twisted” is a bizarre episode in which Voyager gets stuck in a weird energy field that somehow changes the layout of the ship. This leaves our heroes wandering around, trying to return to important areas like engineering or the bridge. Everyone keeps ending up back at the holodeck and can’t figure out what they should do. Eventually, Tuvok decides they should do nothing, since all of their attempts to solve the problem have made things worse. Janeway and her crew hang back and do nothing, safely passing through an energy field that they speculate was an alien lifeform trying to communicate with them. 

Like many of Star Trek’s worst stories, “Twisted” was a bottle episode that was made to save money. It was also originally filmed for Season 1 but wasn’t shown until Season 2. That led to an interesting situation where Voyager actors Robert Duncan McNeill and Robert Picardo discussed the making of this episode at a Star Trek convention several months before it aired. While their exact comments are sadly lost to history, Picardo would later claim that “Twisted” is the worst episode of the entire series. Eventually, the fandom learned about them badmouthing the episode, and this led to even more rumors and speculation.

This Episode Was Hated Months Before It Aired

Based on their comments, some fans thought the episode was so bad that Paramount would scrap it rather than air it. The fandom spent months morbidly wondering if the entirety of this hated episode would end up on the cutting room floor. There were other rumors that the episode had to be entirely rewritten by showrunner Michael Piller and that director Kim Friedman couldn’t understand the wonky story, requiring both rewrites and reshoots. Because of all of this, “Twisted” had a bad reputation long before it was ever broadcast.

Arguably, that reputation was well-earned. “Twisted” has a 6.9 rating on IMDB. That’s not the worst (it has a higher rating than the episodes before and after it), but it’s far from the best the show had to offer. Plus, there were some kernels of truth among all the myths and speculation. While Piller didn’t rewrite the script, he did hate a storyline involving Neelix being a jealous boyfriend, and he tried to fix that with the subsequent episode “Parturition.” Also, while there is no evidence that director Kim Friedman didn’t understand the story, she did have to shoot five entirely new scenes because of the very short script.  

Is “Twisted” as bad as Robert Duncan McNeill and Robert Picardo made it out to be? Not really. But it’s a cheap, slow-paced, and extremely underwhelming episode where the solution to the dilemma of the week is to literally do nothing. The result is a boring and ultimately forgettable sci-fi adventure. We may not agree with Picardo that it’s the worst episode of Voyager ever made, but this subspace stinker is easily in the Top 10 of terrible Star Trek stories.

By Robert Scucci
| Published 25 seconds ago

I think the most upsetting thing about movies involving average people who need a second chance is how little it actually takes to turn their lives around. 2003’s The Big Empty centers on a man who puts himself in increasingly dangerous situations because somebody offered him $27,000 to be a bag man. Mel Gibson’s Payback (1999) is about a man who goes to hell and back for $70,000 that was stolen from him. Most people, if given that kind of money with no strings attached, could wipe out a car payment, a maxed-out credit card, or finally finish paying off their student debt.

Those who are slightly more fortunate could use it as a down payment on a house. Or, if you’re like Lynette (Vanessa Kirby) from 2025’s Night Always Comes, you save up the exact amount you need to avoid eviction, only for your mother to blow it on a brand new Mazda, effectively putting you out on the street if you can’t recoup the cash in less than a day.

The entire movie plays out like a run of the worst possible luck, escalating to the point of no return, with no support system in place to bail Lynette out. If I had to compare Night Always Comes to another recent film, it’s the perfect spiritual companion to the Safdie brothers’ 2017 release, Good Time. The difference is that Good Time hinges on bad decisions made by a bad person, while Night Always Comes is a series of bad decisions made by somebody pushed into desperation by her upbringing and lack of reasonable social safety nets.

Can’t Catch A Break

When Night Always Comes first introduces Lynette, she’s already at her lowest point, but she still finds ways to make things exponentially worse for herself. She’s working a string of menial jobs, saving every dollar so she can purchase the house her family is renting. Her older brother Kenny (Zack Gottsagen) has Down Syndrome, and she’s more of a parent to him than anyone else. Their mother, Doreen (Jennifer Jason Leigh), is emotionally absent and apathetic, so the responsibility of keeping the family afloat falls squarely on Lynette.

When Lynette finally scrapes together $25,000 for the down payment, she’s horrified to learn Doreen spent it all on a new car. David (J. Claude Deering), the owner of the house, tells her she has until 9:00 am the next morning to come up with the money before he sells the house to someone else. Not willing to go down without a fight, Lynette, who has a checkered past, slips back into old habits to recoup her losses. That decision sends her spiraling through the seediest corners of Portland, Oregon, digging herself deeper into a criminal life she doesn’t necessarily approve of, but understands might be the only way out.

Desperate, Lynette returns to sex work, which leads to her stealing a former client’s car. She tracks down her old friend Gloria (Julia Fox), who owes her money but refuses to pay. Gloria is doing well for herself as a live-in mistress to a corrupt politician, and while she won’t help financially, she does let it slip that he keeps a safe full of valuables in his closet. That pushes Lynette to reach out to her coworker Cody (Stephan James), an ex-con who knows how to crack safes.

Following a straightforward chain of “this happened, then this happened,” Night Always Comes keeps pushing Lynette deeper into Portland’s criminal underworld, with Kenny tagging along because there’s no one else to care for him in the middle of the night. Along the way, we learn about Lynette’s past as a runaway forced into sex work by her then-boyfriend Tommy (Michael Kelly) when she was still a teenager. It’s tragic, but it also makes it easier to sympathize with someone who has clearly been dealt a bad hand and run out of honest ways to course correct.

As expected, nearly every plan Lynette comes up with in Night Always Comes backfires epically, but she refuses to quit. Not with stakes this high. Not when her mother’s impulsive decisions are about to put her on the street and send Kenny into state care.

A Spiritual Successor To Good Time

If you’ve seen Good Time, Night Always Comes will feel familiar. In that film, Robert Pattinson’s Connie, who also has a cognitively impaired younger brother, goes on a crime spree that spirals out of control over the course of a single night. Where the films diverge is motive. Connie exploits his brother because he believes the law will go easier on him, while Lynette makes every decision with the intent of protecting Kenny, even if those decisions are deeply flawed.

What makes this harder to watch is that Lynette is actually trying. She works hard, tries to break the cycle she was born into, and attempts to do things the right way. But as the radio bumpers at the start of the film point out, most families are a couple car repairs and one missed shift away from losing everything. The film doesn’t excuse her behavior, but it does make a strong case for how quickly desperation can push people into choices they never thought they’d make when their back’s against the wall.

It does get a little heavy-handed by the third act, but Night Always Comes remains a solid watch. Vanessa Kirby and Zack Gottsagen stand out, largely because the family dynamic is so off-kilter. A younger sister acting as a parent to her older brother, while their actual mother sits on the sidelines, completely disconnected from the damage she’s causing, makes for inherently compelling storytelling. 

It’s not an easy watch, and the ending lands in unresolved territory. It’s neither tragic nor triumphant, which might frustrate anyone hoping for a clean resolution. But life rarely works that way, and neither does this movie. You can sympathize with someone trying to escape a nightmare before it swallows her whole, or judge her as if you’d somehow make better choices in the same situation.

Night Always Comes is a Netflix Original and is available to stream with an active subscription.