Round the Decay (2025) Review
Round the Decay (2025) Review
Melody Kay (Camp Nowhere, The NeverEnding Story III: Escape from Fantasia) is back on screen alongside Damian Maffei (The Strangers: Prey at Night, Haunt) in this new creature feature from director Adam Newman. A grieving woman heads back to her sleepy American hometown to confront her past and investigate a tragedy that still haunts her. But the discovery of a hidden cave awakens a centuries-old entity, unravelling a tale of supernatural terror, ancient curses and small-town corruption.
For any film, regardless of genre, to truly work, audiences first need to find its rhythm. The same principle applies to books, theatre, music, and any art form that seeks to engage the senses. Unfortunately, Round the Decay makes that connection difficult from the outset.
Aside from a genuinely compelling opening sequence, in which an unfortunate victim would appear to meet a grisly end via a slit throat, the film quickly becomes bogged down by an ensemble of deeply irritating characters. While one particularly aggravating male character is clearly intended to test viewers’ patience—a fact acknowledged by the female characters themselves—the rest fare little better. Rather than inspiring empathy or investment, they come across as whiny, immature and frustratingly one-dimensional, leaving audiences counting down the minutes until their inevitable encounter with danger.
As a fan of creature features, I am generally willing to forgive a great deal in service of monster-driven entertainment. Even less successful entries in the genre can offer enough thrills, suspense or inventive creature design to compensate for their shortcomings. However, director Adam Newman’s Round the Decay struggles to establish a clear identity. The film feels uncertain of its own ambitions, hampered by inconsistent pacing and an uneven tone that never settles into a satisfying groove.
Much of the runtime is devoted to bickering couples and generic interpersonal drama, with scenes filled by conversations that lack both energy and purpose. While there are undoubtedly interesting ideas buried within the screenplay, the film would have benefited from a far stricter editing process. Excess narrative baggage weighs down the story, resulting in a distinct lack of tension, scares and momentum.
Even when the creature finally emerges—a grotesque, shrieking humanoid presence—the reactions from those encountering it rarely feel convincing. Fear is conspicuously absent from many performances. In one particularly unconvincing moment, a character’s expression suggests someone discovering an unwelcome floater returning to the toilet bowl rather than facing a deadly supernatural threat.
The film’s problems are further compounded by an overcrowded cast and multiple intertwining storylines. Such sprawling character networks can work brilliantly in the hands of filmmakers like Robert Altman, but within the confines of a horror film they often dilute rather than enhance the experience. Round the Decay would have benefited greatly from a more focused approach. Fewer characters, fewer soap-opera dynamics and a stronger emphasis on horror could have allowed its more promising elements to flourish.
Ultimately, Round the Decay contains the foundations of an entertaining creature feature, but its lack of focus, sluggish pacing and overabundance of underdeveloped subplots prevent it from delivering the thrills and suspense that horror audiences expect. In this case, less would certainly have been more.
Round the Decay is on UK digital 22 June & US digital 23 June from Seven Tales
