Fathers (2026) Review
After years in captivity, Natalie escapes the man she believed was her father. But as her true father tries to bring her home, her loyalty, fear, and confusion spiral into violence, forcing them both to confront the devastating truth about her past.
Written and directed by Harley Wallen, who also appears as the girl’s kidnapper, Fathers is a low-budget thriller buoyed by a cast and crew clearly committed to the material. There is an admirable sincerity to the performances, with everyone involved approaching the story with complete conviction. Unfortunately, that commitment cannot entirely compensate for a screenplay that lacks the psychological and narrative depth it aspires to achieve.
At its core, the film hinges on a central uncertainty: whether the man claiming to be Natalie’s father truly is who he says he is. The narrative repeatedly oscillates between this mystery and fragmented glimpses of Natalie’s traumatic past with her abductor — a man who himself claimed paternal authority as she endured disturbing experiences as his unwilling companion. Yet beyond this central question, the story struggles to develop additional layers, resulting in a narrative that often feels one-note.
Late attempts to inject psychological complexity, particularly through discussions of Stockholm Syndrome, arrive too late and without sufficient nuance to deepen the emotional stakes. Compounding this issue is the film’s unwaveringly earnest tone; performances are played so straight that moments occasionally drift into unintentional parody rather than tension.
The production also leans heavily on visual shorthand to convey Natalie’s deteriorating mental state — most notably through an abundance of yellow sticky notes scattered throughout the environment, a recurring motif that at times feels unintentionally distracting. (One might even wonder where they found sticky notes so improbably adhesive.)
Fathers remains watchable and never wholly collapses under the weight of its ambitions. It is not a bad film by any means, but neither does it reach the psychological sophistication it seems intent on delivering. Despite its aspirations toward something darker and more profound, the end result often feels closer to a lower-budget, Lifetime-style thriller than a genuinely penetrating psychological drama.