Echo Valley – Movie Review | Apple TV+ (4/5)

ECHO VALLEY on Apple TV+ is a new thriller starring Julianne Moore as a woman in a bad situation that keeps getting worse. Both in emotional, moral, and criminal ways. Read our full Echo Valley movie review here!

ECHO VALLEY is a new Apple TV+ thriller with a wonderful cast and a plot that keeps evolving in amazing ways. The character-driven story may seem predictable at first, but in the final act, it will deliver in several unexpected ways. Great ways, I might add!

With Julianne Moore heading the cast and being the one character we follow from start to finish, we’re off to a great start. Fortunately, the rest of the cast (even in the smallest roles with minimal screentime) is equally amazing. Even the runtime of 104 minutes works.

Continue reading our Echo Valley movie review below. Find it on Apple TV+ from June 13, 2025.

A grieving and desperate woman

As already stated, we’re in luck with Oscar winner Julianna Moore leading the cast of Echo Valley. She plays Kate, who is struggling to overcome a personal tragedy. As the sole owner of the Echo Valley farm, there is a lot of work to do.

She’s exhausted all the time, but training horses and keeping them clean and fed gets her out of bed each morning. Kate is a grieving woman, but if she thinks her life is bad now, it’s about to get a whole lot worse.

It all begins when her troubled daughter Claire (multi-Emmy nominee Sydney Sweeney) returns home. Claire has been in and out of rehab. Now, she’s back for help once more.

At first, it isn’t too bad, or not out of the ordinary for Claire, but it will soon result in desperation. It escalates wildly when she shows up on Kate’s doorstep, covered in someone else’s blood. Kate must now decide just how far she will go for her child.

This will surprise you – in amazing ways!

In many ways, Echo Valley is the classic story of a parent dealing with a child addicted to drugs. Sydney Sweeney (Immaculate, Nocturne) delivers a powerful performance as the daughter, Claire. She is not likable, but she is vulnerable and very obviously still an addict.

And yes, you will want to knock sense into her. Just as her parents have tried through rehab. Many times. You just cannot help someone who isn’t ready to receive help.

This is what Julianne Moore‘s Kate is struggling to accept. Especially as she’s already dealing with her own grief. A life-altering grief that has worn her out, which means she’s ready to do whatever her daughter needs. And the daughter preys on that.

As Claire’s, we see Kyle MacLachlan (Blink Twice) in a role that’s small, but still important.

In three other key roles, we have the always amazing Fiona Shaw (True Detective: Night Country) as the best friend of Kate, who delivers so much heart to the story.

And then there’s Edmund Donovan (Your Monster, Civil War) and Domhnall Gleeson (The Patient) as people from Claire’s life of addiction. They are not good people, but these two actors deliver great portrayals of those shady elements of the story.

Watch Echo Valley on Apple TV+

The new Apple TV+ movie Echo Valley comes from BAFTA-winning director Michael Pearce (Beast, Encounter) and Emmy-nominated writer Brad Ingelsby (Mare of Easttown).

Admittedly, I thought the trailer for Echo Valley had been too spoiler-filled and revealed most of the plot. Well, I’m very happy to say that I was wrong. This thriller has a lot more to it.

In fact, the trailer is merely what sets everything off.

The third act offers a finale that I have not been able to forget. It’s all about trying to figure out how to balance love, sacrifice, and survival. Also, it’s about the family you have versus the one you build and choose (friends, specifically). Do not miss out on this one!

Echo Valley will premiere globally on Apple TV+ on June 13, 2025.

Details

Director: Michael Pearce
Writer: Brad Ingelsby
Cast: Julianne Moore, Sydney Sweeney, Domhnall Gleeson, Fiona Shaw, Edmund Donovan, Albert Jones, Kyle MacLachlan