Push – Movie Review | Shudder (3/5)

PUSH on Shudder is a new Home Invasion Thriller with a pregnant protagonist. A very pregnant protagonist. Also, it plays out a few decades ago, which means no cellphones. It’s tense and intense in all the right ways, but also feels familiar. Read our full Push movie review here!

PUSH is a new Shudder thriller with a Home Invasion plot. Well, not in the actual home of the main character, who is eight months pregnant, but at the house she’s trying to sell. She’s a real estate agent, and there’s an Open House in a very remote location.

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Our review of the Netflix horror-thriller The Open House here >

While this story works very well, it also feels like something we’ve seen before, so it’s strangely familiar. The movie is both tense and intense in all the right ways, but it’s also a little too long. However, if you know the filmmakers behind it, you know it’ll be brutal.

Continue reading our Push movie review below. Find it on Shudder from July 11, 2025.

Grieving and fighting

With Push, we meet Natalie Flores (Alicia Sanz) as she’s trying to find her way back to life. Having lost her fiancé in a brutal accident, she’s now haunted by his memory while trying to focus on taking good care of herself.

Natalie Flores is 8 months pregnant, but cannot slow down if she wants to build a life for herself and her child. That’s why she’s taken on the challenge of trying to sell a very challenging listing: A huge house in a remote location and with a deadly history.

We meet her as she’s getting ready for an Open House. She’s getting the house in pristine condition, and then she waits… for nothing, it seems. However, just before giving up, someone does show up.

One tough realtor

Unfortunately, it turns out to be a sadistic killer (Raúl Castillo), who believes this is already his home.

Now she’s trapped in a remote location, very pregnant, and since this plays out in the 1990s, it’s the age before cellphones. In other words, her survival depends solely on herself.

And then she goes into premature labor, which makes her more desperate… and fierce!

If you haven’t watched any of the previous movies by David Charbonier & Justin Douglas Powell, allow me to offer you a little warning: These two filmmakers do not shy away from the difficult and brutal stories. Push is no exception.

Also, you should know that the ending has a twist that you can (kind of) read into as you please. Depending on how positive your mindset is, the ending of Push could go either way.

It’s not open-ended per se, but it does offer up a few key details that are easily missed. And if you want that happier ending, you’ll want to miss them!

Watch Push (2025) on Shudder

The writer-director duo behind Push consists of David Charbonier and Justin Powell. If these names still aren’t familiar to you, then you’ve been missing out on a few truly brutal genre gems. Be sure to check out The Djinn and (especially!) The Boy Behind the Door.

ALREADY RESULTED IN A REMAKE

Their first feature has already been remade internationally >>>

This home invasion thriller had its world premiere at the iconic Sitges Film Festival in October 2024. This is arguably one of the biggest (and best) genre film festivals in the world. With its Spanish lead actor, it makes perfect sense that it would premiere in Spain.

Now, you can enjoy it on Shudder, and you really should. I know we’re “only” giving it a three out of five, but it was definitely leaning into a four. It’s mostly pacing and the story, which had elements we’ve seen a few too many times. Still, the execution is stellar!

PUSH starts streaming on Shudder on July 11, 2025.

Details

Writers & Directors: David Charbonier, Justin Powell
Cast: Alicia Sanz, Raúl Castillo, David Alexander Flinn, Gore Abrams, Justin McManus, Linc Hand