Strung – Movie Review | Peacock (1/5)

STRUNG on Peacock is a thriller from producers Tyler Perry and Jason Blum. It’s definitely too long, which is only made worse by the fact that it’s pretty bad as well. In fact, Blumhouse seems to be involved by name only. Read our full Strung (2026) movie review here and find it on Peacock now!

STRUNG is a Peacock thriller mystery with a runtime that far exceeds what the plot can handle. I’m sorry to lead with such a negative perspective, but it really does nothing good for this movie. Also, part of my struggle with this movie is its core focus on a talented violinist, which made me want to watch another movie instead.

I’ll get back to that, but for now, I want to highlight that this Peacock movie was produced by both Tyler Perry and Jason Blum of Blumhouse. While the latter usually means a solid genre production (including the summer horror blockbusters: Backrooms and Obsession), the former is often all over the place. And so is this movie!

Continue reading our Strung (2026) movie review below. Find it on Peacock now.

A tormented musician

Strung is the story of a talented, but tormented, violinist who teaches piano. Yes, go ahead and read that again. It won’t make any more sense, but at least you’ll be ready for this movie, which doesn’t make much sense either.

You will see the twists coming way ahead of time. Well, some of them anyway.

Based on the official plot about a violinist, combined with this being a Blumhouse production, I was hoping for something along the lines of The Perfection. This was the movie I hinted at earlier, and for your own sake, I would recommend watching that one instead.

Strung is nothing like The Perfection in any way, shape, or form. Not just because the music doesn’t mean much in the overall scheme of things (if anything, really), but more due to this being a very different creature entirely.

Think The Housemaid.

But if it was made by Chris Stokes for Tubi.

If that reference doesn’t mean anything to you, then you’re lucky. However, I can tell you that the overall plot may have been intriguing enough on paper, in bullet points, but not in the way this was turned into a movie.

A Blumhouse movie by name only

As already mentioned, Jason Blum is a producer, as is Tyler Perry. Now, we have reviewed many Jason Blum genre productions over the years, and they usually range from solid to pure joy for horror fans. Tyler Perry, on the other hand, often disappoints me.

Unfortunately, Strung on Peacock has Tyler Perry written all over it. If any horror or thriller fans come across this because Blumhouse is producing, they should know that this is by name only. I cannot see anything in Strung that made me recognize any Blumhouse trademark in it.

I did, however, see all the typical Tyler Perry trademarks.

Especially focusing on extremely wealthy black people who treat the less fortunate black people terribly.

Also, having extremely soapy plots and one-dimensional characters.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: As someone who is a minority, I understand wanting to see yourself on screen. However, I don’t want to see these stereotypes and people acting like they’re in a soap opera.

If I wanted that, I would simply watch a soap opera instead.

Please note that I am not mentioning the actors at all. This mess is not their fault!

Watch the 2026 movie Strung on Peacock now

Strung comes from director Malcolm D. Lee, who has worked mostly on comedy productions in the past. From The Best Man (1999) to Girls Trip (2017). He also directed the horror spoof Scary Movie 5 (2013) and has worked on various TV shows in all kinds of genres, so he’s no stranger to the more sinister stories.

The screenwriter of this 2026 thriller mystery is Alan B. McElroy, and he knows horror and thrillers. Alan B. McElroy wrote the screenplay for Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988), Spawn (1997), Fractured (2019), and Wrong Turn (2021). In fact, he also wrote the original 2003 movie Wrong Turn.

I have no idea what this script seemed like on paper, but I hope it wasn’t anything resembling the final product.

For me, movies produced by Tyler Perry have come to mean one thing: Productions with decent budgets that feel cheap or rushed. More like a recent Neil Marshall or most Chris Stokes movies on Tubi than something made by a talented filmmaker, which Tyler Perry can be. It just rarely shows with his genre productions.

Mea Culpa was pretty terrible while Straw was okay (thanks to Taraji P. Henson), but I have yet to be impressed with his genre movies. Strung is, unfortunately, no exception.

Strung is streaming on Peacock from June 26, 2026.

Details

Director: Malcolm D. Lee
Writer: Alan B. McElroy
Cast: Chloe Bailey, Lynn Whitfield, Lucien Laviscount, Anna Diop, Coco Jones, Romy Woods