Movies: Forgive Us All (2025) by Jordana Stott: A haunting tale of survival, guilt, and fragile hope in a decaying world
- dailyentertainment95
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When the world ends, forgiveness becomes the only salvation
Forgive Us All (2025) is a post-apocalyptic horror-western directed by Jordana Stott and co-written with Lance Giles and Alex Makauskas. Starring Lily Sullivan, Callan Mulvey, and Richard Roxburgh, the film blends bleak survivalism with moral introspection, set in a near-future world where a virus has turned most of humanity into feral cannibals.
In the mountains of New Zealand, Rory (Lily Sullivan) lives alone in isolation, clinging to routine and sanity after civilization’s collapse. Her fragile peace shatters when Logan (Callan Mulvey), a wounded fugitive from the authoritarian G.M.A. regime, stumbles upon her cabin. As distrust and compassion intertwine, Rory faces an impossible decision — whether to save a stranger or preserve her own fragile survival. Their only chance lies beyond the forest, where the “Howlers” hunt anyone who moves.
Premiering at Grimmfest 2025, Forgive Us All marked Jordana Stott’s striking debut in genre cinema — a minimalist, morally charged exploration of redemption against despair.
Why to Recommend: A poetic apocalypse wrapped in tension
Humanity at its last breath: The film uses the post-apocalyptic setting not as spectacle but as a mirror for conscience. It’s about the small choices that define us when society has vanished.Beneath its desolation lies a story of empathy and guilt — a reminder that even in ruin, compassion can be an act of rebellion.
Minimal cast, maximal emotion: Stott’s tight focus on two survivors makes the story intimate and claustrophobic. The silence between them becomes as powerful as any dialogue.It’s a survival story turned spiritual fable — a slow, aching meditation on what remains when everything else is gone.
Where to watch: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/forgive-us-all (US), https://www.justwatch.com/au/movie/forgive-us-all (Australia), https://www.justwatch.com/ca/movie/forgive-us-all (Canada), https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/forgive-us-all (UK), https://www.justwatch.com/de/Film/forgive-us-all (Germany)
Link IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31830814/
About movie: https://www.samuelgoldwynfilms.com/forgive-us-all/
What is the Trend Followed: The rise of spiritual horror and post-human redemption
Forgive Us All aligns with the new wave of “quiet apocalypse” cinema, where existential fear replaces spectacle, and redemption replaces heroism.
Spiritual apocalypse: Like The Road and The Last of Us, it treats survival as a moral test rather than a physical one. The horror comes from choices, not monsters.
Western desolation: Its visual tone and pacing borrow from revisionist westerns like The Proposition and The Rover, where landscapes become psychological prisons.
Post-human storytelling: It echoes Annihilation and A Quiet Place, where humanity’s downfall becomes an opportunity to rediscover meaning.
Eco-existential undertone: The decaying environment isn’t just backdrop — it’s the silent judge of human excess, guilt, and memory.
Minimalism over mayhem: A growing trend in indie horror, the film prioritizes mood and ethics over violence and gore, using emptiness as its canvas.
Summary: Forgive Us All fits into the “soulful horror” trend, where redemption is scarier — and more necessary — than death.
Director’s Vision: Silence, sin, and survival
Jordana Stott crafts the apocalypse as an allegory for forgiveness — both spiritual and personal. Her direction favors stillness and suggestion, allowing viewers to feel the world’s decay rather than be told about it.
Tone and rhythm: Long, quiet takes emphasize isolation, contrasting with sudden bursts of violence that feel more emotional than physical.
Moral ambiguity: Stott avoids clichés of good versus evil. Every choice in the film feels weighted with consequence, creating a realism both terrifying and tender.
Nature as confessional: The rugged New Zealand wilderness functions as both refuge and punishment — a place where the Earth itself seems to remember humanity’s sins.
Themes: Redemption, fear, and the ghosts of survival
Forgiveness in isolation: The title reflects both the characters’ inner guilt and humanity’s plea for absolution after self-destruction.
Trust vs. instinct: Rory’s decision to help Logan becomes a reflection of the eternal struggle between compassion and self-preservation.
Faith in ruins: Without religion or order, belief transforms into something primal — a flicker of morality that refuses to die.
Humanity as disease: The infected “Howlers” act as mirror-images of mankind’s own savagery, blurring the line between human and monster.
Redemption as defiance: In a world built on fear, forgiveness itself becomes a revolutionary act.
Key Success Factors: Performance, landscape, and atmosphere
Lily Sullivan’s commanding lead: Following her success in Evil Dead Rise, Sullivan delivers a layered performance of grief, courage, and exhaustion. She embodies both strength and despair with striking realism.
Callan Mulvey’s stoic intensity: As Logan, his physical weariness and moral ambiguity make him both threat and salvation.
Richard Roxburgh’s gravitas: His portrayal of Otto, a zealot leader of the G.M.A., adds depth to the film’s political dimension.
Visual storytelling: Cinematographer Alex Makauskas uses golden dust, fog, and muted sunlight to turn each frame into a decaying painting.
Sound design: Sparse dialogue and ambient noise heighten suspense — the creak of wood, the rustle of trees, and distant screams replace a musical score.
Awards & Nominations: Festival acclaim for visual and emotional depth
At Grimmfest 2025, Forgive Us All earned nominations for:
Best First Feature (Jordana Stott)
Best Cinematography (Alex Makauskas)
Best Performance (Lily Sullivan)The film also won Best Indie Feature at the New Zealand Horror Awards, praised for its atmosphere and ethical storytelling.
Critics Reception: Bleak, beautiful, and morally charged
Love Horror: “A haunting debut — Stott finds poetry in pain and hope in the ruins.”
Nerdly: “Visually arresting and quietly devastating. A western, a horror, and a confessional all in one.”
CineEuropa: “Lily Sullivan gives a career-defining performance in a film that turns survival into philosophy.”
NZ Herald: “Forgive Us All is not about the end of the world — it’s about what we deserve after it ends.”
Summary: Critics celebrate the film’s haunting imagery and psychological tension, noting its slow pacing but praising its emotional integrity and thematic ambition.
Reviews: Divisive but unforgettable
Supporters: Call it “a meditative apocalypse” and “a rare film that asks for patience and gives meaning in return.”
Skeptics: Found it “slow and unclear,” citing its minimal exposition and long silences.
Audience consensus: “Visually stunning, morally complex, and quietly unsettling.”
Summary: Viewers agree Forgive Us All is not a crowd-pleaser but an experience — contemplative, bleak, and deeply human.
Movie Trend: The post-apocalypse as moral parable
Forgive Us All joins the growing canon of ethically driven apocalypse films like Leave the World Behind and Vesper, which explore not destruction, but the remnants of conscience. It signals a shift from spectacle toward psychological and spiritual reflection within genre filmmaking.
Social Trend: Redemption storytelling in the age of collapse
The film reflects a cultural anxiety shared by many modern works — the fear that humanity’s destruction will come not from monsters, but from moral decay. Yet, by centering forgiveness, it aligns with the growing cinematic movement toward hope amid hopelessness, showing how redemption becomes our last surviving instinct.
Final Verdict: Stark, emotional, and quietly transcendent
Forgive Us All (2025) is a slow-burning apocalypse of the soul, elevated by Lily Sullivan’s haunting performance and Jordana Stott’s poetic vision. It transforms the end of the world into a prayer — whispered, painful, and full of grace.Verdict: A visual elegy for the fallen world — raw, meditative, and unforgettable.