Heel 2026 Movie Review Trailer

This British thriller brings dark humor to an atmosphere that is undoubtedly typical of low-quality true crime dramas.

Stephen Graham and Andrea Riseborough play a married couple who, from a distance, might appear to have a happy life in rural England. At their remote estate, a sturdy metal gate keeps the frenetic modern world at bay. Their enormous house has enough space for a master bedroom with an imposing four-poster bed, room for their charming little son nicknamed "Sunshine," a guest room for a live-in housekeeper, and a spacious basement, perfect for laundry and crafting. However, what ex-cop Chris and his fragile wife Kathryn are doing in the basement is anything but charming.

Director: Jan Komasa
Writers: Bartek Bartosik, Naqqash Khalid
Stars: Stephen Graham, Andrea Riseborough, Anson Boon

Directed by Polish filmmaker Jan Komasa, Heel shares similarities with Pedro Almodóvar's unsettling psychological thriller, The Skin I Live In, with the comedic audacity of a midnight movie. The result is somewhat twisted, but not entirely brilliant.

As anticipated in the film's first promotional image (above), Heel follows the rehabilitation efforts Chris and his family inflict on Tommy (Anson Boon), a 19-year-old vandal who has been showcasing his reckless exploits on social media with no apparent consequences.

Before meeting Chris's warm and unconventional family, Heel plunges us into Tommy's chaotic lifestyle. During a night of partying, the blond reveler indulges in clubbing, drugs, public sex, and violence with a carefree attitude that feels less exhilarating and more nauseating. As he limps home, reeling from having embraced nearly every vice, a car stalks him, and someone runs out to pick him up.

From there, Heel shifts its focus to another figure who will fall into this family's clutches. Rina (Monika Frajczyk), an immigrant from Macedonia, is considering taking a cleaning job at Chris's house, even though he asks her if she has any "distinguishing marks."

A flicker in his eyes makes him recognize this warning sign, but his willingness to ignore it suggests he has no other choice. From the moment he arrives at Chris and Kathryn's house, he becomes the public face of the show, guiding us through the house and its more curious features, such as the boy chained by the neck in the basement.

It's not immediately clear who Tommy is to Chris and Kathryn. However, his mission is to make the boy "good." His methods range from the terrifying to the comical. Sometimes, Tommy's training involves watching videos on good manners created by Chris and her Sunshine (Kit Rakusen). Other times, violent means like a stun gun are used. Acting as if he's being electrocuted is just the limit of the physicality Boon's role demands. And it gives every moment a savage intensity.

As the family grows more confident in Tommy's slow but steady progress, they begin to lengthen his leash. This means that Boon sometimes fights against slavery and other times finds ways to make it work for him. There's a mindfulness in his gaze that reveals he's not yet broken, even when he's playing nice to appease his captors. Tommy is fiercely alive, and through this, he influences all the house members to embrace something wild within themselves, whether it's rediscovering their sexual desire, their joy, or their curiosity about a world beyond the gates.

Graham is a fantastic casting choice, as the English actor has played a variety of tough guys in productions such as Gangs of New York, This Is England, Public Enemies, and A Thousand Blows. More recently, however, he captivated critics and audiences alike by playing the heartbroken and volatile father in Netflix's harrowing crime miniseries, Adolescence. Now, in Heel, Graham is tenaciously kind—until he isn't.

Chris, undoubtedly, prefers the carrot to the stick when it comes to discipline. But Graham's own casting warns the audience that using the stick is inevitable. This threat of violence is reflected in his son's trembling eyes, whose joy can transform into terror in the flick of a switch. What happened in this house before Tommy's arrival may not be explicitly stated, but through the interactions between father and son, it becomes quite clear.

However, Riseborough's role is even more unsettling. At the beginning of the film, he has a young boy in the basement and a young woman cleaning up her family's mess while she watches from the window, silent and dressed like a Victorian ghost in long white silk nightgowns. But as Tommy progresses, he blossoms like belladonna, sporting more modern attire, raising his voice, and even offering his own brand of parenting in a gentle yet sharp tone.

Watch Heel 2026 Movie Trailer