Julianne Moore and Sydney Sweeney go head-to-head in Apple TV+’s tense psychological drama about addiction, grief, and the terrifying limits of maternal love.
Apple TV+’s latest psychological thriller Echo Valley taps into the raw nerves of maternal love pushed to the brink, powered by powerhouse performances from Julianne Moore and Sydney Sweeney. Directed by Beast filmmaker Michael Pearce, and penned by Mare of Easttown creator Brad Ingelsby, the film is a 90s-style emotional potboiler with a modern edge — anchored by a performance from Moore that outshines the script itself.
Set in rural Pennsylvania, Echo Valley follows Kate Garretson (Moore), a grieving horse trainer dealing with the recent loss of her partner. Her already fragile world collapses when her troubled daughter Claire (Sweeney), battling heroin addiction, shows up at the farm with blood on her clothes — and a dead body in the car. What unfolds is a taut domestic thriller, exploring the brutal choices a mother makes to save her child, even from herself.
Sweeney, playing far from her usual glamorous roles, leans into Claire’s chaotic despair with pink-dyed hair, blemished skin, and a jittery energy that keeps viewers on edge. Moore, ever the emotional compass, plays the desperate yet calculating mother forced into a spiral of moral compromise. When her daughter’s drug dealer (a menacing Domhnall Gleeson) arrives to collect, things escalate from dangerous to deadly.
There are memorable scenes of psychological warfare, especially a tense showdown between mother and daughter that blends heartbreak with horror. And while the film occasionally veers into implausibility — like disposing of a body in suspiciously shallow waters — its emotional core stays strong, thanks to Pearce’s direction and Moore’s steady hand.
A quietly groundbreaking twist revealed early on — that Kate’s late partner was a woman — adds subtle complexity to the story without turning into tokenism. It broadens the narrative lens and brings in rich supporting characters, notably Fiona Shaw, who plays one of Kate’s close friends and confidants.
While Echo Valley may not reinvent the genre, it pays homage to classic “woman-in-peril” thrillers of the 1990s (The Deep End comes to mind) while carving its own space with a fresh, emotionally textured narrative. It’s not flawless, but thanks to Moore and Sweeney’s undeniable chemistry, it keeps you watching — and caring — till the final frame.