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Aug 29, 2025 By Scott Howard Web Exclusive

Trust is a puzzling example of a strong lead actress with a decent plot that utterly fails to take itself as seriously as it wants to. The opening sequence, guided by actress-turned-director Carlson Young, parallels the real world in such a haunting way that it sends chills down the spine. Unfortunately, the bad acting, tonal swings, and unclear character motivations mar what could have been a serviceable film. The result is the same run-of-the-mill experience that most Tubi originals provide: a thin premise that’s easy to watch while distracted. There’s potential here, but it only scratches the surface.

The movie opens with childhood Hollywood starlet Lauren Lane (Sophie Turner) enduring a horrid leak of intimate photos. While not unlike scandals faced by other actresses, hers also reveals a positive pregnancy test. Because of her reputation as “America’s daughter” from a long-running sitcom (think Boy Meets World), a media firestorm erupts speculating about the father and whether she will continue the pregnancy. The audience quickly learns the father is her TV dad (Billy Campbell), who has groomed her since childhood. To escape the relentless attention, Lauren flees to a remote Airbnb to gather her thoughts. But as Campbell pressures her to end the pregnancy to avoid scandal, an attempted robbery goes wrong, trapping her in a locked room with mounting dangers—including a hired fixer sent to ensure her silence.

Trust takes its chilling premise and drowns it in hammy acting and questionable motivations. Strong narrative bones lie beneath the surface, yet the journey is muddied by an unclear message. The film never establishes how Lauren truly feels about her pregnancy, instead plodding from one outlandish scenario to another. It makes the bizarre decision to follow the bumbling criminals trying to rob Lauren’s hideout, introducing intentionally stupid characters that create tonal whiplash. Things grow more convoluted with the addition of a hapless woman who finds Lauren’s missing dog, only to collide with the hired fixer. The film would have been better served by focusing on that tighter thriller angle. Unfortunately, this too is undermined by corny acting.

Sophie Turner, capable of incredible performances (Game of Thrones proves that), delivers an underwhelming turn here, with some hokey line delivery. Billy Campbell’s character is effectively creepy in flashbacks, but his scandal-fueled anger plays far too over the top. Katey Sagal appears as a well-meaning dog rescuer, but her performance feels campy—more Peggy Bundy than Gemma Teller. And Peter Mensah, once imposing in 300 and Spartacus, brings a surprising amount of camp to his fixer role.

One could argue the film was meant as satire, but that clearly wasn’t the goal. Too many other films deliver fast, gripping 90-minute thrillers on a shoestring budget to excuse this mess. While the premise and cast promised at least a standard outing, the film devolves into a convoluted muddle. Oddly, the flashback sequences stand out—disturbing and effective—but that’s where the praise ends. Despite the promise, the film’s flaws ultimately fall on the director. Bright spots are too few and far between to overcome the poor performances and puzzling choices.

Too many variables combine to make Trust a subpar film that could have been exponentially better. The cast is strong on paper but is drowned in tonal dissonance. At best, maybe 10 percent of the movie works, but that’s buried beneath 80 minutes of not-so-great delivery. It may eventually find an audience on streaming, but it’s best to wait until this one is free.

Author rating: 4/10