Verity First Reviews: Anne Hathaway Carries a Campy, Faithful Adaptation That Should Have Gotten Weirder
Critics say the Colleen Hoover adaptation isn't as creepy or sexy as it needed to be, but it might still be fun to see with a crowd.
Anne Hathaway continues to populate the 2026 release calendar with Verity, a Colleen Hoover adaptation opening in theaters this weekend. The first reviews are online and mixed on whether the movie is fun enough for fans of the book and the genre or if Anne Hathaway’s campy performance is the only enjoyable element.
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Here’s what critics are saying about Verity:
Will fans of the book enjoy it?
The film embraces the pulpy excess of its material and turns it into a hugely entertaining psychological thriller that is sexy, campy, glossy, and often a great deal of fun.
– Linda Marric, HeyUGuys
Devoted readers may be pleased to find that much of Hoover’s novel has been rendered here, but the film itself almost seems afraid to go too campy, creepy, or even overtly erotic with its visual styling and script choices — all of which would have resulted in it having a stronger identity.
– Carly Lane, Collider
Hoover’s novel already supplied the sex, obsession, questionable behaviour and ludicrous twists necessary for the type of unapologetic adult thriller Hollywood rarely makes anymore. Showalter gets tantalisingly close to embracing that trashy potential, but too often pulls back when he should be pushing harder.
– Peter Gray, The AU Review
It delivers what audiences expect.
– Jim Schembri, jimschembri.com
There’s little to no deviation, which leaves very little room for Showalter to have any fun here.
– Nina Starner, Slashfilm
Is Verity a fairly accurate adaptation of Hoover’s novel? Yes. Is it a masterful rendition that will make fans happy? Not especially.
– Allison Rose, FlickDirect
What about those who haven’t read the source material?
Verity [is] a can’t-miss for audiences looking for a steamy, creepy romantic thriller that doesn’t fall victim to some of the pitfalls of the genre.
– Liz Declan, Screen Rant
For viewers unfamiliar with the novel, [certain] omissions are unlikely to prove as noticeable… And when Verity allows itself to get weird, it’s considerably more fun.
– Peter Gray, The AU Review
Audiences will have a bit more fun with Verity if they lean into the movie’s campy qualities.
– Sophia Ciminello, Awards Watch
Showalter tries to stay as close to the source material as possible, which is both a blessing and a curse… The film seems a little too long as he tries to fit in as much as possible to appease Hoover’s fans.
– Allison Rose, FlickDirect
How does it compare to other Colleen Hoover adaptations?
Michael Showalter has made the best Hoover adaptation to date.
– Sophia Ciminello, Awards Watch
It wouldn’t be unreasonable to claim this is the best Colleen Hoover adaptation to date.
– Liz Declan, Screen Rant
As CoHo adaptations go, it’s definitely leading the pack.
– Carly Lane, Collider
Not having read her novels but having experienced all four of the adaptations thus far, I found Verity to be a genuinely gripping tale of suspense and easily Hoover’s most divisive yet.
– Connor Petrey, Pop Culture Leftovers
For once, Colleen Hoover didn’t need someone to elevate her material. She needed a filmmaker willing to get down in the dirt with it.
– Peter Gray, The AU Review
Will it remind us of any other movies?
The film adaptation plays out like a good girl doing her best Gone Girl impression, reaching for signifiers of “dark”, “twisted”, feminist erotic thrillers without a full understanding of the darkness of that worldview.
– Dan Bayer, Next Best Picture
Remember the dueling unreliable narrators in Gone Girl? That’s an especially huge influence on Verity, both the book and the movie, which tries to make its derivative, paper-thin retread come across as some profound examination of authorship.
– Radheyan Simonpillai, Globe and Mail
It calls to mind the early days of Nick and Amy Dunne [in Gone Girl], but with far less polish on the page and screen. It more closely recalls last year’s hit, The Housemaid.
– Sophia Ciminello, Awards Watch
Inevitably, Verity will be compared to The Housemaid, another glossy domestic thriller built on secrets, a suspicious household and a heroine who has taken on a job she probably shouldn’t have. But this is the sharper, better-made film.
– Linda Marric, HeyUGuys
The similarities are unavoidable… But where The Housemaid understood the value of throwing good taste out the window and embracing its pulpy absurdity, Verity doesn’t always push far enough.
– Peter Gray, The AU Review
Those who reveled over The Housemaid or A Simple Favor will likely enjoy Verity. Though Showalter’s offering lacks the liveliness and transgressive edge of Paul Feig’s thrillers, it’s erratically entertaining.
– Kristy Puchko, Mashable
How is the script?
Screenwriter Nick Antosca adapts Hoover’s Verity into a color-by-numbers psycho-sexual thriller.
– Kristy Puchko, Mashable
Leaving traditional drama and romance behind for a much more sinister plot, Verity delivers plenty of twists and turns that’ll leave you guessing which draft the film will end with.
– Connor Petrey, Pop Culture Leftovers
The script feels a bit lackluster because it leaves too many questions unanswered.
– Sophia Ciminello, Awards Watch
Is it funny?
Few thrillers wear their silliness as proudly as Verity, and thankfully director Michael Showalter is in on the joke.
– Linda Marric, HeyUGuys
Hathaway is keenly hilarious, and she knows it.
– Kristy Puchko, Mashable
It’s rare to get a jump scare out of me, and Verity managed to get not just me, but my entire theater, prompting a bout of sincere laughter.
– Liz Declan, Screen Rant
Did Showalter intentionally mean to make the movie this funny? We may never know the truth, but Verity is a fun ride.
– Sophia Ciminello, Awards Watch
Does it have a satisfying ending?
The ending will keep people talking.
– Allison Rose, FlickDirect
The filmmakers clearly want the ending to leave audiences debating what they believe, maintaining the novel’s distinction between ambiguity and outright vagueness.
– Peter Gray, The AU Review
A final reveal – as in Hoover’s book – might leave you debating on the way home, if only to try and work out if it even makes sense.
– Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy
The ultimate denouement feels rushed, and rather than delivering the satisfying payoff the increasingly bonkers story seems to promise, it comes across as an ending that has been hurried into place.
– Linda Marric, HeyUGuys
How is Anne Hathaway’s performance?
A diva turn with hilarious, icy line readings akin to her The Devil Wears Prada co-star Meryl Streep’s iconic characterization of Miranda Priestly.
– Sophia Ciminello, Awards Watch
She’s clearly having a blast… Hathaway impeccably walks this tightrope between master manipulator and tragic figure.
– Carly Lane, Collider
Hathaway is perfectly cast and does an excellent job portraying Verity.
– Allison Rose, FlickDirect
A reminder of how she can elevate even the weakest material.
– Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy
If there’s one actually good thing I’ll say about Verity, it is this: Anne Hathaway really is one of the greatest performers of our time.
– Nina Starner, Slashfilm
Hathaway is sharp enough to cut through the mediocre muck surrounding her, giving her sections of the film a winningly wicked wink. She’s reason enough to see the film, even if the rest of it leaves a lot to be desired.
– Dan Bayer, Next Best Picture
At times, Hathaway’s performance does seem a bit too grandiose or overdone, particularly in voiceover scenes.
– Liz Declan, Screen Rant
Is it really only good when she’s on screen?
Almost nothing else in the film is as much fun to watch as Hathaway.
– Dan Bayer, Next Best Picture
She often seems to be the only one involved with Verity attuned to the trashiness of Colleen Hoover’s novel, and elevating it.
– Radheyan Simonpillai, Globe and Mail
When Verity isn’t focused on the titular diva, the momentum wanes a bit, as too many threads are left unexplored and Hartnett and Johnson fail to match Hathaway’s gravitas.
– Sophia Ciminello, Awards Watch
Hathaway gets all the meat in Verity… It’s truly a credit to her talent that she makes parts of this movie watchable.
– Nina Starner, Slashfilm
She’s absolutely the main reason to check Verity out, even if she deserved to be in it a lot more than she is.
– Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy
I was left teased but unsatisfied, wishing for the movie on the level of Hathaway’s performance.
– Kristy Puchko, Mashable
What about the rest of the cast?
Johnson and Hartnett, two charismatic actors who have shown facility with stylization in the past, wither and die on screen trying to give these lifeless characters some energy.
– Dan Bayer, Next Best Picture
Johnson and Hartnett are merely okay, except for the fact that they have no chemistry whatsoever, which is problematic since they are supposed to play two individuals thrown together by circumstance who find themselves attracted to each other.
– Allison Rose, FlickDirect
Johnson has no chemistry with Hartnett or Hathaway, making the love triangle element fall flat.
– Kristy Puchko, Mashable
The more that [their characters] Lowen and Jeremy take center stage, the less interesting that the movie becomes.
– Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy
How does the movie look?
The scenery… is breathtaking, and the snow-covered ground and trees of what is supposed to be Rhode Island are beautiful.
– Allison Rose, FlickDirect
Their home is one of the year’s great production-design achievements, with rounded rooms, floor-to-ceiling windows, and impossibly long hallways.
– Dan Bayer, Next Best Picture
What are the movie’s biggest mistakes?
For the three stars, there is also no connection, as they seem to be in three different stories in the same film, and none of them seemed to have gotten the memo.
– Allison Rose, FlickDirect
The movie also suffers from something we’ve seen far too many times in the past, where a story revolves around a best-selling author, but anytime we hear ANY of that author’s writing read aloud, it’s just so laughably bad.
– Edward Douglas, The Weekend Warrior
Verity is studded with sex scenes. However, director Michael Showalter shows no passion for them.
– Kristy Puchko, Mashable
Verity isn’t nearly as creepy, campy, or sexy as it could have — and should have — been.
– Carly Lane, Collider
Verity could have succeeded as a throwback ’90s thriller. But Showalter never manages to find that same tone or settle on any particular tone, really, and it’s often dull as a result.
– Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy
It is, above all and unfortunately, exceedingly dull, which is a shame.
– Nina Starner, Slashfilm
Should we see it in a packed theater anyway?
That failed seriousness is what makes Verity so much fun to watch with a crowd.
– Sophia Ciminello, Awards Watch
Half of the joy of watching Verity was experiencing the reactions of the other audience members.
– Liz Declan, Screen Rant
[There] was a guy going “oh wow” very loudly during a pivotal plot reveal, which made my whole theater laugh. Sadly, I cannot guarantee that that one guy will go to every Verity screening.
– Nina Starner, Slashfilm
Verity is in theaters on October 2, 2026. Buy tickets on Fandango.
