VERITY Trailer Unleashes a Twisted Psychological Nightmare With Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson
A beautiful mansion, a paralyzed bestselling author, a writer desperate for work, and a manuscript containing some seriously disturbing secrets. Yeah, moving into this house seems like a terrible idea.
Amazon MGM Studios has released the full trailer for the psychological mystery thriller Verity, and the movie looks like a sexy, sinister little nightmare with a Hitchcockian streak running through it.
Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, and Josh Hartnett lead the adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel, with the story revolving around obsession, deception, attraction, and the increasingly uncomfortable question of who can actually be trusted.
Johnson stars as Lowen Ashleigh, a struggling writer who gets an opportunity that could completely change her career. Jeremy Crawford, played by Hartnett, hires Lowen to finish the successful book series written by his wife, Verity Crawford, played by Hathaway.
Verity has been left paralyzed following a mysterious accident and can no longer complete the novels herself, which brings Lowen into the Crawfords’ spectacular home to dig through the author's notes and unfinished material.
Naturally, she finds something she probably wasn't supposed to read. Lowen discovers a manuscript that reveals deeply troubling information about Verity, raising questions about her psychological state and whether she may have connections to some very dark events.
From there, Lowen's professional assignment starts turning into something much more dangerous as she becomes tangled up with Jeremy, Verity, and whatever the hell has really been happening inside the Crawford family.
The trailer offers plenty of suspicious glances, sexual tension, dangerous secrets, and Hathaway looking like she could either be completely helpless or ten moves ahead of everyone around her.
Then comes the warning: "This is your final warning. Only darkness ahead."
The whole thing has an appropriately twisted psychological-thriller vibe, and the cinematography gives the movie a vivid, dark look that works particularly well with its massive house setting. It's also exactly the kind of enormous, secluded mansion where absolutely nothing good happens in a thriller.
The supporting cast includes Ismael Cruz Córdova, Brady Wagner, Irina Dvorovenko, K.K. Moggie, and Michael Abbott Jr.
Michael Showalter directs the film, continuing a surprisingly varied filmmaking career that includes The Baxter, Hello My Name Is Doris, The Big Sick, The Lovebirds, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Spoiler Alert, The Idea of You, and Oh. What. Fun.
The screenplay comes from Nick Antosca, whose previous credits include The Forest, Antlers, Channel Zero, The Act, and Cape Fear. He's certainly comfortable playing around in psychologically nasty territory, so Verity feels like material that fits nicely into his wheelhouse.
There's plenty of potential here, particularly with Hathaway getting to play a character whose condition and intentions appear designed to keep the audience guessing. Johnson's Lowen is stepping directly into Verity's world, career, home, and marriage, and it's pretty clear that she's going to regret opening some of those doors.
Hopefully, Verity can deliver on the wonderfully messed-up psychological thriller promised by the trailer. Amazon MGM Studios will release Verity in theaters on October 2nd, 2026.