Bight

Film: Bight

Year: 2025

Director: Maiara Walsh

Writer: Maiara Walsh and Cameron Cowperthwaite

Starring: Cameron Cowperthwaite, Mark Hapka, Maya Stojan and Maira Walsh

Review:

This was a film that I decided to give a chance to see when Scott Motisko reached out with a screener. I confirmed that this isn’t listed as horror on the Internet Movie Database or Letterboxd originally. The latter did seem to have include in the genre now. Being an erotic thriller intrigued me, since they remind me of gialli and can have darker elements. I don’t think it goes far enough but I still wanted to do a review.

Synopsis: two couples’ daring foray into an open relationship leads down a tumultuous path of jealousy, betrayal and emotional devastation.

Now that synopsis does well in setting the stage but I also need to clarify something. We start with a scene of two people in a shower. The woman sounds like she’s crying and we see blood dripping down her leg. She is comforted but we don’t get a good look at either. It then shifts to the credits and what led us here.

Charlie (Maiara Walsh) seems to work in marketing. She is arguing with Adriana (Cassandra Scerbo) on the phone, but she’s been talked over. She’s trying to end the call as they have a party to go to that night. It appears that she and her partner, Atticus (Cameron Cowperthwaite), are trying to have a baby. He is annoyed that she won’t end the call. Something that we’ll come to learn, she’s not present. Her focus always seems to be divided with work.

This couple is heading to the home of Sebastian (Mark Hapka) and Naomi (Maya Stojan). Atticus and Naomi are both painters. They connect over this and there seems to be a history between the two. Sebastian is a photographer. Charlie and Atticus are put off when they learn that this is a celebration, not a party. They are the only two guests. The history here is that they tried to have a group sexual act that has left everyone uncomfortable. Sebastian has a proposition that will bring up these old feelings.

He realized that he has one last set of pictures that he wants to take. His plan is to have Atticus and Charlie pose for them. It will be in the nude and with rope bondage. Sebastian is interested in Japanese culture. He wants raw emotions of a real couple, which his friends fit the bill. They’re not on board at first. Charlie is goaded into agreeing. This takes Atticus by surprise. What they don’t know is that Sebastian and Naomi also put something in their drinks, to help them loosen up. This leads to truths being revealed, revenge and life altering decisions.

That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that this is a challenging film to watch. There are elements that I can connect with, which include getting in a situation that is extremely uncomfortable. I’ve also been in relationships where you feel it coming to an end. You’re going through the motions and a decision needs to be made. Make more of an effort to save it or just end it. As decisions get made while this story develops, we also get more information that changes perceptions. It also explains things we see earlier on.

Let’s start with then to look closer at the couple we meet first, Charlie and Atticus. What is interesting here is that Walsh is the director and she co-wrote this with Cowperthwaite. What we learn early on is that she’s work focused. Their relationship is struggling because she’s not fully present. Atticus is harboring a secret because of this that comes to light. He tries to connect with her in this opening sequence but it ends with them bickering. Both actors help set the stage for things we get later. Being that they’re behind the story, that makes sense.

Then there is the hosting couple. They present their own issues. Sebastian is arrogant. He is also rude to Naomi. We see that she’s quite close with Atticus. An intriguing dynamic there is that at first, I just thought she was flirty. There is more there. It is also soon after they arrive that we discover the group sex and swinging night that they shared. This has made our first couple uncomfortable, not liking the truth of this evening. Sebastian isn’t as bothered by it, but we do see there are things that he’s struggling with when it comes to his arrangement.

Since this is a new film, I’m going to avoid spoilers. What I do want to say is that it is interesting to introduce this bondage element through the montage under the opening credits. I will say that Sebastian’s latest art show involved tying up models. The final piece is that he wants to do this to Charlie and Atticus. There’s another use for it that helps drive tension. I did appreciate that. It forces our characters to make a decision and choose what they’ll do. What I will say to end this, I do like the use of peer pressure and how far individuals will go.

Let’s then shift over to finishing out discussing the acting. I’ve already credited Walsh and Cowperthwaite. What I did want to include is that I like how driven Walsh plays Charlie. What she focuses on isn’t as important. Atticus harbors a secret and due to her attention being diverted, he’s easily able to hide it. Hapka does great as this arrogant artist. What he does this evening makes sense for how he plays it. Stojan is probably the most underdeveloped. Her and Walsh are both gorgeous so it works.

I will conclude with the filmmaking aspects. Intriguingly, this is an erotic thriller with almost no nudity, save for a brief opening credits montage. The undress shown is strategically framed and shot to maintain eroticism while hiding nudity. Effects are limited but unnecessary. The minimal, realistic blood looked good. I appreciate the use of fuzzy focus for drugged states and flashbacks. The sound design was appropriate to fix the tone and help with the atmosphere.

In conclusion, this is an effective, if intentionally uncomfortable, erotic thriller that uses a night of forced vulnerability and mind-altering substances to explore the fraying edges of two relationships. Director Walsh, who also co-wrote this with Cowperthwaite, delivers a tense, focused narrative driven by strong performances that showcase jealousy, suppressed resentment, and the ultimate cost of emotional betrayal. While the film may not go "far enough" for some genre fans, its strength lies in its psychological pressure cooker atmosphere and refusal to offer easy answers, making it a compelling, albeit dark, examination of modern relationship dynamics and the destructive power of secrets.

My Rating: 6.5 out of 10