Don't Tell a Soul
Two desperate brothers’ theft spirals into a claustrophobic moral standoff when a trapped security guard becomes both their hostage and a dangerous surrogate father.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Moderate
- tense
- claustrophobic
- bleak
- late night thriller viewing
- rainy day
What critics said
Critics found a mixed, average thriller with an effective central setup and strong attention to the troubled surrogate-father dynamic, but uneven execution.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Mr. Hamby is trapped at the bottom of an abandoned well while Joey and Matt control access and communicate with him by walkie-talkie.
Joey and Matt steal to help their sick mother, but their decisions increasingly place their sibling bond in conflict.
Mr. Hamby becomes a troubling substitute father figure through whom Joey and Matt process resentment toward their dead father.
The boys initially hold power over the security guard in the well, while his behavior complicates their assumptions about victim and threat.
Films like Don't Tell a Soul, and why
Mean Creek
shared coming-of-age tension, family dysfunction, and escalating moral pressure
The Clovehitch Killer
shared sibling conflict, crime-driven suspense, and bleakly grounded adolescent drama
The Stanford Prison Experiment
shared contained thriller structure, desperate crime, and tense interpersonal power shifts
Buried
shared trapped characters, psychological suspense, and working-class desperation
Movie Details
- Director
- Alex McAulay
- Release Date
- 2020-09-08
- Runtime
- 83 min
- Rating
- 6.6 / 10 (213)
Cast
- Jack Dylan Grazer
- Fionn Whitehead
- Rainn Wilson
- Mena Suvari
- Graham Lutes
- Richard Fike
- Abigail Esmena Froehle
- McKenna Christine Poe
- Kate Duncan
- Seth Poe
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Don't Tell a Soul about?
- Two desperate brothers’ theft spirals into a claustrophobic moral standoff when a trapped security guard becomes both their hostage and a dangerous surrogate father.
- What is Don't Tell a Soul like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Don't Tell a Soul as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Don't Tell a Soul violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Don't Tell a Soul as moderate.
- What did critics think of Don't Tell a Soul?
- Critics found a mixed, average thriller with an effective central setup and strong attention to the troubled surrogate-father dynamic, but uneven execution.
- Which films are like Don't Tell a Soul?
- Films with a similar feel include Mean Creek, The Clovehitch Killer, The Stanford Prison Experiment, and Buried.
- How long is Don't Tell a Soul?
- Don't Tell a Soul runs 83 minutes.
- Where can I watch Don't Tell a Soul?
- In United States, Don't Tell a Soul is available to rent or buy from Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
