"Apex" Captures the Primal Fear of Being a Woman
Given a choice between a man and a mountain, it’s safer to choose the mountain.

Bessie Holland is an Australian actress, best known for her role as Stella Radic on the prison drama series Wentworth. Holland also plays Tessa in the ABC series Wakefield. Holland appeared in ABC series The Exhibitionists alongside Bridie Carter, Mandy McElhinney and Veronica Milsom. On 8 December 2024, Holland was named in the cast for season three of Foxtel legal drama The Twelve. On 20 November 2025, ABC announced that Holland was a part of the cast for its series Treasure & Dirt.
Given a choice between a man and a mountain, it’s safer to choose the mountain.
Netflix's new thriller Apex, starring Charlize Theron, puts a twist on survival horror. Despite its setting in the beautiful- yet-dangerous Australian wilderness, Apex is not a movie about man vs. nature. Instead, it’s woman vs. man. While checking out the title card and its unpretentious Netflix release might lead viewers to believe Apex is just another celebrity project churned out of the streaming machine, Apex - whether by luck or by intention - is a consistently harrowing film about the reality of being a woman in a public space.