Pretty Lethal (2026)

You’re driving home from school with your mom, and you find yourself craving a movie. A particular kind of movie, in fact - an atmospheric horror-thriller about dancers. And then, there it is! You see it! A billboard for Dario Argento’s 1977 classic, Suspiria!

”Mom,” you ask, “can we go see Suspiria?”

”No, honey,” she says, “we have Suspiria at home.”

You pull into the driveway of your house and race to the DVD player. You see the movie!. The disc has already been inserted, and it’s Amazon Prime’s new made-for-streaming action film, Pretty Lethal (2026). This is Suspiria at home.

I write for a diversity-focused film review blog, so I’ll be honest: I really wanted to like Pretty Lethal. Starring Maddie Ziegler, Lana Condor, Iris Apatow, Avantika, and Millicent Simmonds, Amazon Prime’s new thriller seemed like it would be a girl power movie about dancers with a horror action twist. Sort of a Suspiria for teens. But with shallow and unlikeable characters, a confusing plot, an overreliance on violence, and cringey dialogue, any fun the movie started out with was quickly lost. What was left was a faint echo of greater horror movies about dancers made before.

Pretty Lethal opens with its diverse cast in their Los Angeles dance studio, as the group of dancers (who all hate each other) attempt to practice their routine. They bump into each other as they spin, clearly out of sync. Why do they hate each other? Well, it’s never explained much beyond the two main characters being a working-class scholarship girl, literally named Bones (Maddie Ziegler), and her rich frenemy, literally named Princess (Lana Condor). In the supporting cast are played-for-laughs Jesus freak Grace (Avantika), Deaf dancer Chloe (Millicent Simmonds), and her sister and chaperone Zoe (Iris Apatow).

You've heard the phrase “If looks could kill,” but have you heard “If dancing could kill?” Pretty Lethal takes that idea and runs with it. Directed by Vicky Jewson, the film follows five ballerinas selected to perform in a prestigious ballet competition in Budapest. But on their way there, their bus breaks down, leaving them stranded in the middle of a forest.

Desperate for help, they stumble upon an inn that, at first glance, seems almost too perfect— with ballerina themed decor and classical music. There, they meet Devora Kasimer (played by Uma Thurman), a legendary prima ballerina, along with her sons, who run the inn. Everything feels strangely welcoming… until it’s not.

Chloe (played by Millicent Simmonds) and their dance teacher, Miss Thorna (played by Lydia Leonard), step away briefly. While Chloe is in the bathroom, Miss Thorna accidentally opens the wrong door and discovers something horrifying: someone being tortured. Terrified, she rushes back to warn the girls that they need to leave immediately.

But panic only makes things worse. In front of her students and the other guests, Miss Thorna is suddenly shot by one of Devora's sons. Chaos breaks out. One of the ballerinas, Bones (played by Maddie Ziegler), tries to escape but is quickly caught. The girls are captured, tied up, and thrown into the basement—all except Chloe, who remains unaware of what’s happening due to being deaf, both in the film and in real life, which I admired for the inclusion of disability representation.