After the Hunt (2025): Julia Roberts Leads Luca Guadagnino’s Psychological Thriller 🎭🔍

Perspective changes everything.

Luca Guadagnino, the visionary behind Call Me by Your Name and Challengers, returns with a sharp, unsettling psychological thriller — After the Hunt (2025). Premiering at the Venice International Film Festival on August 29, 2025, the film stirred audiences with its mix of suspense, morality, and layered performances. Now, it’s set to release in the United States on October 10, 2025, distributed by Amazon MGM Studios.

🎬 The Story: Secrets Beneath Academia

At Yale University, Alma Olsson (Julia Roberts), a respected professor, finds her world crumbling when a colleague and close friend, Henrik Gibson (Andrew Garfield), faces a disturbing accusation of sexual assault. Alma becomes entangled in the scandal — but as the case unravels, so does her carefully hidden past.

Caught between protecting her career, supporting her students, and confronting her own demons, Alma is

forced to answer the question: what do we really know about the people closest to us?

“Perspective changes everything — until the truth demands to be seen.”

👥 The Cast: Powerhouse Performances

• Julia Roberts as Alma Olsson — a professor whose poise masks deep secrets.

• Andrew Garfield as Henrik Gibson — a charismatic colleague whose reputation is shattered.

• Ayo Edebiri as Margaret Resnick — Alma’s brilliant student and protégée, pulled into the scandal.

• Michael Stuhlbarg as Frederik Olsson — Alma’s husband and psychiatrist, navigating loyalty and trust.

• Chloë Sevigny as Dr. Kim Sayers — Alma’s friend and the university’s liaison, torn between duty and morality.

The supporting cast, including Lío Mehiel, Thaddea Graham, and Burgess Byrd, adds texture to this layered academic thriller.

🎥 Direction & Style

Guadagnino’s hand is unmistakable — elegant visuals laced with unease. Shot by Malik Hassan Sayeed, the cinematography blends ivy-covered halls with shadowy interiors, creating a haunting aesthetic where academia itself feels like a labyrinth of secrets.

The film runs 139 minutes, immersing viewers in an atmosphere of suspicion and revelation. The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross sharpens the tension, underscoring every moral ambiguity with dissonant beauty.

🌍 Festival Debut & Reception

Premiering out of competition at Venice 2025, After the Hunt received mixed reviews. While some praised Julia Roberts’ commanding performance and the film’s unflinching exploration of academic politics, others found its pacing deliberately slow.

Still, Guadagnino’s reputation for character-driven intensity makes After the Hunt one of the most talked-about psychological thrillers of the year.

📅 Release & Streaming Details

• World Premiere: August 29, 2025 (Venice International Film Festival)

• U.S. Theatrical Release: October 10, 2025 (Amazon MGM Studios)

• Distribution: Sony Pictures Releasing International (global)

Given Amazon’s involvement, the film is expected to arrive on Prime Video after its theatrical run, though no date has yet been confirmed.

🎭 Why Watch After the Hunt?

If you loved the moral complexity of TÁR and the tense unraveling of Notes on a Scandal, this film will grip you. With Julia Roberts in one of her most dramatic roles in years, Guadagnino crafting tension like a scalpel, and a narrative that asks: how much truth can we bear? — this is a psychological thriller not to miss.

✨ After the Hunt proves that sometimes the greatest battles are fought not in courtrooms or classrooms — but within ourselves.

📅 In theatres October 10, 2025.