Introduction
I saw this in the program for SXSW 2026 and went into the film with pretty low expectations. Sometimes that’s the best way to see a movie becausePretty Lethalcaught me completely off guard. This is a film that knows exactly what it is and leans into it with confidence. It is not perfect, but it’s clever, energetic, and a whole lot of fun.
Part of my surprise comes from thinking back to Ballerina (2025), set in the John Wick universe and starring Ana de Armas. My biggest issue with that film was simple. You’re told that she’s a ballerina-trained assassin. But you rarely see that training matter. Pretty Lethal does the exact opposite. It builds its entire identity around that concept. These filmmakers understand that being a ballerina is not just aesthetic. It’s discipline, pain tolerance, precision, and control. And they use all of it.
Synopsis
Things go sideways quickly. Their flight is rerouted, forcing them onto a bus through rural Hungary. The tone shifts as the landscape becomes more isolated and more dangerous. When the bus breaks down, the group is forced to take shelter at a remote hotel to escape the weather. It’s the kind of place that immediately feels off. The people are wrong, the atmosphere is wrong, and you know nothing good is coming.
The hotel is run by a former dancer, played with a quiet authority by Uma Thurman. There is history in her performance, a sense of someone who has seen too much and survived it. Around her is a group of shady Eastern European criminals who practically radiate bad intentions. It does not take long before things spiral. The dancers’ sponsor is killed, and from that moment on, survival becomes the only thing that matters. Secrets need to be buried, witnesses need to disappear, and the film kicks into a chaotic, violent second act.
Discussion
Kate Freund pulls double duty here as both writer and performer, playing Sona, the lead henchwoman. She brings a grounded intensity to the role that works well against the more stylized elements of the film. The dynamic between dancers Bones (Maddie Ziegler) and Princess (Lana Condor) also stands out. Their tension feels real without ever becoming overly heavy-handed. Devora Kasimer (Uma Thurman) adds a strong edge of menace, balancing nastiness with a sense of personal motivation that keeps her from feeling one-dimensional.
Director Vicky Jewson deserves a lot of credit for the tone. She leans into the gritty, contained setting of the hotel and makes it feel claustrophobic and dangerous. The cinematography in these sequences is particularly effective. The hotel feels cold, damp, and worn down, like a place where bad things happened long before our characters arrived. There is a constant sense of unease that carries through much of the film.
