The Beldham – Movie Review (4/5)

THE BELDHAM is a horror movie with a strong psychological horror story. This one has a small but very strong cast and a story that is as simple as it is surprising. I really liked The Beldham right until the end. Then I loved it. Read our full The Beldham movie review here!

THE BELDHAM is a psychological horror movie that felt like a nightmare combined with some sort of mental breakdown. I never felt quite sure of the direction of the plot, but I was more than willing to stay on board for the whole ride. Obviously, this means I liked what I saw.

Then the final pieces of the puzzle were revealed, and I admittedly loved it. With a runtime of just 85 minutes, it doesn’t drag on for too long, and because it is a quite dark story, I appreciated this. Less is more when someone is being tormented, as is the case in this movie.

Continue reading our The Beldham movie review below. Find it on Digital now.

Haunted or crazy?

While it’s grossly oversimplifying the plot of The Beldham, it does come down to the main character wondering if they are haunted or losing their mind. The main character is Harper (Katie Parker), a struggling new mom, who moves back in with her mother (Patricia Heaton) to get back on her feet.

It seems quite obvious that everyone around her – including mom’s boyfriend, Frank (Corbin Bernsen), and live-in aide Bette (Emma Fitzpatrick) – believes that Harper is struggling with mental illness. Whether post-partum or a mental breakdown of some kind, she needs help, and everyone is there to help her.

Unfortunately for Harper, something sinister seems determined to ruin everything for her. She keeps seeing black feathers everywhere, and both black birds and a witch-like creature are tormenting her dreams. Sometimes, even waking nightmares. It’s tough to convince someone you’re not crazy when you feel crazy about everything happening around you.

Important story and a powerful cast

This is very much a woman-driven story, so Patricia Heaton, Katie Parker, and Emma Fitzpatrick play the three most important characters. It’s difficult for us, as viewers, to know exactly who and what to trust, but that just means we’re in the same situation as Katie Parker’s “Harper”.

You’ll surely recognize Katie Parker from various Mike Flanagan productions, as she has been in most. From The Haunting of Hill House to The Fall of the House of Usher, but also Doctor Sleep. Plus, you may recognize her from the Christmas horror anthology All the Creatures Were Stirring or the 2022 sci-fi mystery Next Exit, where she co-stars with Mike Flanagan alumnus Rahul Kohli.

Patricia Heaton (Everybody Loves Raymond) is a three-time Emmy Award winner, but you may have already seen her in a horror movie earlier this year. She played Mother Superior in the 2025 movie The Ritual, where she co-starred with Dan Stevens and Al Pacino. Not a good movie, but that was not Patricia Heaton’s fault, as she clearly proves with her performance in The Beldham.

Finally, you may recognize Emma Fitzpatrick from the 2022 horror movie The Summoned. In The Beldham, she plays a character who tries so hard to help, but it just is not as easy as anyone would like.

Watch The Beldham on Demand now

The Beldham comes from writer-director Angela Gulner. For the longest time, I believed Angela Gulner had made a very decent and entertaining horror movie. Then came the ending of the movie, and I found myself realizing it was much more than that. To avoid spoilers, I can’t go into any details, but the final reveal in The Beldham just blew me away.

If you’ve ever been close to anyone struggling with anything similar in terms of mental struggles, then you’ll recognize the actions and reactions of all the characters in this movie. And if not, then you may feel it doesn’t make sense. I assure you, it does.

Consider yourself lucky if you’re at a place in your life where you don’t recognize or understand this. And hope that it never changes… we should all be so fortunate!

This horror movie has played at genre film festivals worldwide, including the iconic Sitges Film Festival (always a good sign). Now, you can watch it in the comfort of your own home, which you absolutely should. If you dare!

The Beldham was released on Digital and On Demand on November 7, 2025.

Details

Writer/Director: Angela Gulner
Cast: Patricia Heaton, Katie Parker, Emma Fitzpatrick, Corbin Bernsen