The Dreadful Reunites Sophie Turner and Kit Harington and Splits Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Game of Thrones alums steal the movie, with critics hailing their reunion as the film’s standout draw.
Jon Snow and Sansa Stark share the screen again, but this time it is all fog, curses, and bad omens instead of White Walkers. Kit Harington and Sophie Turner have reunited for The Dreadful, a Gothic horror that leans hard into mood and menace. It hits theaters Feb. 20, and early reviews are split right down the middle.
What the movie is actually doing
Turner plays Anne, a young woman stuck under the thumb of a domineering mother-in-law. Harington is Jago, someone from Anne's past who limps home from war trailing a curse that does not plan on staying politely in the background. The vibe is candlelit and clammy: creaking floors, creeping rot, and that chilly, old-world dread.
Marcia Gay Harden, Laurence O'Fuarain, and Jonathan Howard round out the cast. Natasha Kermani directs; she previously made the 2020 thriller Lucky and recently tackled a Dracula-centric tale, Abraham's Boys, with Titus Welliver.
The temperature check
Critically, it is a coin toss. The Dreadful sits at 55% with critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Fans of unhurried Gothic terror are calling it a sly, slow-burn treat. Others see a familiar framework that never quite catches fire, with an ending that fizzles instead of haunts. A handful of reviewers argue the big hook here is the Thrones reunion more than the story itself. If your tolerance for glacial dread is high, this will likely hit the spot; if you crave jump scares and momentum, this may feel like a museum tour by candlelight.
The reunion wrinkle you were waiting for
Yes, the intimate scenes were awkward for them too. Turner admitted on late-night TV that stepping into romantic territory with Harington felt bizarre after spending years playing pseudo-siblings together.
"Yeah, I would love to, but this is going to be really weird, Soph."
"We get to the first kissing scene, and we are both retching. It was vile. The worst."
Quick recap
- Release: In theaters Feb. 20
- Cast: Sophie Turner (Anne), Kit Harington (Jago), Marcia Gay Harden, Laurence O'Fuarain, Jonathan Howard
- Director: Natasha Kermani (Lucky; Abraham's Boys with Titus Welliver)
- Pitch: Gothic, fog-drenched slow-burn with a war-haunted curse and a tyrant mother-in-law
- Critical snapshot: 55% on Rotten Tomatoes; strong atmosphere, divisive story and payoff
The bottom line: if you live for creaking corridors and simmering dread, The Dreadful has your number. If you want shocks every five minutes, this is a long, cold walk through the moors.