Verity (2026)

September 30, 2026 (US) • Mystery, Thriller • 114m

Overview

Lowen Ashleigh is hired by Jeremy Crawford to ghostwrite novels for his bestselling author wife Verity, who is unable to finish following an accident. Lowen gradually uncovers Verity's disturbing truths while residing at the Crawfords' home to work.

Director

Michael Showalter

Writers

Nick Antosca, Colleen Hoover

Top Billed

Anne Hathaway

Keywords

based on novel or book psychological thriller novelist hidden truth ghost writer dreary baffled tragic

Where to watch

Buy

Fandango At Home

Top Billed Cast

Anne Hathaway

Verity Crawford

Dakota Johnson

Lowen Ashleigh

Josh Hartnett

Jeremy Crawford

Brady Wagner

Crew Crawford

Ismael Cruz Cordova

Corey

Irina Dvorovenko

Anna

Sienna Kulovitz

Harper Crawford

K.K. Moggie

Amanda Thomas

Tom Galantich

Barron Stephens

Lou Martini Jr.

Limo Driver

Clark Carmichael

Deputy Ross

Michael Abbott Jr.

Sheriff Wilson

Stephen Elrod

Bartender

Nathan Tylutki

Bystander

Thursday Farrar

Bystander

Asel Swango

Bystander

Daniel Echevarria

Bystander

Wren Rivera

Woman on Phone (voice)

Emily McEnroe

Olivia (Intern)

Luke Klein

Cole

Tanya Lim

Lucy

Colleen Hoover

Lin Murphy

Gayle King

Herself

Alex Cooper

Herself

Sean Evans

Himself

Michael Muniz

Charity Gala Attendee (uncredited)

Ryan Speers

Charity Gala Attendee (uncredited)

JustWhispy

Verity

ThatMob

Himself

Crew

Nick Antosca

Producer

Alex Hedlund

Producer

Michael Showalter

Director

Michael Showalter

Producer

Jordana Mollick

Producer

Anne Hathaway

Producer

Colleen Hoover

Producer

Stacey Sher

Producer

Lauren Levine

Executive Producer

Dakota Johnson

Executive Producer

Amy Williams

Production Design

Dave Bennett

Executive In Charge Of Production

J. Alex Finch

First Assistant Director

Ivan J. Fonseca

Second Unit First Assistant Director

John Cenatiempo

Stunt Coordinator

Ari Issler

"A" Camera Operator

Michael Marzovilla

Gaffer

Alex Dreiblatt

Visual Effects Supervisor

Nick Antosca

Screenplay

Jacqueline Oknaian Demeterio

Costume Design

Jay Cassidy

Editor

Jim Frohna

Director of Photography

Kerry Orent

Executive Producer

Colleen Hoover

Book

Volker Bertelmann

Original Music Composer

Kendall Anderson

Set Decoration

Colleen Hoover

Novel

Jenna Hellmuth

Stunts

George Lambert

Second Assistant Director

Jamie Crowell

Unit Production Manager

Tanya Lim

Associate Producer

Madolyn Tipton

Associate Producer

Mariana Hellmund

Associate Producer

Katie Aquino

Associate Producer

Joseph Fernandez

Art Direction

Ann Bartek

Assistant Art Director

Lisa Myers

Assistant Art Director

Katie Citti

Assistant Art Director

Francesca M. Caruso

Assistant Set Decoration

Henriette Vittadini

Assistant Set Decoration

Christopher Ferraro

Set Dresser

Justin Pineo

Set Dresser

Gennaro Napolionello

Set Dresser

Lou Basile

Set Dresser

George Drohan

Set Dresser

Nikki Reid

Set Decoration Buyer

Tory Ducote

Set Decoration Buyer

Jose Bantula

Costume Supervisor

Natalie Arango

Costume Supervisor

Jessica Zavala

Assistant Costume Designer

Sabrina Bacon

Assistant Costume Designer

Max Sherwood

Property Master

CK Kapell

Assistant Property Master

Deneice O'Connor

Property Buyer

Andrea Miller

Makeup Department Head

Ashley Fetterman

Key Makeup Artist

Kyra Panchenko

Makeup Artist

Emma Strachman

Makeup Artist

Robert Lugo

Hair Department Head

Vita Viscuso

Key Hair Stylist

Fríða Aradóttir

Hairstylist

Joshua First

Hairstylist

Gladys Casiano

Hairstylist

Jennie Jeddry

Steadicam Operator

Jennie Jeddry

"B" Camera Operator

Luke Taylor

Digital Imaging Technician

Anthony Coan

First Assistant "A" Camera

Courtney Bridgers

First Assistant "B" Camera

James Dean Drummond

Second Assistant "A" Camera

Amber Mathes

Second Assistant "B" Camera

James Baker

Production Sound Mixer

Skip Lievsay

Sound Re-Recording Mixer

Larry Zipf

Sound Re-Recording Mixer

Larry Zipf

Supervising Sound Editor

Jim Gallivan

Sound Designer

Michael McMenomy

Dialogue Editor

Andrea Bella

Sound Effects Editor

Igor Nikolic

Foley Editor

Angela Organ

ADR Editor

Lidia Tamplenizza

Dialogue Editor

Tony Martinez

Dialogue Editor

Mar Heredia

First Assistant Sound Editor

Ja-Ann Wang

Assistant Sound Editor

Jay Peck

Foley Artist

Matthew Kay

Foley Mixer

Michael Marzovilla

Chief Lighting Technician

John Hockenberry

Assistant Chief Lighting Technician

Shane Gross

Special Effects Technician

Amelia Rasche McCarthy

Casting Associate

Chris Teague

Second Unit Director of Photography

Niels Alpert

Second Unit Director of Photography

Sarah McCulley

Visual Effects Producer

Teddy Blanks

Title Designer

Christian Wenger

Music Editor

Shari Johanson

Music Editor

Geronimo Ambert

Stunts

Noelle Therese Mulligan

Stunts

Kachina Dechert

Stunts

Laura Feder

Stunts

Ashley Pynn

Stunts

Bobby McFarlane

Stunts

Stephanie Stokes

Stunts

Christopher Gray

Stunts

Scott Kelly

Stunts

Donald J. Hewitt Jr.

Stunts

Freddy Esposito

Stunts

Duwaun White

Stunts

Orion Bernard

Stunts

Stephen Alfisi Jr.

Stunts

Paul Quatro

Stunts

Ian Kissel

Stunts

Vincent Bitsko

Stunts

Eileen Weisinger

Stunts

Michael Archambault

Stunts

Stefan Manz

Stunts

Lenny Addamo

Stunts

Brian Smyj

Stunts

Michael Feuser

Supervising Dialogue Editor

Michael Feuser

Supervising ADR Editor

Gioia Birkett-Foa

Boom Operator

Austin Badgett

Script Coordinator

Meredith Mantik

Assistant Editor

Andrew Keogh Ruotolo

Post Production Supervisor

James LeSage

Visual Effects Editor

Forrest Hendricks

Post Production Coordinator

Paul Urmson

Additional Sound Re-Recording Mixer

Rich Bologna

Additional Sound Re-Recording Mixer

Mariana Hellmund

Script Supervisor

John Blazzi

Grip

Leo Schott

Grip

David Stern

First Company Grip

Mike Mervilde

Second Company Grip

Michael Morini

Dolly Grip

Kenneth Kildee

Dolly Grip

Nathanael Brotherhood

Special Effects Coordinator

Philip A. Ramos

Production Coordinator

Chris Rockwell Jones

Second Second Assistant Director

Reviews

Manuel São Bento

⭐ 5/10

October 3, 2026

Check out my full review @ https://www.manuelsbento.com/verity-2026-a-stellar-trio-cant-rescue-a-formulaic-thriller/

Rating: C

VERITY has a trio of terrific performances, with Anne Hathaway operating a league above everyone else, but it never gives them a thriller worth their talent. The commitment to melodrama is admirable, yet the twists are so familiar that I felt like I was rewatching any other Colleen Hoover adaptation. The tension nev… read the rest.

Brent Marchant

⭐ 3/10

October 4, 2026

A movie that bills itself as more than it turns out to be has got to be guilty of one of the most egregious sins in filmmaking, and director Michael Showalter’s screen adaptation of this best-selling novel by author Colleen Hoover qualifies on virtually all fronts. Although touted as a dark, erotic psychological thriller, this offering is none of those things. In fact, it barely passes as fare that one might find on the Lifetime cable TV network. When famed novelist Verity Crawford (Anne Hathaway) is severely injured in a car accident, her publisher (K.K. Moggie) looks to hire a ghostwriter to stand in for her to finish several titles in her current book series while (or if) she recovers. Crawford’s husband, Jeremy (Josh Hartnett), recommends the job go to a struggling, little-known aspiring writer, Lowen Ashleigh (Dakota Johnson), whom he inexplicably believes is best capable of mimicking his wife’s prosaic style. Although somewhat intimidated at the prospect of this offer, Lowen nevertheless accepts it and relocates from New York to the Crawfords’ Vermont home, where she has access to the novelist’s extensive notes and research materials. But, once there, the clueless stand-in finds herself embroiled in a scenario full of mysteries, confessions and intrigue involving the Crawfords’ personal and professional lives. What’s more, she unwittingly becomes involved in matters of infidelity (lukewarm though it may be), solving the conundrum of Verity’s true health status, and getting to the bottom of the allegedly accidental drowning of her young daughter (Sienna Kulovitz), a mystery shrouded in details as murky as the lake where it happened. These circumstances also prompt the emergence of new ambitions by all concerned, even if they frequently come out of left field. Potentially speaking, there should have been enough to work with here to make for a steamy noir-esque potboiler or, in the alternative, a deliciously campy romp. Regrettably, though, it’s neither of those things. On the contrary, “Verity” is boring, implausible and lacking in all of the qualities it was erroneously imbued with. The clunky, plot hole-filled writing is the prime culprit here, but the abysmal casting knocks the project down more than a few pegs, too. While Hathaway turns in her usual capable work, it’s vastly overshadowed by the remarkably underwhelming performance of Hartnett and the positively dreadful monotone portrayal of Johnson, who treats her character with the same deadpan, dispassionate handling as she did in the “Fifty Shades of Grey” trilogy (2015-2018). Moreover, were it not for the stunning visuals of the Vermont landscape (particularly in winter) and the stylish appointments of the designer home in which most of the story is set, there’s really not much else to see (or like) in this absolute utter snoozefest. How this title ever got out of pre-production is beyond me, but, if your expectations are low, this just might be to your liking – that is, if there’s nothing to watch on Lifetime.

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Harish Napa Janakiraman

⭐ 7/10

October 4, 2026

The psychological thriller sets up an intriguing, twisted premise filled with dark secrets and moral ambiguity. Unraveling the hidden manuscript inside an unsettling household provides genuine suspense, giving the story enough eerie tension to make it a good, engaging watch overall.

Dakota Johnson is absolutely stunning in the lead, bringing effortless allure, quiet curiosity, and sharp emotional vulnerability to her character. Her commanding … read the rest.

CinemaSerf

⭐ 6/10

October 5, 2026

"Lowen" (Dakota Johnson) has just left a sparsely-attended book signing when her agent tells her she might have an opportunity to make some proper cash. That involves her doing a bit of collaboration with the well-established best-seller "Verity" (Anne Hathaway) who has become temporarily incapacitated. She's very anxious about taking on this responsibility, but the poorly author's husband "Jeremy" (Josh Hartnett) - with whom she'd already had an unfortunate encounter en-route to the meeting - convinces her to give it a go and to move in with them at their remote and luxurious Montana home. It's once she is there that she discovers just what is wrong with "Verity" and also a manuscript on a hidden flash drive that provides her with quite a ghastly narrative of the goings-on within this marriage. All the while she is finding herself increasingly drawn to "Jeremy" and their young son "Crew" (Brady Wagner) but the more of the unpublished story she reads, and the more she observes around her, the less she takes on face value and ultimately believes. Is any of this scenario actually real? Given she's barely been off the screen in 2026, it's not too surprising that Hathaway has chosen to spend almost all of her sparing appearances here either in bed or on a chair - she actually contributes really very little to an otherwise rather good-looking but plodding drama that has far too many predicatable tram-lines to follow. When Hartnett was younger and had something of the eye-candy to him, I could see why he was on screen but now he has aged into really quite a bland actor who brings virtually nothing original to his role. Even the usually more reliable, though hardly versatile, Johnson seems content to just go through the motions as we skip along to an denouement that is both rushed and, I felt, contrived to suggest there might be legs in "Verity II". It is trying to be a little more sophisticated a thriller, but sadly it's all just join-the-dots stuff that you may well have forgotten by the time you leave the foyer. I did like the house, though.

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