GRETA (2019)
A demented stalker turns friendship into a nightmare.
Should You Watch It?
Greta is well made and knows how to build suspense. Its villain has plenty of tricks, making her a formidable opponent and giving the movie fairly strong jeopardy. If you want a horror movie built around escalating danger, this film delivers.
The cost is substantial. The film includes five or six strong profanities, other obscenities, and a couple of gruesome moments. Its central relationship is also less uplifting than it could be: Frances’ father hires a private detective, then disappears from the story instead of developing a stronger relationship with his grieving daughter.
This is a suspenseful, well-crafted horror film for discerning adults, but it is not suitable for children or young teens.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESFrances, a young waitress in New York City, finds a purse on the subway and returns it to Greta, a lonely older Frenchwoman. Still grieving her mother’s death two years earlier, Frances befriends Greta and accepts her invitation to dinner.
But Frances discovers something disturbing in Greta’s home and tries to end the friendship. Greta responds by stalking Frances at the restaurant where she works. From there, Frances must find a way to survive a friendship that has become a nightmare.
Is It Any Good?
Three stars means Greta is a good, suspenseful horror movie with meaningful weaknesses. Neil Jordan’s film creates many suspenseful moments, and Greta’s tricks make her a formidable villain. The danger gives the movie strong jeopardy and adds to its scary qualities and conflict.
The story loses strength in its treatment of Frances and her father. After he hires a private detective to find her, he disappears from the story. A stronger, positive arc between father and daughter would have made the film more uplifting. Instead, the movie focuses on Frances’ friendship with her roommate.
The Worldview
Greta offers a light moral worldview centered on a young woman mourning her mother’s death and confronting a lonely, demented older woman who wants to control her. It recognizes the destructive nature of stalking, kidnapping, and coercion, but its moral focus remains light rather than deeply developed.
The film also presents a strained father-daughter relationship. Frances is upset that her father has “moved on” after her mother’s death, while Frances has not. The story gives more attention to her friendship with her roommate than to repairing that family relationship.
At its center is grief and the human need for care that does not become control. Scripture says, “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements
Light moral worldview about a young woman still mourning the loss of her mother after two years, who’s stalked and eventually kidnapped by a lonely, demented older woman who drove her own daughter to suicide
Foul Language
Five obscenities, five or six strong profanities, 11 light profanities
Violence
Brief very strong violence when villain’s two fingers are chopped off plus other strong intense violence includes fight over a handgun, handgun is discharged, a character is shot, people are knocked unconscious, young woman is kidnapped and locked into a trunk, character stumbles over a mummified corpse, a reference to a side character being driven to suicide because of her controlling mother
Sex
Some light references to young people hooking up
Nudity
No nudity
Alcohol Use
Brief alcohol use, and a reference to a side character attending AA meetings
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse
Brief smoking and kidnap victim is drugged;
Miscellaneous Immorality
Kidnapping, woman is held against her will, stalking, and young woman is upset with her father because he’s “moved on” after her mother’s death two years ago, but she has not, so the father-daughter relationship is strained.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Frances is still grieving her mother two years later. How can we respond when someone’s grief lasts longer than we expect?
Psalm 34:18 · Romans 12:15Greta’s desire for control turns a friendship into something harmful. What is the difference between loving care and controlling another person?
1 Corinthians 13:4–5 · Galatians 5:1Frances feels that her father has “moved on” after her mother’s death. How can families make room for grief while continuing to move forward together?
Romans 12:15 · James 1:19The film shows stalking, kidnapping, and coercion as serious wrongs. How should Christians protect vulnerable people and pursue what is good?
Micah 6:8 · Philippians 2:4The Final Word
Greta is a well-made, suspenseful horror movie with a formidable villain and strong jeopardy. Its foul language, gruesome moments, and disturbing violence make it unsuitable for children and young teens. For discerning adults who can handle those concerns, the answer is WORTH THE TRIP — ADULTS ONLY. For a family movie night, choose.
