Find Your Friends is the Shudder original that drops five gleefully wasted twentysomethings, Helena Howard, Bella Thorne, Zión Moreno, Chloe Cherry and Sophia Ali, out of a yacht party and into Joshua Tree, where the men carry rifles and grudges and not one woman seems to live for miles. Beneath the shots, the Molly and the relentless desert menace runs a story about female rage and the danger women learn to shrug off.
It is the feature debut of writer/director Izabel Pakzad, who built it from her own experience of being harassed and chased on a desert road during a girls’ trip. Her stated model is Coralie Fargeat’s Revenge, genre used as a poppy, digestible delivery system for something furious underneath.
That places Find Your Friends squarely in the recent wave of feminist survival-horror and “good for her” revenge cinema, drawing on the desert-menace lineage that runs from The Hills Have Eyes through Fargeat, with a shot of Spring Breakers hedonism on top. Pakzad arrives at the feature after a debut short, Don’t Worry, It’s Gonna Be OK, which won Best Short at the LA Film Festival; the film premiered at Fantasia, screened at Sitges, and landed on Shudder in June 2026.
A survival-horror revenge thriller about toxic masculinity lives or dies on whether the audience believes its women, fears its men, and feels the rage earn its release. Find Your Friends sets all three in motion across yacht parties, desert highways and an isolated town that turns hostile by the hour. What follows is a review of how far Pakzad’s first feature carries that ambition, and where the story beneath the booze gets lost.
There really is a story of female rage swimming beneath the sea of alcohol — Pakzad means it, and the women she sends into Joshua Tree deserve every ounce of the safety the desert denies them. A first feature that knows exactly what it is furious about.
Find Your Friends | Izabel Pakzad | 2025 | 89 min | Not Rated |
A Horror Movie Review by Hope Madden
I love Shudder. Truth is, Shudder is the only station I know how to find on our TV. I mean it. How I look forward to each new Shudder original! Happily, most of them live up to the excitement.
But every once in a while, you get a Find Your Friends.
Five unreasonably attractive and clearly alcoholic twentysomething besties wreak havoc on their livers and look good doing it. And screw the a’holes at this yacht party because these party bitches are headed to Joshua Tree to a better party followed by some desert tripping. Hell yeah!
I rarely stop watching a movie once I start it because it’s my job to finish the movie. I had to remind myself of this during Find Your Friends no fewer than four times before we even got to Joshua Tree.
We spend time with Amber (Helena Howard), Lavinia (Bella Thorne), Zosia (Zión Moreno), Lola (Chloe Cherry), and Maddy (Sophia Ali) twerking, doing shots, slapping each other’s asses, taking Molly, smoking joints, taking ‘shrooms, more shots, making out with strangers, driving wasted, saying “pussy” hundreds of times, talking incessantly about dick, and living as if we don’t exist in a country where you get away with rape but go to prison for defending yourself.
But that’s sort of writer/director Izabel Pakzad’s point, I suppose. That humans aggressively oblivious to their own safety still deserve safety, which is true. And that young women are often so frequently coerced and misused that they bond over it, joke about it, numb themselves to it. Also valid.
And that no women live in Joshua Tree at all. Only pick-up truck driving rapists and rifle carrying misogynists. This seems less accurate.
The heavy handedness of the film’s story and the one-dimensionality of its characters make it hard for Pakzad to build any momentum. There really is a story of female rage swimming beneath the sea of alcohol, but the story is so slight and the film so long and the climax so abrupt and the final shot so unearned that the message is tough to get behind.
Horror Movie Reviews from the Fright Club Podcast and Ginger Nuts of Horror
For horror fans seeking the ultimate guide to the genre, look no further than the horror movie reviews on Ginger Nuts of Horror. Our platform is the premier destination for in-depth horror film analysis, curated by our dedicated team of critics from the Fright Club Podcast.
Why Trust Our Horror Movie Reviews?
Our horror movie review team is powered by the seasoned expertise of the Fright Club Podcast, featuring Hope Madden and George Wolf from Maddwolf.com. This collective brings a relentless passion for the macabre to every critique. The Fright Club Podcast experts dissect the very fabric of fear in film, going beyond simple plot summary to analyse the unsettling cinematography, masterful sound design, thematic depth, and cultural impact that define both modern classics and hidden indie gems.
Discover Your Next Favourite Fright
Whether you’re a casual horror viewer or a dedicated aficionado, our reviews serve as your essential compass. We cover the full spectrum of the genre—from mainstream horror blockbusters to groundbreaking independent horror films. The Fright Club Podcast team’s insights reveal layers of meaning and directorial intention, enriching your viewing experience and helping you discover underrated horror movies you might otherwise miss.
Stay Ahead of the Horror Curve
The Ginger Nuts of Horror review website is your frontline for upcoming horror releases and emerging genre trends. Our critiques, fueled by discussions on the Fright Club Podcast, offer more than just a rating; they provide a comprehensive discussion that prepares you for what’s lurking in the theatrical and streaming shadows.
Deepen Your Horror Journey with the Fright Club Podcast
Exploring our horror film reviews is a vital step toward a deeper, more nuanced appreciation of horror. Let Hope Madden, George Wolf, and the Fright Club Podcast team guide you through the nightmares. Bookmark our section for the best horror movie reviews and join a community dedicated to the art of fear.
Ready to get scared? Browse the definitive collection of horror movie critiques on Ginger Nuts of Horror, and don’t forget to listen to the Fright Club Podcast for even more terrifying insights.
