FIND YOUR FRIENDS movie poster | ©2026 IFC/Shudder

Rating: Not Rated
Stars: Bella Thorne, Chloe Cherry, Helena Howard, Sophia Ali, Zión Moreno, Jake Manley, Israel Broussard, Harrison Gilbertson, Chris Bauer, Patrick Millin, Zak Steiner, Blaine Kern III, Zander Bleck, Austin Woods
Writer: Izabel Pakzad
Director: Izabel Pakzad
Distributor: IFC/Shudder
Release Date: June 12, 2026 (Shudder)

Written and directed by Izabel Pakzad, FIND YOUR FRIENDS has a title that conveys the most dramatic portion of the film, approximately the last third, when the main characters finally take action.

We begin on a party on a yacht in the Long Beach harbor, where five young women – college pals Amber (Helena Howard), Lavinia (Bella Thorne), Zosia (Zión Moreno), Lola (Chloe Cherry), and Maddy (Sophia Ali) – are drinking, ingesting a variety of psychoactive substances, and talking about sex.

Due to a misunderstanding about situational nuances, Amber is left alone by her cohort in a cabin with attractive but aggressive Tye (Blaine Kern III). He believes Amber has implicitly consented to carnal relations. When she makes it very clear she has not, Tye attempts to rape her.

Amber escapes. She does not tell her friends what has happened. Shortly thereafter, she sees Tye sitting at the brunch table with another woman as though he’s done nothing. Amber breaks a punchbowl over Tye’s head.

Because Amber doesn’t explain what prompted this, her friends think she’s having some psychological issues.

A little while later, the five college mates are in a jeep, on their way to an Air BnB outside the high (in more than one sense of that word here) desert town of Joshua Tree, California. They are here to relax and have fun before education beckons again.

We learn more about them as individuals as they “love on each other,” exchanging praises and predictions for each other’s future. They make enough noise to irritate permanent desert resident and nearby neighbor Russell (Chris Bauer), who comes over to complain.

That night, the ladies go into town, meet up with Lavinia’s friend Cameron (Zander Bleck), who introduces them to his friends, including rock band lead singer Coby (Harrison Gilbertson).

Coby takes Amber outdoors for a private chat. He seems nice enough, with philosophical platitudes that are at least humane. Also, he’s clean and sober, which is likely an asset in Amber’s potential dating pool.

Amber, though, has a flashback to what happened with Tye and begins accusing Coby of trying to assault her.

And here we pause for a public service announcement. Do women, and men, who are drugged to the gills sometimes get confused about what’s going on and/or mix up memories with reality? It can certainly happen. Does this mean that a woman’s, or a man’s, account of assault should be outright dismissed just because they are chemically impaired? No. The implication that victims shouldn’t be believed starts an ick factor in FIND YOUR FRIENDS.

This is not, story-wise, the most important incident that transpires at the club. Lola invites Amber over to sample the wares of a trio of local coke dealers (Jake Manley, Patrick Millin, Austin Woods), who appear to expect intercourse in exchange for their blow. Let us stipulate again that nothing justifies non-consensual sex, aka rape.

This said, it is probably unwise to assume that criminals beyond the scrutiny of normal law enforcement are sensitive to this. They are moreover likely to view rejection in this scenario as refusal in to “pay” for goods already supplied.

FIND YOUR FRIENDS doesn’t have a detectable opinion on this. We want to side with our protagonists, if only because the alternative is so odious. But Amber and Co. are so oblivious and insensitive to each other that it’s hard going.

Due to poorly-thought-out decisions on Amber’s part, it becomes impossible for the women to contact the authorities. The last half-hour of FIND YOUR FRIENDS bursts into ultra-violence against both genders.

The movie’s final third will cause viewers to lean forward. Recommendation, therefore, depends on how audiences react to the first two-thirds. There are indeed a lot of great-looking, entitled young people in the real world who spend a lot of time in altered states. The question is whether we want to spend much of that time with fictional versions of them, as they are not very good company for either one another or for us.

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