Movie Review: LOCKJAW

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer

Posted: September 9th, 2026 / 08:59 PM

Rating: Not Rated
Stars: Blu Hunt, Colin Burgess, Kevin Grossman, Sally Sum, Nick Corirossi, Ally Davis, Lena Redford
Writer: Sabrina Greco
Director: Sabrina Greco
Distributor: Magenta Edge Films
Release Date: August 8, 2026 (theatrical); September 8, 2026 (VOD, digital)

An onscreen title tells us it’s September 18, 2023. Friends Rayna (Blu Hunt), Mitch (Colin Burgess), and Noah (Kevin Grossman) are barhopping in a Los Angeles neighborhood that looks like Silverlake. Rayna is extremely drunk but, despite Mitch’s best efforts to take her keys, she gets into her car – and promptly has an accident.

Six weeks later, Rayna’s jaw is wired shut. Mitch is monitoring whether she’s drinking – Rayna maintains that she isn’t. They’re invited to a party. Rayna wants to go, Mitch doesn’t. It’s hard to tell if he’s just worried that she’s going to fall off the wagon or if he’s jealous of her interacting with other people.

However, since Rayna clearly has the upper hand in their ill-defined relationship (it’s not just us who can’t tell what’s going on with them – neither can they), they wind up at the party. Noah is here; Reyna and Mitch haven’t seen him since the car crash.

Noah invites Rayna to watch his magician friend Robert (Nick Corirossi) perform at a small club. When Rayna insists on going, Mitch comes, too.

Robert’s magic act consists of taking pictures of people without their consent, figuring out what their secrets are, and spilling them to the audience. He and his wife Cleo (Ally Davis) tell Noah he can come over and spend the night. Rayna invites herself and Mitch over, too.

Then Rayna, Mitch and Noah’s sort-of friend Annabelle (Sally Sum) shows up, wondering why they all left the party.

LOCKJAW movie poster | LOCKJAW | ©2026 Magenta Edge Films

If you live in Los Angeles, and perhaps even elsewhere, there’s a good chance you’ve been through a night like the one that occupies most of LOCKJAW. Writer/director Sabrina Greco paints an absolutely credible portrait of a group of dysfunctional twentysomethings coping with interpersonal and substance problems.

Fans of what’s known as “cringe comedy” may well enjoy LOCKJAW. The question for others is whether or not we want to relive the situation as passive observers (i.e., audience members) with these people. Rayna is truly annoying and abusive; Mitch is passive/aggressive and something of a stalker; Robert is manipulative and a little creepy; Cleo is pretentious. Noah appears annoyed that Rayna and Mitch can’t get themselves together and doesn’t notice the unpleasantness of Robert and Cleo. This leaves mostly harmless but clueless Annabelle.

Filmmaker Greco has some great, surprising quirks and provides a modicum of release at the finale. The behavior she documents is perfectly believable. It’s just that, absent of any insights or revelations, the film’s observations don’t add up to characters who hold our interest.

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Article: Movie Review: LOCKJAW

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