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The Surprise Visit (2022): What is the True Story Behind the Film?

As ‘The Surprise Visit’ unfolds, Annabelle and Casey grapple with their drug addiction, realizing the need for a fresh start as they anticipate becoming parents. Faced with financial challenges, the couple decides to overcome their substance abuse, driven by a desperate desire to provide a stable and nurturing environment for their unborn child. In a twist of fate, Casey discovers that Mrs. Dixon, his father’s employer, will be out of town for the weekend.

Faced with financial struggles and a desire for a fresh start, Casey proposes a risky plan to Annabelle—to commit a robbery as their final act of desperation. They intend to secure enough resources to embark on a new life for their unborn child, steering away from the challenges of their current circumstances. Directed by Nick Lyon, the story of the 2022 movie explores the lengths people go to when pushed to the brink and delves into the moral and ethical complexities surrounding their choices.

The Surprise Visit is Inspired by Real Events

The writers of ‘The Surprise Visit,’ Nathan Cowles, Andrew Fein, and Serah Henesey, drew inspiration from a true story connected to Serah Henesey’s husband, Nathan Cowles’ family homestead, which occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. The tale reportedly revolves around the previous owner, also named Mrs. Dixon, who, after being widowed, left her property to visit her sister for the weekend. During her absence, the housekeeper, Eric Roberts, unknowingly shared the information with her drug-addicted son and his girlfriend about the vacant house.

Learning of their pregnancy, the couple attempted to rob the residence. However, the unexpected arrival of Mrs. Dixon’s daughter and son-in-law on the same night led to their apprehension, mirroring the film’s theme of desperate actions with unexpected consequences. ‘The Surprise Visit’ masterfully captures the raw and unforgiving realities of addiction, providing an unfiltered glimpse into the tumultuous lives of individuals ensnared in the clutches of substance abuse and economic hardship.

With a keen eye for authenticity, the film explores the complex relationship between addiction and poverty, exposing the vulnerabilities that drive individuals to make desperate and often misguided decisions. Annabelle and Casey’s journey becomes a reflection point for the societal challenges surrounding substance abuse, shedding light on the relentless cycle of struggle and the profound consequences it inflicts upon those entangled in its grip. Drug addiction in the country remains a pervasive issue that affects individuals, families, and communities across the nation.

The country grapples with a multifaceted crisis involving a range of substances, from opioids and stimulants to marijuana and alcohol. Contributing factors to the epidemic include the widespread availability of prescription painkillers, socioeconomic disparities, mental health challenges, and a lack of comprehensive addiction treatment resources. One of how the problem of addiction manifests itself is through a rise in criminal activities, and the movie has been able to bring this conversation to the forefront.

The film draws a significant dose of reality from its carefully chosen shooting locations. Much of the filming took place in a secluded area on the outskirts of Virginia, providing the actors and the creative team with an immersive environment. This isolation mirrored the experiences of the characters in the movie, creating not only a captivating cinematographic journey that enhances the horror elements but also an authenticity that resonates with the script and the overall backdrop of the film. The deliberate selection of these locations contributes to the film’s ability to evoke a genuine sense of despair and desperation.

Director Nick Lyon and actor Serah Henesey acknowledge the deliberate Hollywoodization of the true story that served as the inspiration for their film’s universe. While certain elements, such as character names, have been altered, and fictionalized events have been introduced in the latter part of the narrative, the makers proclaim that the movie successfully maintains a sense of believability. Despite these creative liberties, the film remains an entertaining watch, blending reality and fiction to craft a film that entertains the audience.

Read More: Best Movies About Drugs on Netflix

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[Movie Review] THE SURPRISE VISIT

• January 12, 2022 January 12, 2022
• DarkSkyLady

THE SURPRISE VISIT , a thriller/drama with a story by Nathan Cowles, Andrew Fein, and Serah Henesey and directed by Nick Lyon, follows a young, poor couple who commit a robbery that soon spirals downward, and they must decide whether to give up or commit another crime. The film stars Jacqi Vene and Rob Riordan as the robbing couple Annabelle and Casey, with Eric Roberts as Casey’s father, Hugh. Rounding out the cast is Serah Henesey and Johnny Santiago as married couple Juliette and Daniel, who are as shocked to see the robbers as the robbers are that someone’s home. Despite some drag, particularly during all the running scenes, which are annoying, THE SURPRISE VISIT  did hold my attention, and by the end, I had flashes of True Romance , just not as good.

Annabelle and Casey are drug addicts, but when Annabelle realizes she is pregnant, they promise to give up drugs for the sake of their child. So Casey visits his father, Hugh, to ask for money, but of course, this is not Casey’s first time asking for money, so Hugh shuts him down. As most do when pleading does not give them what they want, Casey berates his father as a lowly gardener of a wealthy older woman, Mrs. Dixon, played by Tricia Hawn. Yet, after leaving, Hugh asks his boss to hire his son to earn money, and she agrees.

Unfortunately, Casey does not know this. He decides to rob Mrs. Dixon’s house since he knows she left to care for a friend, but he is clueless that Mrs. Dixon’s daughter, Juliette, arrived for a surprise visit with her husband Daniel in tow. At that point, their simple robbery goes up in smoke. THE SURPRISE VISIT  is based on a true story, and there is a definite class divide among the white cast. The film also looks at how addiction deteriorates the character of a person. Casey keeps making poor decisions driven by his addiction and desperation to provide for his girlfriend and unborn child.

The acting in THE SURPRISE VISIT is not great, but it does the job. Rob Riordan does a great job as a man torn between the need to protect and provide for his family and enslaved by the vise-grip of addiction. The Jekyll/Hyde transformation of an addict is similar to that of an abuser; one moment loving, threatening the next and Rob Riordan demonstrates that. Jacqi Vene’s acting gives Annabelle a sympathetic feel because she wants them both to get clean and do better for their child, and she has faith in Casey. Serah Henesey’s performance did not capture my attention as much, perhaps because she’s running through most of the film.

THE SURPRISE VISIT  may not have a star-studded cast and massive budget, but it works well under its financial constraints. The one part that dragged was all the scenes of running. I get it, this is a chase, but too many of these scenes began pulling the film down. However, I was invested in the story and curious to see how it ended. I also want to know which parts were accurate and artistic license for dramatic flair. The ending surprised me—a rarity these days as too many films are both formulaic and predictable. In that, THE SURPRISE VISIT  outshines some blockbusters.

THE SURPRISE VISIT arrives in theaters and On Demand on January 14, 2022.

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7 thoughts on “ [movie review] the surprise visit ”.

The ending was terrible. Two things here no witness, so the gardener is dead, then how would they know so much about the pass. Which couldn’t make it a true movie.. Or, he lived and the gardener told the police of the pass

I’m still SHOCKED true story. Like 1 viewer said, you were free but decided to go back. No offense, but why, noone was back there to save I always think the same about true movies, who told it, how they know so much when wasn’t there

A very stupid movie, I am truly at a loss of words, I guess the only thing I thought about the movie was how much cassey looked like Ernest T Bass on the Andy griffith show!!!

Horrible story line and poor acting . Even Eric Roberts was bad . I regret wasting my hour and a half watching this garbage

Great movie because this is reality and anyone that doesn’t realize this is out of touch with what’s going on in America.

I guess I’m out of touch, it SUCKED. I read reviews & fast fowarded

Great retort!

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The surprise visit.

Directed by Nick Lyon

When a young couple makes a surprise visit to Mom, they get an even bigger surprise themselves from an old family friend who plans to steal Mom’s valuable jewelry while she is out of town. But when the “easy peasy” robbery goes wrong, resulting in the accidental death of the daughter’s husband, it forces the two young drug addicts to make a difficult decision: to abandon ship, or do the unthinkable.

Rob Riordan Jacqi Vene Didem Erol Eric Roberts Tricia Hawn Johnny Santiago Regan Ferrier

Director Director

Producers producers.

Andrew Fein Nick Lyon

Writers Writers

Andrew Fein Stephen Meier

Story Story

Nathan Cowles

Editor Editor

Cinematography cinematography, executive producer exec. producer, composer composer.

Chris Ridenhour

Sound Sound

Martin Amodio Sebastian Levy Polat

Hoodoo Productions

Primary Language

Spoken languages.

English Spanish

Alternative Titles

목격자를 남기지 마라, Niespodziewana wizyta, 意外访客, Crimen imperfecto, ביקור בהפתעה, Crime Imperfeito

Crime Thriller

Intense violence and sexual transgression Twisted dark psychological thriller Show All…

Releases by Date

14 jan 2022, releases by country.

86 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by ⋆ ˚｡ belis ˚｡⋆ ★ 2

istg!!!!! a man died bc he was hit by a flashlight!!!! please im dying this was so so so bad

my family voted and my dad is not allowed to pick a movie ever again 😮‍💨

Review by Deathy ★★

Score : 4.9/10 ✅

A robbery goes wrong movie can either be super fun or super lame, it all depends on the execution, and unfortunately, this movie is probably a bit too amateurish to be taken seriously.

There are a lot of irritating things going on here, we are left with a borderline maniac that got mood swings, an annoying girl that doesn’t make her mind and a character in pyjamas running for her life, which is accompanied by crappy cinematography. I wouldn’t call it the worst movie ever made since I had some fun out of it, it was even worth it since I think the robbery scene was pretty good and the end surprised me a bit, but…

Review by thnwhitdke ★

What a complete mess.  Just get to the ending (if you can) and tell yourself that the moral of the story is a great message for meth addicts.

Review by takiman ½

You really feel the 90 minutes

Review by Michael ½

Think of the shittiest hallmark movie but it’s written by legit meth heads

Review by Marlon Royal Reid ½

I would rather watch two ants fuck in slow motion than rewatch this poorly made film.

Review by Film Blitz ★★

Full review: filmblitz.org/surprise-visit-2022/

The writers do try and make the obvious villains of the piece at least somewhat sympathetic, contrasting their poverty-stricken existence (they live in a trailer underneath a highway overpass) with the easy life of Juliette. Though I’d not say these efforts are particularly successful. Casey is depicted as being pushed into crime as a last resort, after his efforts to find a job and support his impending family have failed. However, the sum total of said efforts is asking his Dad for a position, so it’s really more of a token gesture than real industry. His reaching for the crack pipe any time things don’t go his way, undoes any positive feelings towards him: put it this way, I wouldn’t employ him either.

Review by rOt ½

Holy shit this was bad, fucking read a book while watching this snail paced garbage and mind numbingly dumb performances, wasted my fucking time

Review by Sarfaraz Abbasi ★

A below mediocre movie

Review by Bane ★★

Movie is all about running.

Review by Adrian Stampe Hausen ★½

First movie I watch released this year not a promising start.

Review by awingrove ★

Giving this movie a generous 1 only because the guys hyena run through the forest had me cackling

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The Surprise Visit

When a young couple makes a surprise visit to Mom, they get an even bigger surprise themselves from an old family friend who plans to steal Mom’s valuable jewelry while she is out of town. But when the “easy peasy” robbery goes wrong, resulting in the accidental death of the daughter’s husband, it forces the two young drug addicts to make a difficult decision: to abandon ship, or do the unthinkable.

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Movie Score

January 14, 2022,

Rob Riordan, Jacqi Vene, Didem Erol, Eric Roberts, Tricia Hawn, Johnny Santiago

Crime, Thriller

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• Cast & Crew

The Surprise Visit - Full Cast & Crew

• 1 hr 26 mins
• Watchlist Where to Watch

Upon arriving at her mother's mansion, Juliette is notified by gardener Hugh that her mother left town, but she decides to stay the weekend. Hugh's son Casey and his wife – two drug addicts expecting their first child – plan to rob the mansion. The robbery leaves dead bodies and a trail of conflicting loyalties behind.

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Sound editor, sound/sound designer, executive producer, co-producer, production designer, cinematographer.

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The Surprise Visit Reviews

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The Surprise Visit (2022)

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