Stone Cold Fox Review: Does Krysten Ritter’s Queer Thriller Style Outpace Its Substance?

Director: Sophie Tabet

Cast: Krysten Ritter, Kiernan Shipka, Kiefer Sutherland, Jamie Chung

My Rating: 5.5/10

The Verdict:

Stone Cold Fox is a neon-drenched exercise in “vibes-based” filmmaking that unfortunately forgets to bring a cohesive script along for the ride. While I found Krysten Ritter’s performance as an unhinged drug queenpin to be strong, the film relies too heavily on 80s grindhouse tropes to mask its hollow character development and tonal inconsistencies. 

The Full Review: A Retro Dream or a Narrative Nightmare?

Stone Cold Fox seemed to have all the ingredients for a brilliant movie: the icy, sharp-edged charisma of Krysten Ritter, a synth-wave score, and a “women-on-the-run” premise that promised a modern Thelma & Louise with a darker, more cynical edge. 

But as I watched it unfold on Netflix, I realized that first-time feature director Sophie Tabet was perhaps more interested in the grain of the film stock than the logic of the plot.

The Plot: A Road Trip with No Map

The film transports us to 1986, following Fox (Kiernan Shipka), a defiant young woman fleeing a traumatic home life and an abusive commune. I noticed that the film tries to establish Fox as a hardened survivor early on, but the narrative quickly shifts when she falls under the spell of Goldie (Krysten Ritter) - Goldie isn’t just a love interest, she is a drug queenpin who runs a “found family” that looks more like a cult than a support system.

The “revenge” aspect kicks in when Fox realizes the depth of Goldie’s toxicity and attempts to rescue her younger sister, Spooky, and along the way, they are hunted by a crooked cop, Sergeant Billy Breaker (played by an underutilized Kiefer Sutherland). 

I felt the premise had immense potential, but the execution often prioritized “cool shots” over actual stakes.

Performances: Ritter Carries the Weight

If there is a reason to sit through the 86-minute runtime, it is Krysten Ritter, and I have always believed she is one of our most effective actors for “anti-hero” roles, and as Goldie, she is very good. She plays the role with an “unhinged” energy that I found gripping, and I noticed that the costuming - specifically the fake fur coats and Scorsese-inspired jewelry - did a lot of the heavy lifting to make her feel like a legitimate 80s villain.

Kiernan Shipka, however, struggled to keep up in my eyes. I found her performance as the “hardened” Fox to be a bit one-note. Shipka often brings a certain “scrappy sarcasm” to her roles, but here, I felt it lacked the weight required for a character dealing with such deep-seated trauma. When she and Ritter share the screen, the power imbalance is so vast that I found it hard to buy into their supposed romantic history.

Style Over Substance

My biggest issue with the film, and the reason for the mediocre rating, is the writing. I am a fan of pulp cinema, but Stone Cold Fox feels like a mood board that accidentally became a movie. I noticed several scenes that were clearly meant to be transgressive or shocking, but because I wasn’t invested in the characters’ internal lives, the violence just felt like “edginess” for the sake of it.

The film spends a significant amount of time on “the vibe” - slow-motion smoking, neon lights reflecting in puddles, and long gazes, and while I appreciated the cinematography by Ken Seng, I felt the narrative momentum stalled every time the movie tried to be “artistic.”

In 2026, queer audiences are looking for more than just “cool lesbians with guns”; we want stories that resonate on a human level.

Comparison: Stone Cold Fox vs. Love Lies Bleeding

I have to compare this to the 2024 hit Love Lies Bleeding, as both films attempt the “queer female thriller” genre with an 80s backdrop, but where Love Lies Bleeding succeeded in creating a visceral, sweaty, and surreal reality, Stone Cold Fox feels like it’s trapped inside a fashion magazine.

In my view, the difference lies in the stakes, as in Rose Glass’s film, you felt the desperation of the characters in every frame, but in Stone Cold Fox, I felt like everyone was just playing dress-up. 

I believe Sophie Tabet has a great eye for visuals, but she lacks the “grit” that made the former film a masterpiece, and if you want a movie that actually hits the target this one misses, I suggest going back to the A24 catalog.

Soundtrack: The Pulse of 1986

I loved the soundtrack, which is perhaps the film’s strongest asset. Composed by Alex Kovacs, the score is a masterclass in modern synth-nostalgia, and you will notice that tracks like “Goldie (Beginning of the End)” and “Thicker Than Blood” do an incredible job of setting a menacing tone.

The movie uses music to bridge the cultural gap between the characters’ “outsider” status and the mainstream world, which was a smart move, but I found that the music often worked too hard too, trying to inject emotion into scenes where the script failed to provide any.

Stone Cold Fox Ending Explained: Redemption or Just More Blood? (SPOILERS)

The finale of the film takes place at the stash house where all the major players - Fox, Goldie, and the crooked Sergeant Breaker - finally collide, and the ending is a bittersweet commentary on the cycle of abuse

After a chaotic shootout, Fox finally confronts Goldie, and In a moment of vulnerability, Goldie tries to manipulate Fox’s guilt, but Fox strikes her down with a “star blade.”

This was supposed to be a cathartic moment of “breaking free,” but this final sequence muddies the waters, as we see Fox taking over Goldie’s operation with a new partner, and I  found this ending to be quite cynical. 

It suggests that Fox hasn’t escaped the life of crime; she has simply replaced the “Queenpin” at the top. I believe this subverts the “happy ending” trope, but it left me feeling cold, as it felt as though Fox hadn’t actually grown - she just got better at the game.

The Legacy: A New Era of “Sleaze”

Despite my 5.5 rating, Stone Cold Fox might have a long tail as a cult favorite, as  its “habibi flare” (as director Tabet calls it), adds a unique cultural texture to the Western-centric revenge genre, and I think this film will be remembered more for its “Evil Gay Krysten Ritter” memes than for its actual plot, and in the age of social media, maybe that’s a legacy of its own

Stone Cold Fox Frequently Asked Questions

Is Stone Cold Fox a “Happy Ending” movie?

No. It’s a noir thriller through and through. While the protagonist survives, the ending is morally gray and leaves her in a position of power that is built on the same violence she fled.

Where can I stream Stone Cold Fox?

As of early 2026, it is a Netflix streaming sensation. You can also find it on VOD platforms like Amazon and Apple TV if you want to “own” the neon aesthetic.

Is it based on a true story?

No. It is an original screenplay by Sophie Tabet and Julia Roth. However, I noticed it draws heavily from 1970s and 80s exploitation cinema tropes rather than real-life events.

What is the age rating?

It is a hard R. I would warn readers that it contains graphic gun violence, depictions of domestic abuse, and hard drug use. It is definitely not a light watch for a Friday night.

Does it have “Bury Your Gays” tropes?

I don’t think so. While there is queer death, it is the death of the villain at the hands of the hero. It feels more like a standard action-movie trope than a targeted trope against queer characters.