Those Who Wish Me Dead

Plot

Hannah Faber is a smokejumper haunted by a past fire where she could not save three young campers and a fellow smokejumper. She now works at a fire lookout tower in Park County, Montana. In Jacksonville, Florida, forensic accountant Owen Casserly learns that his boss, a district attorney, and the boss's family have died in what appears to be a gas explosion. Convinced the deaths were a murder-for-hire and that he is next, Owen flees with his son, Connor, heading to Montana to hide with his brother-in-law, Ethan Sawyer, a deputy sheriff in Park County.

When they arrive, assassins named Jack and Patrick ambush them, forcing their car off the road and over a cliff. Trapped in the wreck, Owen hands Connor evidence against the assassins' employer before escaping the car. The assassins kill Owen. Meanwhile, lightning strikes Hannah's tower, destroying her communications.

Ethan discovers Owen's wrecked car, and Hannah, on patrol, finds Connor. She brings him back to her tower to call for help. The assassins meet their boss, who orders them to hunt down Connor. To distract the police, they start a forest fire using flares.

They then search Ethan's remote house for Connor, finding and interrogating his pregnant wife, Allison. Forced to call Ethan, she uses a duress code, then fights off the assassins and escapes. Hannah tries to walk Connor into town, but the fire blocks their path, forcing them back. After the radio call, Ethan returns home with the sheriff to protect Allison, but the assassins ambush them, kill the sheriff, and force Ethan to guide them through the woods.

The assassins reach Hannah's tower and make Ethan search it while they watch from a distance. Hannah and Connor hide as Ethan tries to signal the tower is empty. When Patrick realizes Ethan is speaking to someone, the assassins open fire on the tower. Ethan is wounded, but Hannah and Connor escape.

The assassins pursue them but are stopped by Allison, who has tracked them down and starts shooting. Patrick and Jack split up: Patrick chases Hannah and Connor while Jack fights Allison. Allison gains the upper hand and kills Jack.

Production

20th Century Fox picked up the rights to the property in 2013, just before the novel hit shelves. After several writers turned in their own versions, Charles Leavitt got the job. Angelina Jolie was set to star in January 2019, with Taylor Sheridan handling both the script and direction.

By April, Nicholas Hoult, Tyler Perry, Jon Bernthal, and Aidan Gillen had joined the cast. Principal photography started in New Mexico in May 2019 and wrapped that July, with James Jordan added to the roster. Brian Tyler wrote the score.

Release

New Line Cinema acquired distribution rights in May 2019. The film debuted theatrically in South Korea on May 5, 2021, and was released in the United States on May 14, 2021. Warner Bros. streamed it simultaneously on HBO Max for one month, after which it was removed until home media release. Samba TV reported 1.2 million households streamed it in the first three days, and over 3 million U.S. households watched it by the end of the first month.

Reception

Those Who Wish Me Dead brought in $7.4 million domestically and $16.1 million internationally, for a global take of $23.5 million. In its first weekend in the U.S., playing across 3,188 theaters, it was expected to earn between $4 and $5 million. Instead, it opened with $880,000 on Friday and finished the weekend at $2.8 million, placing third. The audience was split evenly between men and women, with 81% over 25.

That opening ranks as the second-worst ever for a film showing in more than 3,000 theaters. The following weekend, revenue fell 35% to $1.8 million. Overseas, the film earned $2.8 million in its second weekend across 33 countries, including a first-place debut in Australia with $981,000 from 249 screens and $410,000 in Russia from 904 screens, bringing its international total to $4.3 million. On Rotten Tomatoes, 63% of 224 critics gave positive reviews, averaging 5.7 out of 10.

The site’s summary calls it a straightforward 1990s-style action thriller boosted by Taylor Sheridan’s energetic direction. CinemaScore audiences gave it a B, while PostTrak found 72% of viewers rated it positively and 44% said they would definitely recommend it. Variety’s Peter Debruge noted that Sheridan, known for writing Sicario and Hell or High Water, uses this film to offer a bigger playground for himself, delivering a grown-up, more realistic alternative to superhero and robot blockbusters without skimping on spectacle or sound.

Alonso Duralde of TheWrap described it as a straightforward thriller where danger feels constant and stakes are high, adding that it plays by genre rules but keeps its promises.