# Accused (2023 film)
**Accused** is a 2023 British thriller directed by Philip Barantini in which a young man of Indian heritage is wrongly identified on social media as the perpetrator of a crime, and must survive the night as an online witch-hunt turns into a physical attack on his family home.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/sep/21/accused-movie-review-tubi-netflix-philip-barantini) • [2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/accused-2023) The film runs 1 hour and 28 minutes and stars Chaneil Kular, Lauryn Ajufo, and Robbie O'Neill.[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/accused-2023)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director | Philip Barantini, whose previous feature was the one-take restaurant drama *Boiling Point*[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/sep/21/accused-movie-review-tubi-netflix-philip-barantini) |
| Premise | After a revenge-obsessed society incorrectly selects its next target, a young man must survive the night as the online witch-hunt arrives at his front door[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/accused-2023) |
| Lead cast | Chaneil Kular as Harri Bhavsar, Lauryn Ajufo as Chloe, Nitin Ganatra as Ramesh Bhavsar, Frances Tomelty as Mrs. Daly[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12648266/fullcredits/) |
| Writers | Barnaby Boulton and James Cummings[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12648266/fullcredits/) |
| Release | Digital release September 22, 2023; earliest theatrical release October 26, 2023 in Russia/CIS[4](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/accused/n5cxLIzRe54yikmbcxLob2/where-to-watch/) • [5](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt12648266/) |
| Box office | $133,284 worldwide, all from international markets (Russia/CIS $107,461; Spain $25,823)[5](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt12648266/) |
| Reception | IMDb rating 6.2 to 6.3 from about 4,100 votes; JustWatch user rating 71%[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/accused-2023) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and premise
The film is a smartphone-era spin on the wrongly accused subgenre. Harri (Chaneil Kular), a young Londoner of Indian heritage, discovers an accusation against him while he is alone at his family's house, and the story takes place over a single day as his mundane life descends into chaos.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/sep/21/accused-movie-review-tubi-netflix-philip-barantini) • [6](https://www.netflixmovies.com/accused-2023) The Guardian's review places the events after a London bombing, with the online pile-on escalating into a physical home invasion by vigilantes.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/sep/21/accused-movie-review-tubi-netflix-philip-barantini) Netflix's synopsis gives the same storyline: a young man falsely blamed on social media for a terrible crime sees violent vigilantes storm his family's house, and he must battle to survive.[7](https://qr.netflix.com/im/title/81564278)
Reviewers located the film in two traditions. The Guardian compared it to [Thomas Vinterberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/thomas-vinterberg)'s 2012 drama *[The Hunt](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-hunt-2012-film)*, in which [Mads Mikkelsen](https://www.edgepedia.org/mads-mikkelsen)'s small-town life implodes after a false accusation, while judging *Accused* not to scale those heights.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/sep/21/accused-movie-review-tubi-netflix-philip-barantini) The Indiependent described it as a simple but effective home-invasion thriller whose premise is frighteningly believable.[8](https://www.indiependent.co.uk/accused-review-a-simple-yet-effective-home-invasion-thriller/) Loud and Clear Reviews read it as a portrayal of a society driven by technology and poisoned by xenophobia.[9](https://loudandclearreviews.com/accused-film-review/)
## Production
Barantini made *Accused*, as he had some of his previous work, using a mixture of improvisation and workshopping alongside the original script.[6](https://www.netflixmovies.com/accused-2023) The production companies were It's All Made Up Productions, Sunrise Films, and Three Little Birds Pictures, with IPR.VC in association; XYZ Films handled worldwide sales and Vertigo Releasing distributed in the United Kingdom in 2023.[10](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12648266/companycredits/)
## Release and distribution
The film received a digital release on September 22, 2023, the same date it was added to Netflix in several markets including Canada and the United Kingdom.[4](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/accused/n5cxLIzRe54yikmbcxLob2/where-to-watch/) • [11](https://can.newonnetflix.info/info/81564278) Its theatrical business was small and concentrated in a few territories: it opened in Russia/CIS on October 26, 2023, grossing $107,461 there, and in Spain on January 5, 2024, grossing $25,823, for a worldwide total of $133,284 with no domestic (United States) release.[5](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt12648266/)
Streaming availability has shifted over time. In the United States the film has streamed on Tubi free with ads and on Hulu, and it is available on Blu-ray.[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/accused-2023) • [4](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/accused/n5cxLIzRe54yikmbcxLob2/where-to-watch/) In the United Kingdom it has been available on Paramount+, Apple TV, and Prime Video.[12](https://www.flickfinder.net/tv/accused-2023-202097) Netflix listings in Canada and the United Kingdom show the film was added on September 22, 2023 and removed on September 22, 2026, after 36 months on the service.[11](https://can.newonnetflix.info/info/81564278)
## Reception
Critical response centered on the film's tension and its social subject. The Guardian called it an anxiety-inducing thriller about the terror of being subjected to a social media witch-hunt, noting that the escalation is mostly awfully easy to believe.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/sep/21/accused-movie-review-tubi-netflix-philip-barantini) Audience aggregates sit in a middling range: an IMDb score of 6.2 to 6.3 from roughly 4,100 votes and a [JustWatch](https://www.edgepedia.org/justwatch) rating of 71 percent.[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/accused-2023)
## A shared title
The 2023 film shares its title with a later Hindi-language Netflix film, also called *[Accused](https://www.edgepedia.org/accused-2026-film)*, directed by Anubhuti Kashyap and produced by Dharmatic Entertainment, starring Konkona Sensharma and Pratibha Rannta as a queer couple in London whose marriage comes under strain when the surgeon Geetika faces allegations of sexual misconduct at work; it premiered on Netflix on February 27, 2026.[13](https://about.netflix.com/news/netflix-unveils-the-trailer-of-accused-a-psychological-drama-on-power) • [14](https://www.netflix.com/in/title/81661375) The two films are unrelated productions.
## References
1. [Accused review – anxiety-inducing social media pile-on thriller, The Guardian (Benjamin Lee, 21 September 2023)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/sep/21/accused-movie-review-tubi-netflix-philip-barantini)
2. [Accused (2023) streaming: where to watch movie online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/accused-2023)
3. [Accused (2023) – Full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12648266/fullcredits/)
4. [Where to Watch Accused (2023), Moviefone](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/accused/n5cxLIzRe54yikmbcxLob2/where-to-watch/)
5. [Accused (2023) – Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt12648266/)
6. [Accused (2023) on Netflix, NetflixMovies.com](https://www.netflixmovies.com/accused-2023)
7. [Watch Accused, Netflix](https://qr.netflix.com/im/title/81564278)
8. ['Accused' Review: A Simple Yet Effective Home-invasion Thriller, The Indiependent](https://www.indiependent.co.uk/accused-review-a-simple-yet-effective-home-invasion-thriller/)
9. [Accused: Film Review, Loud and Clear Reviews](https://loudandclearreviews.com/accused-film-review/)
10. [Accused (2023) – Company credits, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12648266/companycredits/)
11. [Is 'Accused' on Netflix in Canada? Where to Watch the Movie, New On Netflix Canada](https://can.newonnetflix.info/info/81564278)
12. [Where to watch Accused (2023) — streaming in every country, FlickFinder](https://www.flickfinder.net/tv/accused-2023-202097)
13. [Netflix Unveils the Trailer of 'Accused', About Netflix (21 February 2026)](https://about.netflix.com/news/netflix-unveils-the-trailer-of-accused-a-psychological-drama-on-power)
14. [Watch Accused, Netflix India](https://www.netflix.com/in/title/81661375)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works) › 2015–2019 films › Thriller and mystery films › Titles symbols to E*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license