# Everly (film)
**Everly** is a 2014 American action thriller directed by Joe Lynch, written by Yale Hannon, and starring [Salma Hayek](https://www.edgepedia.org/salma-hayek) as a woman who, after betraying the mob boss who has held her prisoner for four years, fights off waves of assassins sent to collect the bounty on her and her family.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70276-EVERLY) • [2](https://www.netflixmovies.com/everly-2014) It was released in limited theaters on February 27, 2015 by Radius-TWC and received generally unfavorable reviews.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70276-EVERLY) • [3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/everly/critic-reviews/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / writers | Joe Lynch (director); Yale Hannon (screenplay); story by Hannon and Lynch[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70276-EVERLY) |
| Star | Salma Hayek as Everly; Hiroyuki Watanabe as Taiko, Laura Cepeda as Edith, Togo Igawa as the Sadist[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/everly) |
| Release | Limited theatrical release February 27, 2015; distributed by Radius-TWC; 92 minutes; rated R[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70276-EVERLY) |
| Budget / box office | $10 million budget; $358,156 worldwide[2](https://www.netflixmovies.com/everly-2014) |
| Reception | 29% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (55 reviews); Metascore 35; IMDb 5.1/10 from about 21,000 votes[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/everly) • [3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/everly/critic-reviews/) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1945084/) |
| Setting | Almost entirely in one apartment, over less than 24 hours[6](https://gigpatta.wordpress.com/2015/01/28/interview-actress-jennifer-blanc-biehn-for-everly/) |
| Music / photography | Score by Bear McCreary; cinematography by Steve Gainer; 2.35:1 widescreen[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70276-EVERLY) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Everly has been kidnapped and held for four years in a luxury high-rise apartment, forced to work for the crime lord Taiko, with no contact with her mother Edith or her young daughter Maisey during that time.[2](https://www.netflixmovies.com/everly-2014) When Taiko learns she has helped a police officer, his enforcers burst into the apartment to torture and kill her.[2](https://www.netflixmovies.com/everly-2014) Taiko treats the night as a game, dispatching assassins after her and promising a reward to the other trafficked women in the building who go after her.[2](https://www.netflixmovies.com/everly-2014) Everly tries to reach Edith and Maisey so they can escape, but Edith refuses to leave without her.[2](https://www.netflixmovies.com/everly-2014)
## Production
The project spent years in development. [Kate Hudson](https://www.edgepedia.org/kate-hudson) joined the cast on February 1, 2012, but after the film was stuck in development she dropped out, and Salma Hayek took the lead role on May 10, 2013.[2](https://www.netflixmovies.com/everly-2014) • [7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1945084/trivia/) The screenplay had appeared on the 2010 Blacklist, an annual list of the most liked unmade scripts.[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1945084/trivia/)
Lynch said the idea grew out of a 1999 concept for a fake feature film in which the lead dies 27 minutes in; his manager rejected that structure but liked the premise of a person trapped in a worsening situation, which led to the single-location setup.[8](https://www.joblo.com/exclusive-interview-joe-lynch-talks-everly-salma-hayek-and-his-next-film-221/) He cited pressure-cooker siege films such as *[Assault on Precinct 13](https://www.edgepedia.org/assault-on-precinct-13-1976-film)* and *Night of the Living Dead* as touchstones, and named *Taken*, *Die Hard*, *The Raid*, and Hayek's own *Desperado* as inspirations.[9](https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/89841/exclusive-joe-lynch-talks-everlys-insane-realism-salma-hayeks-heart/) • [7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1945084/trivia/)
The film was produced in the summer of 2013 in Belgrade, Serbia, for Crime Scene Pictures; Lynch said Serbia was chosen because shooting there was cheaper.[10](https://www.samdb.co.za/titleproductionnotes/2017) • [7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1945084/trivia/) The entire movie was shot in sequential order.[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1945084/trivia/) Hayek pushed during production for the story to keep its emotional core; she told Lynch the film needed "the emotional resonance of a mother trying to save her daughter" to work.[9](https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/89841/exclusive-joe-lynch-talks-everlys-insane-realism-salma-hayeks-heart/)
## Reception
**Critical response was negative overall.** The film scored 29% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 55 reviews, with a critics consensus crediting Lynch's stylish direction and Hayek's performance while calling the film too thinly written and sleazily violent to fully recommend; the audience Popcornmeter also stood at 29%.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/everly) Metacritic recorded a Metascore of 35, labeled generally unfavorable, from 18 critic reviews.[3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/everly/critic-reviews/) IMDb users gave it 5.1 out of 10 from about 21,000 votes.[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1945084/)
Reviewers split over the film's style and content. Positive notices praised Lynch's staging: [The Playlist](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-playlist) and IndieWire (both 75) highlighted how clearly the apartment's geography was established and how off-center camera setups, such as a shootout seen through the crack of a door, added suspense to fight scenes.[3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/everly/critic-reviews/) [The Village Voice](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-village-voice) (70) wrote that Hayek gives the character powerful dignity, and [The Hollywood Reporter](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-hollywood-reporter) (70) called it a formulaic but well-crafted B-movie that should please genre enthusiasts.[3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/everly/critic-reviews/)
Negative reviews focused on the violence and its framing. Variety (40) called the film grim and monotonous and criticized its recycling of Asian thriller tropes; [Entertainment Weekly](https://www.edgepedia.org/entertainment-weekly) (50) found it a pointless exercise in brutal style with little backstory or character depth.[3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/everly/critic-reviews/) The Los Angeles Times review described the film as precision-engineered for viewers who want female empowerment served with torture porn, objecting to the mix of carnage and sentimentality, including a five-year-old child in the mayhem.[11](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-everly-movie-review-20150227-story.html) Time Out called it nastily misogynistic and exploitative, arguing the escalating gore builds intensity but delivers no payoff.[12](https://www.timeout.com/movies/everly) Slant Magazine compared its structure to *The Raid: Redemption*, with each round of attackers functioning like a video-game stage, and judged the violence weightless.[13](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/everly/)
**Commercially the film underperformed.** Against a $10 million budget it earned $358,156 worldwide.[2](https://www.netflixmovies.com/everly-2014) It later reached streaming services, appearing on Netflix and, as of recent listings, available to rent or buy on platforms including Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, and [Google Play](https://www.edgepedia.org/google-play), and free with ads on Tubi, Plex, and [The Roku Channel](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-roku-channel) in various countries.[2](https://www.netflixmovies.com/everly-2014)
## References
1. [Everly (2015), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70276-EVERLY)
2. [Everly (2014) on Netflix, NetflixMovies.com](https://www.netflixmovies.com/everly-2014)
3. [Everly critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/everly/critic-reviews/)
4. [Everly, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/everly)
5. [Everly (2014), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1945084/)
6. [Interview: Actress Jennifer Blanc-Biehn for 'Everly', Gig Patta](https://gigpatta.wordpress.com/2015/01/28/interview-actress-jennifer-blanc-biehn-for-everly/)
7. [Everly (2014) Trivia, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1945084/trivia/)
8. [Exclusive Interview: Joe Lynch talks Everly, Salma Hayek and his next film!, JoBlo](https://www.joblo.com/exclusive-interview-joe-lynch-talks-everly-salma-hayek-and-his-next-film-221/)
9. [Exclusive: Joe Lynch Talks Everly's Insane Realism, Salma Hayek's Heart, and More!, Dread Central](https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/89841/exclusive-joe-lynch-talks-everlys-insane-realism-salma-hayeks-heart/)
10. [Everly Production Notes, SAMDB](https://www.samdb.co.za/titleproductionnotes/2017)
11. [Review: Even as an exploitation-vengeance film, 'Everly' repulses, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-everly-movie-review-20150227-story.html)
12. [Everly 2015, directed by Joe Lynch, Time Out](https://www.timeout.com/movies/everly)
13. [Review: Everly, Slant Magazine](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/everly/)
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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 › Action and adventure films (individual works) › Action thrillers, 2010s › Crime and vigilante thrillers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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