Review: Tubi Original ‘Hag’ is delightfully unhinged

Obsession runs in horror’s blood. From The Fan and The Hand That Rocks the Cradle to Creep, Ma, and Be My Cat: A Film for Anne, the genre frequently twists the knife to unleash horrifying stories about diabolical villains who have boundary issues and a hunger for attention. With his feature directorial debut, Hag, writer/director Sam Wineman rips you into a maddening world of deception and murder. It’s as though he’s tossed the popular ’90s sitcom Will & Grace and films such as The Roommate and Influencer into a blender. Wineman’s concoction is a bedeviling and charming addition to the classic obsessive thriller subgenre.

Rowan (Ryan de Villiers) mourns the death of his fiancée, Tucker. Despite that unimaginable weight, he manages to crawl out of bed every morning and work a thankless barista job in the lobby cafe of a major record label. He dreams of signing a deal and turning his musician/artist fantasies into reality. His coffee mate, Opal (Adore Delano), works alongside him and also shares Rowan’s ambitions of making it big in Hollywood. With this storyline backdrop in place, the film really gets going when an old high school classmate, Mag (Jane de Wet), appears out of nowhere. It’s a blast from the past that throws Rowan for a loop. Before he came out as gay, he used to date girls, one of whom happens to be Mag.

Mag’s introduction is innocuous at first. She comes across as just a woman looking to reconnect. But when she rents Rowan’s spare bedroom in his apartment, things quickly shift on their axis. The first red flag comes when she gleefully shouts that living together will be like Will & Grace—she’s a self-proclaimed “fag hag,” an outdated term for a straight woman who treats gay people like accessories. Rowan likes to believe in the best in people, almost to a fault. He often misses Mag’s odd, intrusive behavior and apologizes for her many public blunders. She worms herself into his life, insidiously permeating his work and friendships. After his best friend, otherwise known as “twin,” K.C. (Anja Taljaard), comes to stay for a week, Mag doesn’t take too kindly to Rowan having other friends. Before you know it, things turn deadly.

Sam Wineman crafts a compelling story about one young woman’s obsessive nature and how it’s so easy to infiltrate someone’s life in the digital age. With a taut, unnerving script, he succeeds in handling the material with command and never allows the audience a moment’s peace. The characters feel alive, with Wineman also capturing the slimy underbelly of the entertainment business through Rowan’s climb to the top. The cast rises to the occasion, with de Villiers delivering the necessary emotional beats and showing great chemistry with Taljaard. With her performance as Mag, de Wet proves a remarkable talent, able to side-wind in her performance like a python in the desert. You never know what she’ll do next.

Hag arrives as a strong late-in-the-game contender for my 100 Best Horror Movies & Thrillers of 2025 scorecard (coming December 19). It’s the perfect amount of funny and serious, with many WTF and “you’ve got to be kidding” moments sprinkled into the mix. With this release, Sam Wineman emerges as a one-to-watch queer filmmaker who could turn the genre on its head.

Hag hits Tubi today (December 12).