When it comes to psychological thrillers about stalking and obsession, there are generally two ways to approach it. You either play things with a straight face and aim for nail-biting tension, or lean into the B-movie trappings to go for high camp and unabashed nuttiness. Neil Jordan’s Greta is definitely the latter, but your mileage may vary on whether it’s intentional or not.
There’s certainly plenty of talent involved, with the Academy Award-winning director following the supremely talented Chloë Grace Moretz getting more than she bargained for when she forms an unlikely friendship with the title character played by Isabelle Huppert, widely regarded as one of the modern era’s finest actors.
Moretz’s Frances is trying to survive and thrive in the big city, but doing a simple good deed like returning a lost handbag to its owner turns out to be a terrible mistake. Initially becoming a friend to Huppert’s offbeat widowed piano teacher, as the pair grow closer, it becomes apparent that kindly old Greta is not who she initially appeared to be.
Throwing caution to the wind right around the point the first revelation unveils itself, Greta opts to jump headfirst into the silly and over-the-top, which inevitably split opinion among critics and audiences. HBO Max customers are evidently supportive of the increasingly demented descent into far-fetched fantasy, though, with Jordan’s trashy thriller playing like gangbusters on the platform.
As per FlixPatrol, Greta has reached the streaming service’s Top 10 most-watched chart in 20 different countries, so tacky B-tier fun hasn’t lost any of its enduring appeal.