This Month’s New Action Thriller Explodes Into the Found-Footage Genre to Tell a Brutal Revenge Story

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Get ready for an intense action movie that blends thrilling shootouts and brutal fights with the classic revenge story – all filmed in the style of found footage. It’s a high-stakes genre mashup where pushing your limits is key.

After the massive hit of The Blair Witch Project in 1999, horror films quickly adopted the found footage style – and still do today. Movies like Paranormal Activity, Rec, and Cloverfield demonstrated just how effective this technique could be. While a few other genres, like sci-fi (Chronicle), crime thrillers (End of Watch), and even teen comedies (Project X), have experimented with the format, action movies have generally avoided it – until recently.

Get ready for intense action in The Workout, a new thriller from director . This film follows an Army Ranger seeking revenge after his wife is killed. The movie stars Peter Jae (Blackhat, Darkness of Man), Augie Duke (Mayans M.C., Yellowjackets), Josh Kelly (Transformers: Dark of the Moon), and more. The Workout premiered at Fantastic Fest and had a limited theatrical release in August. Now, you can watch it on demand or buy the Blu-ray starting October 28, 2025. Check out the trailer and details below!

This action movie, presented as found footage, follows two army rangers who start making a workout video. Their project is quickly derailed when a mafia hit occurs during filming, and one of the rangers’ wives is killed. Driven by grief and a thirst for revenge, he embarks on a determined quest to eliminate the mobsters and anyone connected to the attack.

‘The Workout’ Could Kick Down the Door to More Found-Footage Action Thrillers

James Cullen Bressack, the director and writer (along with David Josh Lawrence) of The Workout, has a history of working with action stars like Bruce Willis, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Mel Gibson, and Steven Seagal. The Workout is a low-budget film, and while reviews are mixed, many critics appreciated its creative use of the found-footage style and hope it inspires similar approaches in future films.

Critics have mixed feelings about The Workout, with Rotten Tomatoes giving it a 58% score. Linda Marric of HeyUGuys acknowledges it’s not perfect, but praises its ambition and heart, stating that such bold filmmaking is vital for the genre. Emilie Black of Cinema Crazed calls it a thrilling and entertaining action film that effectively uses the found footage style to maximize its impact.

I have to say, even though a few people found the revenge story a little predictable, I really enjoyed The Workout. Film Threat’s Bobby LePire gave it a fantastic 8 out of 10, and I agree with his take – it’s a surprisingly emotional film, delivered with some seriously intense and well-done action.

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2025-10-22 16:17