Krysten Ritter's 2025 Thriller With Kiernan Shipka Is A Hidden Gem On Netflix

"Stone Cold Fox" didn't receive much fanfare upon its 2025 debut, but now the action thriller has hit Netflix and is already enjoying a nice little boost. If you're in the mood for some throwback '80s action with a heavy emphasis on female badassery, then you too should check out the movie over on the king of the streamers. Heck, it's worth a watch just for co-stars Kiernan Shipka and Krysten Ritter, who are great together in this underseen gem.

"Stone Cold Fox" was co-written and directed by Sophie Tabet. It marks the debut feature from the Franco-Lebanese American filmmaker, who in 2023 told the New Director's Showcase that she wanted to make "genre-bending: gut-punching, pulpy, queer stories told with a habibi flare." That should give you a good idea of what to expect with her very first film.

Ritter, who gained widespread attention for her role as Jane Margolis on "Breaking Bad," will soon be returning as former Defenders member Jessica Jones in "Daredevil: Born Again" season 2. Before that, however, we can all prime ourselves for her comeback as Jones with "Stone Cold Fox," though she's far from the hero in this revenge thriller.

She stars alongside Kiernan Shipka, who after portraying Sabrina Spellman in Netflix's "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" appeared in "Back to the Future"-like slasher comedy "Totally Killer." Otherwise she had fairly small roles in 2024's "Twisters" and the Osgood Perkins' "Longlegs" — arguably the most terrifying horror of 2024. In "Stone Cold Fox," however, Shipka is front and center.

In "Stone Cold Fox," Kiernan Shipka plays Fox, a girl who grew up with a father debilitated by an accident and a mother with serious substance abuse issues. After Fox escapes her home, she lives on the street for a while before meeting Krysten Ritter's Goldie, a charismatic drug dealer who charms the youngster and brings her into what turns out to be an abusive lesbian cult. 

At first, Fox and Goldie strike up a relationship, but after Fox realizes how unhealthy her adopted home is, she once again escapes. On her way, she unwittingly steals a bag of drugs which she believes is full of money, prompting Goldie to begin a relentless quest to recover the missing narcotics. That involves sending Kiefer Sutherland's corrupt cop, Sergeant Billy Breaker, after Fox and kidnapping her sister, Spooky (Bluesy Burke). Fox isn't about to put up with her sister being taken captive, and plots to break into Goldie's hideout to free Spooky.

This is all shot in the style of some of the best grindhouse movies, heightening the sense that this movie isn't really interested in much more than action. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Many a viewer over on Letterboxd were quite taken by "Stone Cold Fox" and its throwback revenge thriller aesthetic, with one writing simply, "Evil gay Krysten Ritter is my favorite Krysten Ritter."

Netflixers are liking the film, too. According to FlixPatrol, "Stone Cold Fox" is the number-six most watched movie on Netflix in the United States at the time of writing. Despite an somewhat underwhelming 60% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, then, the film clearly has plenty working in its favor.