"The Betrayed" Struggles to Make Its Mark as a Daring Debut

A promising setup quickly unravels into a web of clichés, leaving more frustration than thrills in this Zulumoke Oyibo debut.

The Betrayed is directed by Zulumoke Oyibo. It premiered in cinemas on August 2, 2024, and is now streaming on Prime Video. Like. Share. Subscribe.

When Bala (Gabriel Afolayan) set out for a guys' night with his friend Batista (Ibrahim Suleiman)—without his wife Amarachi’s (Uche Montana) full knowledge—he didn’t anticipate that this decision would upend his life. Neither did I, as I sat down to watch The Betrayed. Inkblot Productions’ latest venture positions itself as a fresh take on the whodunnit genre but stumbles on the path of coherence.

The Betrayed follows Amarachi, whose seemingly perfect life unravels when her husband is arrested for the murder of his exotic secret lover.

The story kicks off with promise, setting things up as though we’re in for a drama-fueled unraveling of what truly happened on the night the call girl was killed. But then, without adequate preparation, the movie jolts into thriller territory as Amarachi receives a mysterious tip from a stranger who convinces her of Bala’s innocence. This spurs her into detective mode, shifting the genre in a direction that—while not necessarily unwelcome—is poorly executed, turning the viewing experience into an increasingly excruciating one.

Through some questionable twists, we end up with a plot that follows Amarachi, her lawyer friend Tolu (Jemima Osunde), and Tolu’s attractive cousin Kunle (Vine Olugu) as they band together to uncover the truth. But the deeper they dig, the more the movie loses itself in incredulity, squandering an exciting—and dare I say, excellent—premise. By the midpoint, it’s painfully clear there’s no saving this one, and though it never fully veers into outright absurdity, character choices drift further into the realm of the ridiculous.

The mystery at the heart of the film is disappointingly straightforward. My first and only suspect turned out to be the culprit, rendering the grand conspiracy vibe a complete waste of time. And with plotting this shaky, the eventual resolution feels more frustrating than satisfying, leaving me questioning what all the fuss was for.

On a brighter note, the acting initially holds promise. Uche Montana shines, proving that there continues to be real substance behind that pretty face. In the hands of a seasoned filmmaker, that depth could have been mined for major award-worthy material. But this is film executive Zulumoke Oyibo’s directorial debut, and the script she’s working with is equally shaky. The writing is serviceable, and the cast does their best to elevate it. This lucky streak of round-pegged performances, however, breaks when Vine Olugu’s character, Kunle, joins the mix. His first appearance is pure thirst trap bait—a gratuitous display of his bare torso, catering to both the female characters in the scene and the audience that the filmmakers are clearly banking on to boost box office numbers. After all, they didn’t plaster his physique across the marketing materials for nothing.

The Betrayed isn’t a bad film; it just never lives up to the promise of its engaging introduction. Instead, it slides into the predictable clichés you'd expect from this kind of story when handled by less capable hands. I wish it had fully embraced its initial gut—exploring the effects of Bala’s incarceration on his family, business, and life while allowing us to piece together the truth through a better-paced, time-jumping narrative. That might have been far more engaging than what we ultimately got—a film torn between two identities, held together by a flimsy veil that threatens to unravel as you watch.

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Directed by: Zulumoke Oyibo

Written by: Tosan Anyafulu and Chinaza Onuzo

Starring: Gabriel Afolayan, Uche Montana, Jemima Osunde, Ibrahim Suleiman, Adunni Ade, Aderonke Onuoha, and more.