The Viscountess Bridgerton is having a bit of a moment right now. Since her breakout turn as Kate Sharma opposite Jonathan Bailey in Bridgerton back in 2022, Simone Ashley‘s star has risen quickly. Coming off a year in which she paired with Young Sherlock star Hero Fiennes Tiffin for the rom-com Picture This and appeared in one of the cinematic events of the summer, F1, she’s off to a hot start again in 2026, already appearing in the much-anticipated legacy sequel The Devil Wears Prada 2 and reprising her standout role in Season 4 of the Netflix megahit regency romance. Next month will finally see her next leading performance arrive in theaters in This Tempting Madness, and ahead of that, we’re thrilled to welcome the film back to Collider’s Exclusive Preview event for another look.
While our last image paired Ashley with NCIS: Origins star Austin Stowell in a mysterious look at an underground facility that the two are navigating, this new shot focuses solely on the Bridgerton star and the vulnerable state she’s been left in. Wrapped in only a bath towel, she’s sporting a nasty scrape near her shoulder and a bruise near her neck, teasing that things just aren’t right. Her glance off to the side further betrays her own unease about the situation she’s in. This Tempting Madness casts her as Mia, who, after nearly dying from a fall, wakes up from a coma, grievously injured and still trying to piece together her fragmented memory. Every little moment, like the one pictured, becomes a blur as she struggles to figure out what’s real and how things went down the night she went over the railing.
The film follows Mia’s search for the truth as pieces of her past slowly begin clicking back into place. In the aftermath of her injury, there are a lot of questions to unpack, including where her husband Jake (Stowell) is after being the only other person with her that fateful evening. The man she remembers would never do something so horrible, but in her current state, with family and police questioning, the reality of his actions may not be what she’s remembering. Clouded by feelings of love, guilt, fear, doubt, and desire, Mia begins to question not just her past, but herself and her judgment.
‘This Tempting Madness’ Is Inspired By a True Story
At the helm of This Tempting Madness in her directorial debut is Jennifer E. Montgomery, reuniting with writer Andrew M. Davis after their previous work together on the short film The Shadows. They co-wrote the psychological thriller script based on the real experiences of Montgomery’s friend, who similarly struggled with short-term memory loss. In a prior interview with Screen Daily, she described how they used a journal to try to recall details they had forgotten after an accident, a feeling the director wanted to recapture with her film. The Life of Pi star Suraj Sharma plays Mia’s brother, whom she has to lean on despite losing most of her recollection of him, alongside Zenobia Shroff as her mother, Mojean Aria as Tony, and Amol Shah as Raj.
This Tempting Madness will hit select theaters and video-on-demand on June 12. Check out the new image above and stay tuned here at Collider for more sneak peeks at the most anticipated upcoming movies from our exclusive summer preview event.
- Release Date
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November 27, 2025
- Runtime
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92 minutes
- Director
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Jennifer E. Montgomery
