It appears that Nollywood lovers have shut up on the criticisms recently, and you will agree with me, there is a reason for that. The industry has developed by leaps and bounds, and storytelling, production quality, and acting have all stepped up in a way that is difficult to overlook.

It seems like every other week, there is a new Nigerian movie premiering on Netflix these days. In the last month alone, To Kill a Monkey was in a chokehold of social media, timelines filled with hot takes, group chats were abuzz, and even the algorithm could not withhold everyone’s opinion on our feeds.

This month, Nollywood has decided to give us something else to talk about: The Devil is a Liar. Directed by Moses Inwang, written by award-winning Tunde Babalola, and produced by Esse Odometta, it was released on August 14, 2025, on Netflix.

For some, it is going to be a long weekend, and for others, a short one, but whichever place you fall, you might want to relax with this new masterpiece.

Also Read: To Kill a Monkey: The Unflinching Look at Loyalty, Desperation, and the Lagos Hustle

Devil is a Liar delivers a psychological game of chess and emotional rollercoasters. It is a move that will get you hooked with romance, and then the lights go out at the most unexpected moment.

We meet Adaora (Nse Ikpe-Etim): accomplished, self-assured, and guarded. Her life is about control, one that her profession and personality show she handles with grace.

Then along comes Jaiye (James Gardiner), a man whose ease, ambition, and disarming smile feel like a welcome interruption. Their romance blossoms too quickly, and to everyone looking in, it is a perfect match.

But perfection has a way of hiding its cracks. After the birth of their first child, a child Jaiye seemed less than thrilled about, Adaora notices a distance she cannot quite explain. His eyes grow colder, his touch less tender, yet she brushes it off as stress, the way many do when love is involved.

The tension builds when Jaiye’s financial troubles surface. He needs help just a little at first. But “a little” becomes “a lot,” and soon Adaora finds herself financially entangled in ways that make escape complicated, but Jaiye is persuasive, weaving explanations that feel plausible until they no longer appear tenable.

Then comes the second pregnancy. This time, Jaiye insists it is the wrong moment, pressing for a decision that rips Adaora apart. In a haze of emotion and trust, she agrees to end it. That is when fate and a devastating accident rip away the last of her illusions.

Adaora is in a hospital bed when she is told a truth that alters everything she believed she knew about her husband, her marriage, and even her own body. The man to whom she gave her heart was not the man she thought he was. She has fallen into problems that are not accidents of fate, but well-set traps. It seems like a tactic instead of love, as she thought, every date, every compliment, every stolen moment.

What follows is a cycle of treason, survival, and vengeance as one woman tries to put together the picture of a deception so carefully planned that it makes one think of love or entrapment. When the last act plays, you find yourself wondering: If the devil were to present himself in the form of the love of your life, would you be able to identify him before it was too late?

Devil is a Liar is exactly the kind of movie you throw on when you want to be pulled in so deep that you forget to check your phone. It is layered, it is sharp, and it knows exactly when to twist the knife. If you re looking for a gripping watch this weekend, this might just be the one.

Anita Chinedu