62
Metascore
13 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 70Village VoiceAbbey BenderVillage VoiceAbbey BenderEmelie does create a menacing atmosphere and provide an interesting response to the "Final Girl" model that has long been the horror standard.
- 70Los Angeles TimesMichael RechtshaffenLos Angeles TimesMichael RechtshaffenIrish actress Bolger plays her psychopath with cool, calculating intimidation, while first-time feature director Michael Thelin, sharing screenplay credit with Rich Herbeck, lays a solid foundation of suburban domesticity on which to build all the mounting menace.
- 67The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe rest of Emelie doesn’t live up to its peaks, through no fault of star Sarah Bolger, who makes a memorable villain.
- 63New York PostSara StewartNew York PostSara StewartThe film begins by telegraphing impending doom (and wraps up, underwhelmingly, with thriller clichés).
- 63RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyRogerEbert.comGlenn KennyA tidy and nasty and often effective thriller that doesn’t quite blossom into full horror.
- 60The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckDelivering some genuinely creepy slow-burn moments before devolving into baroque excess, Emelie delivers a nasty twist on an all-too-common scenario.
- 60The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisWorking from Richard Raymond Harry Herbeck’s script, Mr. Thelin plays with genre clichés without upending them, and the results are more creepy than scary.
- Those scenes do allow star Sarah Bolger to showcase her range as a babysitter gradually transforming from sweet to sinister.