64
Metascore
20 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88Slant MagazineChuck BowenSlant MagazineChuck BowenThe film communicates a sporadic sense of violation—of pastiche unpredictably giving way to a raw and primordially intimate emotional realm.
- A film that's simultaneously heart-wrenching, hilarious and horrific.
- 78Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovAustin ChronicleMarc SavlovSuffice to say, this departure from West’s usual run of seriously freaky spook shows is a brilliant piece of work, cordite-scented sorrow, and last-laugh gags stabbed through with a discernible lust for life.
- 75The PlaylistCharlie SchmidlinThe PlaylistCharlie SchmidlinWith an enjoyable atmosphere, solid performances from Hawke, Travolta, Farmiga, and one gifted canine, In A Valley of Violence ends up a solid entry in a genre gradually fading from mainstream cinema.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeThe Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeTi West's In a Valley of Violence plays like a grim, Eastwood-style genre revival before some conspicuous Tarantino-influenced humor infects its climactic showdown.
- 68TheWrapSam FragosoTheWrapSam FragosoUltimately, In a Valley of Violence thrives is in its final 20 minutes. In one of the more impressive sudden upticks in quality by a film in 2016, West seems to finally figure out what kind of a movie he wanted to make: a comedy. The concluding combat sequences are occupied by physical and witty gags.
- 60The GuardianNigel M SmithThe GuardianNigel M SmithAs the violence escalates, an absurdist dose of humor is added to the mix, injecting the film with a distinctly modern sensibility that is welcome and does not let up.
- 60VarietyAndrew BarkerVarietyAndrew BarkerWe never get more than a glimmer of personality within these well-worn character types, and West never digs beneath them to offer any sort of commentary or criticism.
- 58The Film StageMichael SnydelThe Film StageMichael SnydelIn a Valley of Violence feigns to be a revisionist western, but it’s frustratingly stuck in a place of inevitability in the last half. It’s an excellently-made imitation, but coming from a director whose made a career of tilting the familiar, it’s a disappointing detour.
- 58IndieWireDavid EhrlichIndieWireDavid EhrlichIt’s frustrating that West often scores with his few modest attempts to stamp his own imprint on the genre, as those flashes of fun hint at what this movie could have been.