57
Metascore
10 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinNew York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinThe arty but suspenseful drama The Strange Ones is a perfect demonstration of how the craft of storytelling is also the craft of withholding — of revealing as little as possible in carefully parceled-out amounts.
- 74Paste MagazineAndrew CrumpPaste MagazineAndrew CrumpThe Strange Ones is a solid movie on first watch that becomes a seriously good movie on second watch. Maybe that’s a poor framework for an endorsement, but the film is more than the shock of its climax.
- 70Los Angeles TimesKatie WalshLos Angeles TimesKatie WalshIt’s an artful, boundary-pushing debut from Radcliff and Wolkstein, with breakthrough performances from Freedson-Jackson, and Pettyfer, perhaps signaling a new direction in his career.
- 67The Film StageJohn FinkThe Film StageJohn FinkWell-acted by lead James Freedson-Jackson, the film takes its subject matter more seriously than it takes its plot. It’s one of those films that captivates in the moment until it all falls apart.
- 63RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzRogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzThe film is worth seeing because, regardless of things that I wish had been done better or differently, it feels like the beginning of a major filmmaking career, and because Pettyfer and Freedson-Jackson are so strong.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenThe Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenHowever nuanced and artful, the nightmarish unease is laid on so thick that, in combination with the cryptic narrative, it gradually turns to murk.
- 38Slant MagazineChuck BowenSlant MagazineChuck BowenThe film's mixture of sensationalism and self-conscious artiness is experimentally disingenuous at best.
- 30VarietyJoe LeydonVarietyJoe LeydonThere’s a point beyond which it’s difficult to believe anything that happens on screen, and impossible to care what is supposed to be real or not. Unfortunately, the movie continues for a lengthy stretch after that, until it literally trudges into a deep, dark hole.
- 25Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MoorePerhaps this slow and generally dull and opaque picture never should have seen the light of day.