63
Metascore
7 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75Slant MagazineChuck BowenSlant MagazineChuck BowenThe film is in tune with the need to remain lucid and empathetic while in the maw of human extremity.
- Obviously, director-writer Billy Senese didn’t have a ton of money to work with, but The Dead Center wisely eschews gore and special effects in favor of setting a dark, malevolent mood.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckWhat it has going for it in spades is supremely creepy atmosphere. The hospital virtually becomes a major character in the story itself, its washed-out coloring and neon lights making everyone look like they have a sickly pallor.
- 70VarietyDennis HarveyVarietyDennis HarveyThere’s a lot of excellent atmospherics here that are more unsettling than the actual violence, which in turn is all the more effective for largely being kept just off-screen.
- 63RogerEbert.comMatt FagerholmRogerEbert.comMatt FagerholmThe plot seems sillier the more one mulls it over, yet it’s a testament to the film that we’re not preoccupied with questions of probability for the duration of its running time.
- 60The GuardianMike McCahillThe GuardianMike McCahillWhat’s crucial is how Senese and cinematographer Andy Duensing film these elements: patiently, attentively, with a feel for space and ambient atmosphere, and a reluctance to offer easy explanations that invites tantalising metaphorical readings, and counts as recognisably Carruthian.
- 50Los Angeles TimesKatie WalshLos Angeles TimesKatie WalshCarruth’s troubled performance holds the piece together until it loses the thread on its own tenuous mythology, descending into incoherent cacophony.