Hyena 2015

Kevin Lincoln, Grantland: By the end, as the camera lingers on Peter Ferdinando's phlegmy, leaking face, Hyena has done something uncommon: It has frightened you. Read more

Guy Lodge, Variety: Johnson's filmmaking, however, takes no such short cuts, with sound, image and editing colluding to keep Hyena in a perpetual state of agitated panic. Technique often excitingly thwarts our genre expectations. Read more

Mike D'Angelo, AV Club: While the movie keeps tightening the noose around Logan's neck, any interest in whether he'll manage to escape being arrested or killed is largely academic. Read more

Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader: Johnson aspires to make Hyena into the stuff of classical tragedy, yet he telegraphs Michael's inward transformation way too soon. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: At its most palatable the film recalls "The Long Good Friday"; at its harshest, it's a grotty cousin to "The Bad Lieutenant." There's enough filmmaking intelligence to guide "Hyena" through its worst excesses, however. Read more

Deborah Young, Hollywood Reporter: Trying to hybridize thick-ear genre material with more artistically ambitious fare, the results are too leaden for the Jason Statham crowd but insufficiently distinctive to find a more rarefied niche. Read more

Martin Tsai, Los Angeles Times: "Hyena" feels like a throwback to the tough-as-nails British gangster flicks of the 1970s. Read more

Stephen Holden, New York Times: The kind of gory British policier from which you come away with the queasy feeling that the world is essentially a butcher shop ruled by greed, murder, cruelty and lust. Read more

Trevor Johnston, Time Out: The most powerful British crime flick since 'Sexy Beast'. Read more

Nick Schager, Village Voice: Hyena's convoluted tale is given a fresh coat of grime by Johnson's direction, which favors handheld cinematography -- often tracking its protagonists from behind -- that gives the action a pseudo-verite ruggedness. Read more

Aaron Hillis, Village Voice: As stylish, scorched-earth entertainment, it'll get you in its teeth. Read more

John Anderson, Wall Street Journal: Mr. Johnson isn't out just for blood, or sociology, but the clever hybrid he creates is wholly entertaining. Read more