Surveillance 2008

Ben Lyons, At the Movies: I thought this was depressing and brutal for brutality sake alone. Read more

Nathan Rabin, AV Club: Surveillance suggests 'Jennifer Lynchian' should be used for films that aspire to David's moody, idiosyncratic genius and fall woefully short. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: In this long-time-coming sophomore film, Lynch exercises powers of her own. She gets repellant, seductive, sympathetic performances from her actors. Ormond and Pullman are frightfully good at teasing intimacy. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: A grubby, disturbing serial-killer mystery, a kind of blood-simple Rashomon. Read more

Amy Nicholson, I.E. Weekly: Two-thirds of Surveillance is taut and absorbing, yet the cheap third act twist feels tacked on from a lesser talent, say one whose last name rhymes with 'Pshyamalan.' Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Its mad killers may wear masks. But the real and cheap disguise here is the film's own -- an exploitation shocker trying to pass itself off as art. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: Every so often, you come upon a movie so jaw-droppingly wrong, you wonder if your eyes are deceiving you. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: Ether a ludicrously bad movie or a parody of same. Either way, it's pretty funny. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: For a time, Surveillance is sick, smart fun. But then things get weird: yes, there's a big surprise, but its playout is predictable, and nasty. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: The most enjoyable way to watch Surveillance -- 'enjoyable' in the relative sense -- is to take its awfulness for granted and pay attention to everything Bill Pullman does. Read more

James Adams, Globe and Mail: The film's a failure. Read more

Jason Anderson, Toronto Star: Pullman's striking performance here is undermined by Lynch's overreliance on those same grisly shock tactics, as well as a script that fails to capitalize on a promising premise and then swiftly collapses upon the revelation of a not-so-shocking twist. Read more

Tom Huddlestone, Time Out: While the narrative is hardly original - it meanders to a predictable but juicily malicious climactic twist - 'Surveillance' is never less than a compelling watch. Read more

Leslie Felperin, Variety: Horror fans are likely to guess the twist and feel bored; the more faint-of-heart may simply feel repulsed. And bored. Read more

Melissa Anderson, Village Voice: Beneath the film's surface appeal as a twisty, morbidly funny freak-out lies a weightier theme on the resilience of children. Read more