Big Bad Wolves
Magnet Releasing | Release Date: January 17, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
64
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
15
Mixed:
8
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
EmpireKim NewmanDec 10, 2013
Even if you think you've seen this story too often, Big Bad Wolves will surprise and enthrall. A thriller which bites deep, it has a light touch which finds humanity even in the worst horrors. Read full review
100
The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckDec 10, 2013
Featuring superb performances by the principal actors, Big Bad Wolves is mesmerizing from start to finish. Read full review
100
The PlaylistDrew TaylorDec 10, 2013
It’s bold, beautifully told, and surprisingly funny. Read full review
87
Film.comWilliam GossJan 15, 2014
A masterfully queasy blend of dark humor and darker humanity. Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsJordan HoffmanJan 16, 2014
Israeli directors Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado take a classic ethical debate and turn it into a dark — and darkly funny — thriller, which Quentin Tarantino named the best film of 2013. Read full review
80
Time Out LondonNigel FloydDec 10, 2013
Big Bad Wolves requires a high tolerance for pain, but its wicked humour and oblique satire rip open Israel's paranoid, militarised system like a jagged saw blade. Read full review
80
Total FilmMatt GlasbyDec 10, 2013
Brutally simple and brilliantly told, channeling everything from the Coens to Korean masters to create a blood-curdling black comedy. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerTirdad DerakhshaniFeb 7, 2014
A crafty, suspenseful, violent horror film that touches on the inner lives of sexual predators, the question of guilt and remorse in the human soul, and the practice of torture. Read full review
75
ObserverRex ReedJan 18, 2014
Unpredictable, with a twisted surprise around each corner, Big Bad Wolves is a clever and arresting shocker from a country where blood and gore on the screen are least expected. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyJan 16, 2014
While Big Bad Wolves delivers the Hostel-like torture jolts with ruthless precision, the movie is also a rudely funny satire of a macho, paranoid culture where the protection of children is used to justify any conduct. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Jan 15, 2014
Believe it or not, some of this mayhem—muscularly orchestrated by directors Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado, who made 2010’s "Rabies" — does provoke laughter. Read full review
75
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreJan 14, 2014
Many moments will make you avert your eyes. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzJan 23, 2014
Occasionally the film seems as if it will make a political statement (the value, or lack thereof, of torture, for instance). But it doesn’t really follow through. But they keep us occupied with twists, well-played, and some of the laughs are genuine, if uncomfortable and guilt-inducing. Read full review
65
NPRIan BuckwalterJan 16, 2014
There's black comedy, and then, in the darkest corner of an airtight box buried deep underground, there's the humor of Big Bad Wolves. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineNick SchagerDec 10, 2013
From a purely suspenseful vantage point, Big Bad Wolves is an efficient and effective beast. Read full review
60
The DissolveScott TobiasJan 16, 2014
Keshales and Papushado have great filmmaking chops—as Israeli imports go, this is as far from the austere norm as it gets—but there’s a hollowness at the core of Big Bad Wolves, a creeping sense that they have no clear perspective on they mayhem they’re presenting. Read full review
60
Time OutKeith UhlichJan 14, 2014
The movie is never less than involving, but rarely amounts to more than a third-generation grindhouse knockoff. Read full review
60
Village VoiceStephanie ZacharekJan 14, 2014
Even though Papushado and Keshales raise some ticklish questions, it's hard to know exactly what they're going for, beyond some mischievous, grisly thrills. At least they're skillful at delivering those. Read full review
60
The GuardianMike McCahillDec 10, 2013
The actors lend it a sick heft, and there are droll, region-specific footnotes...but one senses the sniggering film-makers playing variably funny games with our phobia of pedophiles, rather than having anything lasting to say about it. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezJan 23, 2014
You expect something far different and better than the same-old. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comGodfrey CheshireJan 17, 2014
Plays like an extended tribute to the torture scene in "Reservoir Dogs," a description that alone should tell readers whether they'll find it appealing or not. Read full review
50
VarietyJustin ChangDec 21, 2013
The filmmakers’ undeniable chops and bizarre tonal shifts fail to transform the material into anything more than a stylishly gruesome exercise. Read full review
40
The TelegraphRobbie CollinDec 10, 2013
Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado, the two-man writer-director team, are swinging at serious targets here... But their point soon wears itself out, and what remains is schlock with airs and tired black humour. Read full review
20
The New York TimesManohla DargisJan 16, 2014
Is there a point? All the filmmakers seem interested in is the ugliness of the main Israeli characters. Read full review
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