Desierto
STX Entertainment | Release Date: October 14, 2016 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
51
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
12
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
New York Daily NewsEdward DouglasOct 12, 2016
Some of the characters' fate might be left in a frustratingly open-ended fashion, but Cuéron has created an impressive edge-of-your-seat thriller set within a fantastic outdoors environment. Read full review
75
Washington PostAlan ZilbermanOct 13, 2016
This earthbound tale has a poignant political message — and not a subtle one. Read full review
75
ObserverRex ReedOct 12, 2016
Desierto is an action thriller that delivers unforgettable punches at a feverish pace. You won’t doze through this one. Read full review
75
The Film StageJared MobarakMar 15, 2016
As for the politics, even though the characters are stereotypes playing on the public’s liberal assumptions of human rights, Desierto is less interested in holding one side above the other as much as showing the true-to-life tragedy real life brings. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalJohn AndersonOct 13, 2016
It’s a nail-biter, a solid thriller, an immigration-themed takeoff on that old chestnut “The Most Dangerous Game,” in which humans are both predator and prey. It’s not particularly nuanced. In fact, its lack of nuance is its most distinguishing characteristic. Read full review
70
VarietyJustin ChangMar 15, 2016
Cuaron’s movie may be an exaggerated nightmare vision of murderous xenophobia run amok, but the catharsis in this tale of survival and payback is undeniably real. Read full review
67
IndieWireEric KohnOct 13, 2016
Desierto throws subtlety to the wind, but not without purpose. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyOct 13, 2016
A classed-up B-movie riff on "The Most Dangerous Game." Call it “Tex-Mexploitation.” Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyOct 12, 2016
One could easily imagine Desierto as a lost exploitation film from the 1970s — better made than most, but not an exceptional example. Read full review
60
TheWrapClaudia PuigOct 14, 2016
Cuarón’s tale of a madman Minuteman is well-shot and sharply paced, but too simplistic. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesKatie WalshOct 13, 2016
Desierto is a generic thriller that happens to be wrapped in political packaging. That packaging is sometimes more interesting than the thrills themselves, but the film is bare enough to project what you want onto it. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comPeter SobczynskiOct 14, 2016
What should have been a solid B-movie thriller with a premise torn from today’s headlines is instead as arid and desolate as the land between the United States and Mexico in which it is set. Read full review
50
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzOct 13, 2016
While Cuaron’s technical chops are beyond question, his storytelling could use some honing here. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperOct 13, 2016
The performances are strong, even if the characters aren’t given much depth. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreOct 4, 2016
Desierto never amounts to much more than a variation on a theme we know by heart, predictable at every single sandy step they take. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyMar 15, 2016
If the story is meant to represent a microcosm of the immigration problem, it’s woefully reductive. If it’s meant to be first and foremost an action thriller, it does have a few nice moves to offer. Read full review
40
Village VoiceSimon AbramsOct 13, 2016
Sam's racist behavior may be intended to make him a menacing sign of our times, but such unbelievable mustache-twirling makes him as threatening as a C-grade Freddy Krueger knockoff. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovOct 12, 2016
A lean, mean chase movie that plays like equal parts Donald Trump’s immigration policy, Steven Spielberg’s "Duel," and Wes Craven’s "The Hills Have Eyes," Cuarón’s desert-based take on "The Most Dangerous Game" is very much of the moment. It’s also, unfortunately, a one-note story populated with a handful of semi-anonymous archetypal characters. Read full review
40
We Got This CoveredMatt DonatoOct 11, 2016
Desierto is one of those movies that's nasty without reason, and never really finds its stride by way of tone or message. Read full review
40
The GuardianJordan HoffmanMar 15, 2016
While engaging, this Desierto is a little dry. Read full review
40
Screen DailyAllan HunterMar 15, 2016
The issue of immigration couldn’t be more timely or poignant, but everything else in Desierto feels strictly by the book and it is a book we already know from cover to cover. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineClayton DillardSep 22, 2016
Any perceptive dialogue or contemporary socio-political subtext is pummeled by Jonás Cuarón’s preference for empty genre thrills. Read full review
30
The New York TimesNeil GenzlingerOct 13, 2016
The movie isn’t interested in fully developed characters, just carnage. Read full review
25
The PlaylistNikola GrozdanovicMar 15, 2016
With a bare minimum amount of suspense, and a screenplay that needs too much work for one that has so many long stretches of silence, this film leaves you with too many reasons not to care about it. Read full review
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