Goat
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: September 23, 2016 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
64
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
5
Negative:
2
Watch Now
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
ConsequenceJustin GerberJan 29, 2016
Goat deals with masculinity, fraternities, and PTSD in equal doses, covering all of them with brutal precision and most importantly, success. Read full review
80
Time OutZach ShevichSep 22, 2016
James Franco makes a brief, charged-up appearance as Mitch, an alum of the fraternity, who laments that his wife and baby keep him away from booze. Schnetzer delivers a quietly devastating performance in the lead role. Read full review
80
Screen DailyAnthony KaufmanJan 27, 2016
Goat is a potent reminder that even traditional gender roles can be rife with angst, anxiety and devastating social pressures. Read full review
80
The GuardianLanre BakareJan 27, 2016
The film is a pointed, astute and unflinching look at unbridled machismo and its consequences. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyJan 27, 2016
This taut adaptation of Brad Land's 2004 memoir is less a dramatized depiction of headline-grabbing hazing tragedies than a penetrating consideration of the psychology of violence and its role in defining manhood. Read full review
80
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeJan 27, 2016
Along with an ending that some will find either enigmatic or unsatisfying, the movie could benefit from some minor re-editing. But there’s still much that works here, from the chillingly droning score to a uniformly strong cast. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyJoe McGovernSep 23, 2016
Schnetzer, whose stock is sure to soon rise, is a shape-shifter — you’d never look at this gay Irish 1980s activist in Pride and conclude that it was the same person — but in only a few roles so far, he’s shown an extraordinary ability to portray both vulnerability and the mask screwed on to hide it. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsSep 22, 2016
There's a numbing aspect to Goat. But the best of it, I'd say, is honorably harsh; the subject should be difficult to watch, or the filmmakers aren't being honest about the way we operate as a culture, and what we allow and encourage our young men (and the young women who suffer the fallout) to put up with, still. Read full review
75
Washington PostStephanie MerrySep 22, 2016
Goat doesn’t shy from showing us monstrous behavior, which might be more than some viewers can bear. This isn’t an easy film to watch. But it’s even harder to forget. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter TraversSep 22, 2016
Goat means to shake you, and does it ever. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Sep 21, 2016
For once, the frat boys are depicted not as lovable dolts or harmless pranksters, but as sadistic bullies. Likewise, their excessive initiation rites are played not for lowbrow comedy, but for something closer to horror. This is basically the anti-"Animal House." Read full review
75
IndieWireEric KohnJan 28, 2016
Goat scrutinizes an aspect of American culture often relegated to punchlines and magnifies the darker reality beneath. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesMichael RechtshaffenSep 22, 2016
It might have set out to convey the disturbingly sadistic nature of institutional brotherhood, but it’s the familial variety with which “Goat” explores something ultimately more compelling. Read full review
70
New York Daily NewsAmy RoweSep 21, 2016
Few films take a look at the American male college tradition through such a dark, dramatic lens as Goat. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleJosh KupeckiSep 21, 2016
The film is another near-miss talking point in an endless deluge of reminders that this system creates a breeding ground for toxic masculinity. Read full review
67
The PlaylistNoel MurrayJan 27, 2016
The differences between Goat and a Very Special Episode of some Disney Channel sitcom are, at times, limited to the amount of on-screen puking. That said, Neel, Roberts, and Green do have a good feel for the vagaries of bro culture’s macho codes. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzSep 23, 2016
The film's hazing scenes evoke the boot camp sequences in "Full Metal Jacket" but without the merciless coldness, because the film's hero, Brad (newcomer Ben Schnetzer, in a career-making star turn) desperately wants to belong to the organization. Read full review
63
Boston GlobePeter KeoughSep 22, 2016
John Landis’s “Animal House” (1978) this is not. Read full review
More From This Movie

64 Critic Reviews

7.3 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 77 Project Hail Mary
2 75 Send Help
3 73 Hoppers
4 71 The Sheep Detectives
5 68 Crime 101
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL