God's Creatures
A24 | Release Date: September 30, 2022 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
69
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 30 Critic Reviews
Positive:
24
Mixed:
6
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
CineVueTom DugginsMar 28, 2023
A film that wields its simple premise with devastating impact. Read full review
90
TheWrapKatie WalshSep 28, 2022
The filmmaking craft on display and the control over the storytelling and suspense is exceptional. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesSep 29, 2022
For all the fierceness of the elements, co-directors Anna Rose Holmer and Saela Davis, who previously collaborated on the well-regarded 2015 indie film The Fits, are in no rush here. Read full review
88
LarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenOct 2, 2022
Watson is reliably sturdy in the lead role—you can see her panicked conscience in her eyes—but it’s Franciosi who grabs the film by its shoulders and turns it into a searing, singular experience. Read full review
85
SlashfilmLex BriscusoMay 28, 2022
You simply don't know how you're going to handle a situation until you are in it; until you've dug yourself a grave you can't get out of. In God's Creatures, this inquiry, and the way it forces the audience to look at themselves as harshly as its characters, is not only the film's sturdy foundation but its greatest emotional asset. Read full review
83
Original-CinKaren GordonSep 30, 2022
Anchored by a superb performance by Emily Watson, God’s Creatures is a small, quiet film that packs a surprising punch. Read full review
80
The Irish TimesDonald ClarkeMar 22, 2023
God’s Creatures doesn’t quite manage its daring blend of maritime realism and Greek catastrophe. The huge final gesture feels just a little too heightened for this otherwise everyday world. The effort was, however, worth making. A bitter, unforgiving entertainment. Read full review
80
Screen RantGraeme GuttmannSep 29, 2022
An unnerving rural gothic tale with two quietly fierce performances that make the film's slow burn to its climax worth the wait. Read full review
80
Total FilmNeil SmithMay 19, 2022
Atlantic cod and oyster beds provide a pungent backdrop for this effective fillet of atmospheric psychological drama. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattOct 5, 2022
As an acting showcase, Creatures is more than admirable; as a tourism ad for Ireland, untenable. As a movie experience, alas, it's both intriguing and teasingly incomplete. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubJack SmartOct 4, 2022
Two powerful moments punctuate this film’s conclusion: one abrupt and unambiguous, one mournful and contemplative. Crowley’s story ultimately shifts to a perspective Hollywood stories don’t often empathize with, hinting at a breaking of cycles, a kind of triumph in the face of both man and nature’s adversity. Read full review
75
ObserverEmily ZemlerSep 28, 2022
It’s a story that hits hard, like the dark ocean waves that surge in the background of many scenes. Read full review
75
The Film StageRory O'ConnorMay 28, 2022
Making every moment grim is to risk over-saturation, but Davis and Holmer’s deft direction keeps things compelling here, skilfully leaving plenty of things unsaid and with the confidence to allow key events to happen offscreen or in the margins. Read full review
71
Paste MagazineJesse HassengerSep 28, 2022
God’s Creatures doesn’t have quite the same enchanting, unnerving mystery of The Fits, where a girls’ dance troupe begins to suffer unexplained seizures. The hardscrabble working-class details here inevitably feel a bit more familiar, whether from American kitchen-sink indies or Irish plays. Read full review
70
Rolling StoneK. Austin CollinsOct 3, 2022
God’s Creatures is a quiet movie, but its emotional drift is violent; Watson and Franciosi are particularly effective at giving us women being swept up into the currents. Read full review
70
TimeStephanie ZacharekSep 30, 2022
God’s Creatures is a story about women doing the best they can by one another in a place where the odds are stacked against them. It’s a chilly film but not a heartless one; sometimes the nature of forgiveness is captured best in a small sliver of light. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesNoel MurraySep 30, 2022
Co-directors Anna Rose Holmer and Saela Davis (who previously collaborated on the excellent mood-piece “The Fits”) create a strong sense of rhythm and texture, capturing the feel of this town and how it holds its inhabitants tightly. Read full review
70
The New York TimesNatalia WinkelmanSep 29, 2022
God’s Creatures is ultimately a movie about the collision between a mother’s fidelity and her moral conscience, and Watson is terrific at telegraphing how these instincts grind against each other to terrifying ends. Read full review
70
IGNTara Bennett Sep 27, 2022
God’s Creatures explores generational family gender dynamics in an extremely slow-burn way, but it has plenty of rewards for patient viewers. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyMay 28, 2022
The evocative sense of a place frozen in time and the raw feelings behind the family dynamic ultimately carry the film Read full review
70
Screen DailyFionnuala HalliganMay 28, 2022
Emily Watson leads the cast delivering, yet again, a stinging reminder of her talent. Read full review
70
VarietyGuy LodgeMay 28, 2022
The film’s formal flourishes are modest, centering the actors ahead of all else. Read full review
67
IndieWireKate ErblandMay 28, 2022
This is Aileen’s story and when “God’s Creatures” makes the odd choice to turn away from her just as things are reaching a fever pitch, it dilutes the power of both her performance and the film itself. She’s gone mad, but God’s Creatures isn’t willing to follow her there, perhaps the craziest choice of all. Read full review
67
The PlaylistGregory EllwoodMay 28, 2022
While the entire cast is superb, it’s the rich performances from Watson and Mescal who elevate the material beyond that aforementioned air of familiarity. Read full review
60
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeApr 5, 2023
This solid but familiar drama is acted with conviction; Watson and Mescal are equally compelling. But there’s only so much a quality performance can do – and the film leans heavily on shots of Watson’s troubled face – when the material is a well-meaning but dourly rote exploration of cycles of violence. Read full review
60
Little White LiesDavid JenkinsMar 31, 2023
There is something a little boilerplate in how the film is structured which prevents it from offering anything particularly original. Were the visuals not so gorgeous, you might even see this as material primed for the small rather than big screen. Read full review
60
EmpireHelen O'HaraMar 27, 2023
It’s bleak and understated, but strong performances and a thorny moral maze give this considerable power despite the gloomy skies. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawMay 28, 2022
It is a tough story, told with conviction. Read full review
60
Time OutLou ThomasMay 20, 2022
Family traumas and terrible lies permeate co-directors Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer’s drama, which is given a bedrock of emotional authenticity by screenwriter Shane Crowley and is exceptionally acted. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comOdie HendersonSep 30, 2022
God’s Creatures is yet another movie about a mother realizing too slowly that her son may be a dangerous sociopath. Screenwriter Shane Crowley’s thin characterizations do little to make this tired trope worth revisiting, instead opting to shroud the film in mystery regarding its central crime. Read full review
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