In a Valley of Violence
Focus World | Release Date: October 21, 2016 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
64
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
8
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Slant MagazineChuck BowenOct 17, 2016
The film communicates a sporadic sense of violation—of pastiche unpredictably giving way to a raw and primordially intimate emotional realm. Read full review
80
We Got This CoveredMatt DonatoOct 20, 2016
In A Valley Of Violence is built on intense shootouts, vicious criminals, crooked lawmen and everything that makes Westerns exciting, but its entertainment value comes from a tonal brew of all the right tonally-combative spices. Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsAmy RoweOct 19, 2016
A film that's simultaneously heart-wrenching, hilarious and horrific. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovOct 19, 2016
Suffice to say, this departure from West’s usual run of seriously freaky spook shows is a brilliant piece of work, cordite-scented sorrow, and last-laugh gags stabbed through with a discernible lust for life. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyJoe McGovernOct 24, 2016
Two key aspects elevate the whole experience above its modest trappings. First, the dark, beautiful musical score by composer Jeff Grace works excellently as a lush, hummable homage to Ennio Morricone, while still feeling very true to West’s horror movie roots. And second, in the film’s best performance, John Travolta appears as the frustrated father of Ransome’s bad boy. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyOct 21, 2016
In a Valley of Violence, written and directed by Ti West, starts out slow, picks up speed, and finally launches itself into a screwball standoff, but always with a slapstick hilarious energy. Read full review
75
The PlaylistCharlie SchmidlinJun 15, 2016
With an enjoyable atmosphere, solid performances from Hawke, Travolta, Farmiga, and one gifted canine, In A Valley of Violence ends up a solid entry in a genre gradually fading from mainstream cinema. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesMichael RechtshaffenOct 20, 2016
The end result admittedly favors tone over substance, accentuated by Jeff Grace’s playful, mock Morricone score and character turns that affectionately flirt with conventions without giving way to outright parody. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzOct 20, 2016
What makes In a Valley of Violence a notch better than a simple genre exercise is West’s sense of fun. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeJun 15, 2016
Ti West's In a Valley of Violence plays like a grim, Eastwood-style genre revival before some conspicuous Tarantino-influenced humor infects its climactic showdown. Read full review
68
TheWrapSam FragosoOct 19, 2016
Ultimately, In a Valley of Violence thrives is in its final 20 minutes. In one of the more impressive sudden upticks in quality by a film in 2016, West seems to finally figure out what kind of a movie he wanted to make: a comedy. The concluding combat sequences are occupied by physical and witty gags. Read full review
60
TimeStephanie ZacharekOct 27, 2016
The movie’s ending is little more than a fizzle. But wow, what a dog. The extraordinary animal actor Jumpy, a border collie mix with fabulous speckled legs and alert triangles for ears, listens attentively to every word from his master’s mouth, comprehending nothing yet understanding everything. Read full review
60
VarietyAndrew BarkerJun 15, 2016
We never get more than a glimmer of personality within these well-worn character types, and West never digs beneath them to offer any sort of commentary or criticism. Read full review
60
The GuardianNigel M SmithJun 15, 2016
As the violence escalates, an absurdist dose of humor is added to the mix, injecting the film with a distinctly modern sensibility that is welcome and does not let up. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyOct 20, 2016
A by-the-numbers spaghetti Western that’s kind of slow and uneventful—and the world has no shortage of those. Read full review
58
The Film StageMichael SnydelJun 15, 2016
In a Valley of Violence feigns to be a revisionist western, but it’s frustratingly stuck in a place of inevitability in the last half. It’s an excellently-made imitation, but coming from a director whose made a career of tilting the familiar, it’s a disappointing detour. Read full review
58
IndieWireDavid EhrlichJun 15, 2016
It’s frustrating that West often scores with his few modest attempts to stamp his own imprint on the genre, as those flashes of fun hint at what this movie could have been. Read full review
50
Village VoiceApril WolfeOct 22, 2016
A slow approach requires careful atmosphere-building, and these days West is actually stronger at writing funny dialogue than he is at creating atmosphere. Read full review
50
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisOct 20, 2016
Mr. West retains his signature restraint and slow-burn approach to brutality. Missing, however, is his typically skillful manipulation of tension, partly because his tone veers so often from jokey to reverential, from winking at the western to making a sacrament of it. Read full review
38
The Seattle TimesSoren AndersenOct 20, 2016
Writer-director Ti West brings not an iota of originality to his handling of this material. Plods, the picture does, through its predictable paces. Read full review
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