Joshua
Fox Searchlight Pictures | Release Date: July 6, 2007 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
69
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews
Positive:
21
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The Hollywood ReporterDuane Byrge
Superbly crafted psychological thriller. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
There's drama here, and moments of genuine tension, but there's fun, too, which is the point of a movie like this. To Ratliff's credit, he never lets the considerable craft get in the way. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Joshua does grow a bit repetitious (it lacks the cathartic climaxes of a horror film), yet it has cool and savvy fun with your fears. Read full review
83
Seattle Post-IntelligencerGianni Truzzi
Director George Ratliff plays pitch-perfect on the tautly wound strings of our innermost fears that nothing -- not love, wealth or intelligence -- can protect us from the monsters we harbor. Read full review
80
VarietyTodd McCarthy
A creepy-little-kid suspenser decked out with sufficient class to lend it a certain distinction. Read full review
80
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
Only viewers with some appreciation for the odd, bloodless character of moneyed family life in New York will really understand how hilarious and deadly accurate this movie is. But then again, New York parents are the last people who will want to see it. Read full review
80
The New York TimesJeannette Catsoulis
Poised self-consciously between art and entertainment, Joshua offers imaginative staging and some superb performances. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
It should be mandatory viewing for right-to-lifers and prospective parents as well as fans of creepy, crawly filmmaking. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
To lump in this smart, subtle, deviously effective thriller with "The Omen" or "The Good Son" is neither fair nor entirely accurate. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Terrifically sneaky psychological thriller, which takes great pleasure in watching carefully constructed family values come tumbling down. Read full review
75
New York PostLou Lumenick
Joshua falls a bit flat at the end, but overall it delivers some genuine old-school chills - something that was missing when Macaulay Culkin played a similar role in "The Good Son." Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
First-time director and co-writer George Ratliff skirts, but never quite crosses, the line into absurdity. Read full review
75
PremiereGlenn Kenny
One of the most diabolical things about this psychological thriller is just how open to interpretation it is. Read full review
70
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
A nifty psychological thriller--part "Bad Seed," part "Rosemary's Baby"--that deals in a manner both comic and creepy with the parental anxieties of a Manhattan haute yuppie family. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
Part of the fun of Joshua is the skill with which Ratliff juggles horror and realism, feeding one into the other until we become part of the unraveling of the Cairns' perfect life. Read full review
70
Film ThreatJamie Tipps
Even though the story covers familiar ground, it provides enough tension and humor in the presentation to make it worth watching Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesCarina Chocano
Seductive and creepy, perfect for a hot summer night when nobody has the energy to pose a lot of questions. Read full review
70
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
Harrowing, controlled and diabolically self-assured, Joshua leaves filmgoers teetering on their own emotional precipice, wondering just where pathos ends and pathology begins. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Ratliff fails to deliver on any of these ideas and the ending falters badly, but as horror flicks go this is both smart and suspenseful. Read full review
63
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
A painfully slow psychological thriller. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Jennie Punter
Creepy, cool and loaded with style. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
It's regrettable that Joshua veers into outlandish "Omen/Bad Seed/Good Son" territory when the real terror lies much closer to home. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
So what's wrong with Joshua? Two things: The audience is ahead of the movie, and the movie never catches up. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Edelstein
The line between eeriness and tedium is fatally fluid. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
Joshua is the sort of movie in which nobody does what you would do: like spank or demand an extra-strength time out. Read full review
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