Paradise Hills
Samuel Goldwyn Films | Release Date: October 25, 2019 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
49
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
9
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
The Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinOct 24, 2019
Words can't do justice to the truly lavish sets and costumes on display here which are so dazzling, intricate and bizarre they serve as a useful distraction from the awkward dialogue and plot holes. Read full review
60
TheWrapCarlos AguilarOct 24, 2019
Blending dreamlike locations found in the real world with a dollop of visual effects, Waddington reaches the desired effect of a universe where technology and fantasy interact. Her cocktail of ideas yields a magical sci-fi thriller with an empowering edge, which, though imperfect due to its ambitions, puts women in charge of their own destinies. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineSteven ScaifeOct 24, 2019
Alice Waddington’s sci-fi fantasy never finds a cohesive story wrapper for its themes. Read full review
50
VarietyDennis HarveyOct 24, 2019
If you’ve ever wanted a mashup of Disney princess movies and “The Stepford Wives” or imagined “The Handmaid’s Tale” as a swoony YA fantasy, Paradise Hills is absolutely the movie for you. Read full review
50
The New York TimesManohla DargisOct 24, 2019
Despite her shaky handle on the movie’s ideas and the appealing if uneven performances, Waddington holds your attention with visual beauty and humor. Read full review
42
The PlaylistJonathan ChristianNov 1, 2019
If Waddington’s fairy tale harbored any substance to counterbalance its external beauty, it might have established itself as a pleasingly subversive piece of pop art. Yet, despite its commendable goals, Paradise Hills will likely be lost to time. Read full review
42
The Film StageChristian GallichioOct 31, 2019
While always visually interesting, the plot fails to live up to the sheer detail of costume and set design. Waddington proves herself to be a stylish director. If only next time she can find a better script. Read full review
42
IndieWireKate ErblandOct 24, 2019
Paradise Hills posits that its entire world is a shell game built on outdated ideas and a resistance to originality, but it’s the film itself that’s most woefully unable to ever go anywhere new. Read full review
40
New York Magazine (Vulture)Alison WillmoreOct 31, 2019
It’s a carefully crafted world of hyperfemininity intended to be as ominously smothering as it is pretty, and if the story that Paradise Hills, the directorial debut of Spanish filmmaker Alice Waddington, told were as sharp as its visuals, it’d have a guaranteed future as a cult classic. Instead, it’s a disappointingly half-baked riff on The Stepford Wives whose brand of feminism feels more 1970s than 2010s. Read full review
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