Primal Fear
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: April 3, 1996 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
47
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
9
Negative:
3
Watch Now
Stream On
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
58
Entertainment WeeklyKen Tucker
Gere taps into his charismatic-weasel mode, but director Gregory Hoblit fills the big screen with excellent TV actors (Andre Braugher, John Mahoney, Maura Tierney) and then gives them nothing interesting to do. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleAlison Macor
Norton's performance and the well-paced tension preceding the movie's climactic sequence provide an entertaining if slightly predictable thriller. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Non Credited)
The sky-high sleaze quotient -- lascivious priests, amateur porn movies, teenage hustlers and institutionalized corruption of every kind -- ought to guarantee fun for all, but heavy messages keep poking through and spoiling everything. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Despite high production standards and a slick advertising campaign, Primal Fear is as trite and routine as any made-for-TV courtroom drama. Read full review
50
TimeRichard Schickel
Diverting without being fully absorbing, this is a film best appreciated as an exercise in--shall we say it?--Primal Gere. [15 Apr 1996, p.100]
50
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Semiabsorbing. Read full review
50
VarietyTodd McCarthy
The major jolt is saved for the very end but, like much else in the film, it is overexplained and underlined when more simplicity and quiet would have provided the revelation with the power of a depth charge. Read full review
40
Washington PostDesson Thomson
The special twist-which Paramount Pictures has implored critics not to divulge-redefines the story completely. It also ruins everything. Read full review
40
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
Pared down to a farfetched plot and paper-thin motives, the story relies on an overload of tangential subplots to keep it looking busy. [3 Apr 1996, p.C15] Read full review
More From This Movie

47 Critic Reviews

8.3 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