The Columnist
Film Movement | Release Date: May 7, 2021 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
60
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 13 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
4
Negative:
1
Watch Now
Stream On
Stream On

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
Film ThreatLorry KiktaApr 8, 2021
The Columnist is that rare mix of comedy and horror that isn’t too cheesy or over the top. Read full review
80
Little White LiesAnton BitelApr 5, 2022
Director Ivo van Aart and writer Daan Windhorst weave the darkest satire. In essence their scenario pushes at the same boundaries between what is acceptable and unacceptable as Anna’s campaign, even as Femke’s vendetta shifts the argument from merely discursive, theoretical terms to the realm of the viscerally physical. Read full review
80
CineVueMartyn ConterioApr 8, 2021
This film throws toxic male aggression right back at them. Read full review
77
Paste MagazineNatalia KeoganMay 6, 2021
The Columnist argues that silence can be more violent and political than speech. Read full review
75
The Film StageJared MobarakMay 6, 2021
The result is entertaining satire with a dark edge of relatable excitement. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubKatie RifeApr 8, 2021
Overall, this is a sophisticated take on over-the-top material, arch but not quite Serial Mom-style campy. Read full review
67
Original-CinThom ErnstMay 6, 2021
Despite the film's willingness to playfully stir unrest, it never reaches its full potential, and the promise of confronting abusers who hide behind avatars gets second billing to a less exciting defense of free speech. And yet, The Columnist works because of Katja Herbers’ performance. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comMonica CastilloMay 7, 2021
The Columnist hits more like a one-note horror movie, less intellectually deep than its original introduction. Read full review
60
The New York TimesBeatrice LoayzaMay 6, 2021
The Columnist doesn’t seem to care about making a cogent statement about feminist revenge or online culture. Perhaps it just needed an excuse to carry out its bloody high jinks, which are decent fun in their own right. Read full review
58
IndieWireKate ErblandMay 4, 2021
Van Aart and Windhorst make brief forays into interrogating the morality of what Femke is doing; they are fascinating and layered, and in too short supply. Hebers bridges many gaps with a fluid performance that moves between zippy joy and stone-faced sociopathy. Read full review
40
The GuardianPhil HoadApr 8, 2021
Ivo van Aart’s movie gives full rein to that desire and is snappily directed – but in the end there is something self-satisfied and sententious about his feminist revenge flick. Read full review
40
CineVueChristopher MachellApr 8, 2021
Fun, violent and cathartic, but with an air of arch self-satisfaction that misses the complexity of the debate it constructs around itself. Read full review
37
Washington PostAnn HornadayMay 4, 2021
Unfortunately, The Columnist doesn’t live up to its initial promise: What might have been a trenchant cultural critique couched within poisonously playful genre exercise becomes an indulgence in undifferentiated rage for its own graphic sake. Read full review
More From This Movie

60 Critic Reviews

tbd User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL