The German Doctor
Samuel Goldwyn Films | Release Date: April 25, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
62
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
7
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Portland OregonianMarc MohanApr 22, 2014
The subtle menace of the would-be geneticist of the Master Race mingles with ordinary pre-teen foreboding to create a riveting cocktail of unease. Read full review
83
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerApr 25, 2014
Puenzo may have started out to make something more ambitious than an intelligent, real-world horror thriller, but what she did achieve is still commendable. The melodramatics in this movie may be cooked up, but the fears it conjures are very real. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyMissy SchwartzApr 23, 2014
The family he preys on is a tad too unsuspecting to be believable, but the film still hits notes of deep tension. And the cast is superb, especially Àlex Brendemühl as the “Angel of Death” himself. Read full review
80
NPRBob MondelloApr 26, 2014
The German Doctor is never showy or melodramatic — just a kind of true-life horror story about the helpful, soft-spoken monster in our midst. Read full review
75
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanMay 22, 2014
Puenzo has a knack for plumbing the heads and hearts of teenage girls. The director coaxes a mesmerizing, unmannered performance out of Bado, who is making her feature-film debut. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comChristy LemireApr 25, 2014
Early on, Alex Brendemuhl gives a quietly unnerving performance as Mengele, a polite and meticulously dressed gentleman living in 1960 Patagonia. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleApr 24, 2014
A smart and unsettling atmospheric thriller. Read full review
75
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreApr 22, 2014
Writer-director Lucia Puenzo, adapting her own historical novel, concocts a disquieting and chilling thriller out of what might be a lost chapter in the infamous career of Nazi Doctor Joseph Mengele. Read full review
70
The New York TimesManohla DargisApr 24, 2014
The Argentine writer and director Lucía Puenzo, shooting in wide screen, takes an effective, largely low-key approach to her fictionalization of Mengele’s time in South America. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesBill StametsAug 14, 2014
Puenzo’s initial premise is more promising, though, than her sensational tone. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineElise NakhnikianApr 22, 2014
In Lucía Puenzo's film, things always feel off balance even as the plot points click all too neatly into place. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterDeborah YoungApr 22, 2014
The story-telling is a little too pat to deliver the surprise moments that reveal character or sweep audiences up emotionally. The film remains a creepy story with a lot of morbid fascination, set off by the captivating young Florencia Bado in her first screen role. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyApr 24, 2014
Nestled within the movie’s overtly schematic design are strong performances—namely, newcomer Bado—and a few details about German-Argentinean life which are, frankly, more interesting than the question of Helmut’s past. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenMay 14, 2014
Writer/director Lucía Puenzo (XXY) has a nice feel for her characters and, especially, the viewpoint of adolescent Lilith. But by giving away the story’s big reveal at the very beginning, it infuses the film with a potent sense of dread rather than suspense. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesSheri LindenApr 24, 2014
The setting abounds in beauty, and the storytelling abounds in obvious cues that mute the intended suspense, if not the horror. Read full review
50
The DissolveMike D'AngeloApr 23, 2014
There’s just not much of real import in this quasi-historical semi-thriller. Read full review
40
VarietyPeter DebrugeApr 22, 2014
As horror scenarios go, Puenzo’s setup takes the most heavy-handed approach possible. Read full review
40
Village VoiceNick SchagerApr 22, 2014
Puenzo dramatizes her material with an overcooked sense of import that generates scant suspense. Read full review
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