The Lie
Blumhouse Productions | Release Date (Streaming): October 6, 2020 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
45
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 13 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
4
Negative:
5
Watch Now
Stream On
Buy on

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
The GuardianPhil HoadOct 6, 2020
Sud – with plenty of inexorable tracking shots through the family’s chilly condo – efficiently tightens the screw as the twitchy mother and indulgent father first bicker, then are doomed together by their blood allegiances. Read full review
70
VarietyOwen GleibermanOct 7, 2020
The Lie is far from a total success, but it has enough tension and talent to make you hope that Blumhouse keeps aiming a quiet thriller or two at adults. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinOct 6, 2020
Playing off intense, uncomfortably tight close-ups where the actors show off finely tuned displays of flickering emotions with long shots that emphasize the plush interiors and tidy suburban gardens that surround them, Sud ratchets up the tension expertly. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineChuck BowenOct 5, 2020
At the heart of Veena Sud’s film is the raw material for a potentially ingenious satirical domestic thriller. Read full review
60
EmpireAl HornerOct 5, 2020
A watchable tale of parental dread, propelled by a strong conceit and sustained tension — but let down by its outlandish twist. Read full review
42
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Oct 20, 2020
After roughly 90 minutes of unbelievable behavior and botched suspense, the twist ending is too audaciously ridiculous to entirely resist. You’ll scream, but not in fear. Read full review
40
Screen DailyTim GriersonOct 8, 2020
Audiences familiar with this kind of story — and the inevitable complications that ensue once characters try to hide a brutal crime — will be ahead of the overheated storytelling. Read full review
40
SlashfilmChris EvangelistaOct 6, 2020
The Lie probably could’ve worked in a shorter form – a half-hour episode of a TV show, perhaps. Read full review
38
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliOct 7, 2020
Even at the attractive price of “free,” it’s not worth it because watching it requires 97 minutes and that’s not time well spent. Read full review
38
RogerEbert.comNick AllenOct 6, 2020
Very little about this movie works, in spite of a certain ambition in telling a story based solely on unfathomable decisions. Read full review
33
The Film StageJared MobarakOct 6, 2020
Eventually you can’t help but unironically wonder if Sud intended to make a comedy because the mood swings and incredulity only become more and more unbelievable. Read full review
33
IndieWireKate ErblandOct 6, 2020
Sud’s film is a master class in bad decision-making, improbable choices, and overwrought acting. Read full review
30
The New York TimesGlenn KennyOct 6, 2020
This is a whiffed effort at an all too familiar subgenre: the ostensibly dark, searing human drama undercut by the fact that all the humans in it are boorish idiots. Read full review
More From This Movie

45 Critic Reviews

4.0 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