The Ninth Configuration
Warner Bros. | Release Date: February 29, 1980 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
46
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 8 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
3
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
CineVueAdam Lowes
A resolutely offbeat film which offers a richly rewarding and affecting viewing experience if you’re willing to embrace it’s esoteric flourishes. Read full review
75
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)
The supporting cast is excellent, especially Scott Wilson as an astronaut who flipped out on the launching pad and aborted his mission. Offbeat, visionary, and challenging. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderDave Kehr
Demented disquisitions on Catholic theology vie for supremacy with camp humor and horror-movie conventions, leading to a conclusion that somehow manages to conflate The Wild Angels and The Passion of Joan of Arc. Read full review
60
EmpireAdam Smith
Heavy but fascinating creepy drama, that lacks pace in the first half but has some genuinely thrilling moments. Read full review
50
VarietyStaff (Not Credited)
The Ninth Configuration is an often confusing story concerning the effects of a new 'doctor' on an institution for crazed military men which manages to effectively tie itself together in the end. Problem is the William Peter Blatty film takes entirely too long to explain itself. Read full review
38
Chicago TribuneRobert Blau
The Ninth Configuration is neither frightening nor funny nor inspiring, although it strains to be all of these. [30 Sep 1985, p.3C]
30
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
It takes on the overtones not of an awful movie, but of an awful play. Read full review
30
Time OutStaff (Not Credited)
A kind of Invasion of the Body Snatchers meets Catch-22, or maybe Fuller's Shock Corridor set as an episode from The Twilight Zone. Sounds interesting enough, but isn't. Read full review
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