The Ordeal
Palm Pictures | Release Date: August 11, 2006 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
52
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 12 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
6
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
It's an intensely crafted and genuinely memorable horror film from a striking new talent. Read full review
75
New York PostV.A. Musetto
Director-co-writer Fabrice du Welz has taken a clichéd premise and infused it with a stylish perversity that should have horror fans squealing with delight. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen Johnson
What sells this movie is the realistic attention to detail and the bravura direction of Fabrice Du Welz, who draws a gut-wrenching performance from Lucas, who cries, squeals and screams with the best of them. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
A stylish, nasty, very well-done Belgian horror movie. Read full review
60
EmpireDamon Wise
A black comedy with flashes of genius, but let down by a sharp slide into chaos. Read full review
60
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
Calvaire is pompous, but not without talent or shivers. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterFrank Scheck
By the time it reaches its final act, the film rivals its American counterparts in intensity if not quite in explicit violence. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
This French variation on the backwoods horror movie proves that even a little thematic complexity in the early scenes can yield a substantial payoff when things get going. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
An odd blend of recycled American exploitation movie tropes and snarky Euro-art film attitude. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
A Belgian "Deliverance," Calvaire (The Ordeal) not only treats us to a few good scares, it also teaches us that Europe has its own rednecks. Read full review
30
Village VoiceMichael Atkinson
The movie hardly has enough beef on its bones to make a meal. The very notion that movies about torture are considered "horror," and are more profitable now per foot of celluloid than any other type of independent film, is what's qualmy. Read full review
30
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
It takes so long to get going and fails to generate the necessary suspense to keep viewers engaged, that the horrific final act is too little, too late, while at the same time nearly being much too much. Read full review
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