The Other Lamb
IFC Films | Release Date (Streaming): April 3, 2020 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
64
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
12
Mixed:
6
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
IndieWireRyan LattanzioApr 4, 2020
Though hardly subtle in its metaphoric intent, this story of a rural cult of all women, segregated into “sisters” and “wives,” led by a single powerful man makes for an unnervingly effective thriller dripping with atmosphere and foreshadowing. Read full review
80
VoxAlissa WilkinsonApr 3, 2020
Chilly, precisely designed scenes make for a sharp juxtaposition with images of blood, violence, and birth. And the feeling that something very wrong is going on here is inscribed into every exacting, unnerving shot. Read full review
80
Screen DailyAllan HunterApr 2, 2020
Szumowska’s command of craft and a torrent of unsettling imagery will enhance her reputation as a visionary director. Read full review
80
CineVueChristopher MachellApr 2, 2020
A visceral, Atwoodian journey, The Other Lamb is as much an examination of narcissism and the existing structures of gendered power as it is of the limits of faith. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterDeborah YoungApr 2, 2020
Malgorzata’s command of her medium makes the film a pleasure to watch. Read full review
80
SlashfilmMarshall ShafferApr 2, 2020
As told through Szumowska’s highly symbolic aesthetic, The Other Lamb makes for a chilling glance at the strange pull that cults exert on their members and how their values imprint themselves on their members in irrevocable ways. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleApr 2, 2020
Directed by the Polish filmmaker Malgorzata Szumowska, The Other Lamb is slow-moving but never dull, because the world of it is so distinct and odd. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comMonica CastilloApr 2, 2020
As wonderful as The Other Lamb appears on screen and its cast embodies the story’s tension, it feels as if there is missing something from the final picture. The movie is slight in its exploration of dark subjects like cults, inter-generational dynamics and abuse, without coming to any kind of conclusion or closure. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreApr 1, 2020
It lacks the shocks of “Midsommer,” the perverse comedy of “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood,” and the violence of “The Wicker Man.” But it’s still a good yarn, cautionary, allegorical, well-acted and stoically played out to its inevitable conclusion. Read full review
70
PolygonKaren HanApr 3, 2020
This would-be tale of female empowerment spends too much time worrying about visuals rather than the story it’s telling, and it loses any sense of catharsis as a result. Read full review
70
SlashfilmMarisa MirabalApr 2, 2020
Cassidy’s performance is magnetic, and she exudes a power that all girls can relate to at various stages of their lives. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Apr 6, 2020
Set in some indeterminate time and place rarely betrayed by modern technology or dress, The Other Lamb mostly operates in the realm of allegory. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinApr 6, 2020
The idea is that vulnerable women will give up their autonomy — their very identities — to such an entitled being, which I found a stretch but which certainly has historical precedents. It’s best to view The Other Lamb as a rite-of-passage fantasia with a gossamer heroine. Read full review
60
The GuardianBenjamin LeeApr 2, 2020
Gliding close to genre tropes but moving more comfortably as an uneasy drama about the alarming power of blind faith, The Other Lamb is an intriguing mood piece, strikingly made and well-performed if not quite as powerful as it could have been. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangApr 2, 2020
As a study in atmospheric seclusion, The Other Lamb is beautifully crafted enough to hold your attention, but you can’t shake the feeling that Selah’s next chapter — and Cassidy’s — might well be the more interesting movie. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerApr 10, 2020
It's not that there isn't a solid narrative tradition of rebellion against patriarchal cults behind this, one that has been told before in seminal retellings like Danny Boyle's adaptation of Mr. Wroe's Virgins, and it is one that gains different meaning through each contemporary lens. It's that The Other Lamb takes it for granted that the audience understands charismatic sex cults, and then just plays through the tropes. There's a lack of freshness. Read full review
50
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisApr 2, 2020
Existing outside of time and place, The Other Lamb is a gorgeous revenge fable with an excess of atmosphere and zero subtlety — a mallet wrapped in gauze and girlish laughter. Read full review
40
Little White LiesLillian CrawfordDec 29, 2021
Rather than critiquing practices it purports to condemn, The Other Lamb becomes party to the evils it depicts. Read full review
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