The Scary of Sixty-First
Utopia | Release Date: December 3, 2021 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
48
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 11 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
6
Negative:
1

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
IndieWireChristian BlauveltOct 12, 2021
Equal parts ’70s-style paranoia thriller, Polanski-infused apartment horror, “Eyes Wide Shut” homage, and empathetic critical commentary on the conspiracy theories craze, this hallucinatory pastiche is even more than the sum of its cinematically riveting parts. Read full review
80
VarietyGuy LodgeOct 12, 2021
A brash, gutsy, morbidly funny first feature from actor-filmmaker-podcaster Dasha Nekrasova, it runs on a premise that could have been written as a dare, or a prank. Read full review
78
Paste MagazineLex BriscusoDec 20, 2021
It never apologizes for what it is or what it wants to try and do, and that—along with the twists and turns of how the plot unfolds, as wild and nasty and unorthodox as it (and the performances that anchor it) can be—is worth the price of admission. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineDavid Robb
In a way, the film feels like a true heir to the petulant, low-budget horror cinema of the ‘70s and ‘80s. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubAnya StanleyDec 1, 2021
Nekrasova borrows from the best, courting comparisons to more highbrow pictures like Eyes Wide Shut and The Tenant. But she clearly started with an aim to get a rise out of people, and working backwards from there resulted in some slapdash storytelling. Read full review
50
Original-CinLiam LaceyDec 17, 2021
Dasha Nekrasova’s bored gamine onscreen presence is quite funny (she suggests a jaded Emma Watson). But much of the acting here is atrocious and the slash-and-splatter ending disappointingly conventional. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoDec 3, 2021
In the end, I was left feeling like The Scary of Sixty-First was all set-up and no follow-through. Sure, it gets bloody and crazy in ways that will probably turn off some viewers, but it doesn't feel feel like it has something to say about our conspiracy theory culture. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesNoel MurrayDec 2, 2021
This film offers a flurry of provocations and up-to-the-minute cultural references that never fully connect. It keeps coming to the brink of saying something clearly and furiously about sex, power and class before retreating back to the simpler path of raw shock value. Read full review
40
The GuardianCath ClarkeMar 2, 2022
To me this feels like a silly smirking film with zero insights into abuse or conspiracy theories. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterJourdain SearlesOct 12, 2021
The Epstein conspiracy here is ultimately merely an excuse for taboo fetish play, culminating in a bloody finale that any viewer could see from a mile away. In the end, Nekrasova is too preoccupied with cultural relevance to actually craft a compelling film. Read full review
20
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisDec 16, 2021
There were moments during The Scary of Sixty-First when I was convinced I was watching a botched horror-comedy. But while this witless slurry of onanism and conspiracy theories is certainly laughable, it is never, for one second, even remotely funny. Read full review
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