Velvet Buzzsaw
Netflix | Release Date (Streaming): February 1, 2019 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
61
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 29 Critic Reviews
Positive:
14
Mixed:
14
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
92
TheWrapCarlos AguilarJan 28, 2019
Inventively, Gilroy utilizes exaggerated horror tropes to take to task our cynical thoughts about artistic creation. His sharp Velvet Buzzsaw is an exquisitely diabolical exposé on the merciless materialistic ambitions that run rampant in cultural fields. Read full review
90
The New York TimesGlenn KennyJan 30, 2019
The confident storytelling and the bravura acting — Daveed Diggs, Toni Collette and John Malkovich contribute compelling caricatures — carry “Buzzsaw” all the way home. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperFeb 5, 2019
With a combination of bone-dry wit and blood-drenched horror, writer-director Dan Gilroy’s Velvet Buzzsaw skewers some of the most pretentious denizens of the art world you’d ever want NOT to meet — and does so with precision and flair and pitch-black humor. Read full review
83
The Film StageDan MeccaJan 28, 2019
Velvet Buzzsaw may not be visionary, but it’s a ton of fun. Read full review
75
The Associated PressJake CoyleJan 31, 2019
Velvet Buzzsaw doesn’t lead anywhere inward; it becomes just a litany of (exquisite) death scenes for art-world caricatures. Still, what caricatures they are. Read full review
75
IGNMatt FowlerJan 30, 2019
The film's a fun and humble horror offering set among the world of pretension and status. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattJan 28, 2019
For a lot of its runtime, Velvet is fun and silly and enjoyably outrageous. It’s hard, though, to walk away with a real sense of anything more than blood on the canvas and a blank where your feelings — beyond mild bemusement, and a sudden appetite for prime Los Angeles real estate — should be. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesNoel MurrayJan 30, 2019
While the art world caricatures are hardly fresh, there’s a lot about Velvet Buzzsaw that’s pretty savvy and even inspired. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)Emily YoshidaJan 28, 2019
It’s clear between this and Nightcrawler that Gilroy and Gyllenhaal have some kind of gonzo chemistry. Even if Velvet Buzzsaw starts to sputter slightly after it’s made its point, it’s plenty exciting to witness the incredibly specific madness they whip up together. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyJan 28, 2019
There’s enough fun, writerly glee and actors enjoying their little rampages to make Velvet Buzzsaw a decent distraction for a couple of hours, but also something of a schizophrenic case all its own. Read full review
70
VarietyPeter DebrugeJan 28, 2019
In her capacity as a film critic — and the sort of populist who was allergic to snobs like Morf — Pauline Kael famously quipped, “Movies are so rarely great art that if we cannot appreciate great trash we have very little reason to be interested in them.” Gilroy doesn’t even aspire to making great art, but he’s getting better at delivering the latter. Read full review
67
The VergeTasha RobinsonFeb 1, 2019
Velvet Buzzsaw is a messy movie, and not just in the sense that Gilroy ends up painting a room with blood at one point. Read full review
65
The AtlanticDavid SimsFeb 1, 2019
In the end, Velvet Buzzsaw is a pretty soulless piece of art about the soullessness of art; but that doesn’t mean it can’t have a little fun proving its point. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoJan 29, 2019
It’s a wildly inconsistent film, sometimes disappointingly clunky and as superficial as the world it’s mocking, but it’s also an ambitious piece of work with unforgettable imagery and an ace ensemble. Read full review
60
SlateInkoo KangFeb 5, 2019
The sum amounts to far less than its parts, but oh, what parts! Read full review
60
Film ThreatChuck FosterFeb 1, 2019
In the end, you’re entertained, but not so invested in the characters that you’re hooked to every word. It’s enjoyable, but not memorable, and certainly, nothing that lingers in the mind or makes you want to gush to your coworkers the next day. Read full review
60
Rolling StonePeter TraversJan 31, 2019
Velvet Buzzsaw is never less than a feast for the eyes even when it reduces the plot to B-level butchery. What’s missing is the potent provocation that Gilroy seemed to be developing at the start. Read full review
60
The GuardianBenjamin LeeJan 28, 2019
Gilroy avoids the ghoulish extremes of Tom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals and offers up a believably pretentious battleground. He’s as invested in crafting a fully fleshed art world as he is in creating a full-on horror film and while the two often blend well, at other times, his concoction is far less effective. Read full review
50
CNNBrian LowryMay 21, 2019
There's a lot of teeth-sinking, bordering on scenery-chewing, in this latest film from writer-director Dan Gilroy, which reunites him with Gyllenhaal and real-life spouse Rene Russo after their collaboration on "Nightcrawler." Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzFeb 1, 2019
Velvet Buzzsaw is ultimately a matter of taste – and mine was to spit it right back out. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineChuck BowenJan 31, 2019
With its silvery sheen and sexy lure of celebrity actors being naughty, the film recalls the decadent, self-consciously chic art it parodies. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJan 30, 2019
In a nutshell, the problem is this: If Gilroy wanted to set a horror movie in the world of art commerce, fine. No problem. It’s not a bad idea. But to do it, Gilroy needed to respect the horror genre enough to create something sophisticated. Instead he went to the horror bargain basement and pulled out the cheapest horror conventions he could find, straight out of slasher bin. Read full review
50
ScreenCrushMatt SingerJan 30, 2019
A great cast and a fairly clever turn into the realm of horror can’t redeem what otherwise feels like a very familiar, very safe piece of satire. Read full review
50
Screen DailyAnthony KaufmanJan 28, 2019
It’s ultimately a forgettable lark, amounting to little more than a spiteful attack on the vapidity of the commercial art-world. There’s nothing lampooned here that we haven’t already seen before, whether it be a pretentious art critic or avaricious art dealers. Read full review
50
IndieWireDavid EhrlichJan 28, 2019
Gilroy’s film needed to be 60% better or 20% worse in order to transcend the forgettable silliness of its existence, but it could stand the test of time as a lasting monument to the idea that our own personal taste is the only real thing we ever had. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Jan 28, 2019
If there’s undeniable difficulty in Velvet Buzzsaw’s genre alchemy—its attempt to mix a caustic, half-comic portrait of the gallery set with a supernatural Tales From The Crypt scenario—it’s all in service of a moldy screed about the commodification of art. Is there anything safer than telling people something they’ve heard a thousand times before? Read full review
50
The PlaylistGregory EllwoodJan 28, 2019
Apologies in advance, but for lack of a better descriptor the whole thing is a mess. It’s not even good enough to be a cult movie which is backhanded compliment anyway. But, hey, at least the actors tried. Read full review
42
ConsequenceMichael RoffmanJan 31, 2019
Disappointing and confounding, Velvet Buzzsaw can ultimately be filed under What Could Have Been given the kind of talent involved. Read full review
38
LarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenFeb 4, 2019
The movie wields its mockery with the subtlety of a power tool. Read full review
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