Web Junkie
Kino Lorber | Release Date: August 6, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
67
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 12 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
The PlaylistDrew TaylorJul 7, 2014
The specificity of the documentary, staying within the walls of the boot camp for virtually the entire movie, is one of its biggest strengths since it is able to place you right alongside these kids. Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsDavid HinckleyJul 15, 2015
China has classified Internet addiction as a clinical disorder, calling it the single most dangerous threat to the health and well-being of Chinese teenagers. That’s a tough superlative to achieve, considering the levels of air and water pollution in China. Read full review
80
Village VoiceKatherine VuAug 5, 2014
The slow (albeit unevenly paced) unveiling of the boys' stories is persuasive and chilling. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineSteve MacfarlaneAug 6, 2014
Without a frame of footage nor a single interview presented from outside the camp, the documentary shows a capitalist nightmare that accords its victims zero wiggle room. Read full review
75
HitfixDaniel FienbergJul 7, 2014
Web Junkie is a little sad, a little funny and a little scary. I'd say that I wish it had been a little more provocative. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterDuane ByrgeJul 7, 2014
Filmmakers Shosh Shlam and Hilla Medalia probe this phenomenon, jarring viewers with an inside look at one of these “reform” centers, as well as shedding light on the mindset of these Internet “addicts.” Read full review
70
VarietyDennis HarveyJul 7, 2014
With filmmakers Shosh Shlam and Hilla Medalia granted extraordinary access to one facility, they make for a bizarre and entertaining documentary. Read full review
63
New York PostFarran Smith NehmeAug 7, 2014
Brief and timely, this documentary directed by Shosh Shlam and Hilla Medalia is also frustrating. Read full review
60
The New York TimesA.O. ScottAug 7, 2014
The film lacks either the immersive intensity that would galvanize emotions or a context that would provide enlightenment. Its brief tour of an unpleasant corner of reality feels less revelatory than voyeuristic. Read full review
60
The DissolveScott TobiasAug 5, 2014
Shlam and Medalia haven’t constructed the film particularly artfully—it’s sluggishly paced, and the two boys at its center aren’t vividly drawn—but Web Junkie is a case where the access is so unexpected and revelatory that it’s a wonder just to have the footage. Read full review
60
Time OutJoshua RothkopfJul 29, 2014
Barreling toward its rapidly modernizing future, China takes Internet addiction more seriously than most nations: To watch Web Junkie, an often scary yet half-realized documentary, is to see a society trapped in its old solutions. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloAug 6, 2014
It’s clear that these kids have a genuine problem, and a more probing film might have questioned the cultural factors that contribute to it, as well as the efficacy of more or less kidnapping errant youths and trying to coerce them back into productivity. Web Junkie doesn’t do much probing, however. Read full review
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