Lizzie Borden Took an Ax
  • Network: Lifetime
  • Series Premiere Date: Jan 25, 2014
Metascore
55

Mixed or average reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 12
  3. Negative: 3 out of 12

Critic Reviews

  1. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Mary McNamara
    Jan 27, 2014
    30
    Both actors [Gregg Henry and Billy Campbell] do their level best, as does Clea DuVall as Lizzie's dubious but loyal sister Emma. But they all seem to be participating in a very different movie from Ricci, who flounces, flops and smiles knowingly but offers no insight against the pounding backbeat, like a CW heroine slumming it on Lifetime.
  2. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Hank Stuever
    Jan 24, 2014
    30
    Rather than interest you in Lizzie Borden’s chapter in the history of American criminal justice, the movie makes it all seem hollow and unworthy of persisting in cultural memory for as long as it has.
  3. TV Guide Magazine
    Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    Jan 24, 2014
    30
    An utterly pedestrian docudrama that never lives up to its campy billing.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 10 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 10
  3. Negative: 2 out of 10
  1. laceymikesmom
    Sep 25, 2015
    10
    I LOVED this show!!! Please don't cancel it! I looked forward too each & every episode! I personally felt the show was brilliant! Lizzie beingI LOVED this show!!! Please don't cancel it! I looked forward too each & every episode! I personally felt the show was brilliant! Lizzie being just a slip of a girl, yet she also is an ingenious fearless little bad @ss! Whats not to love about it!… Full Review »
  2. A_So_Horror_Fan
    May 23, 2015
    9
    My thoughts: First off, forget even trying to compare this film with the classic Elizabeth Montgomery movie “The Legend Of Lizzie Borden”My thoughts: First off, forget even trying to compare this film with the classic Elizabeth Montgomery movie “The Legend Of Lizzie Borden” because there is nothing there that can compare other than, maybe the stylized interpretations of the facts themselves. Montgomery gives a fab performance that does a good job of separating her portrayal here from her very famous persona on ‘Bewitched’. With equal respect Christina Ricci does a great job of creating a very emotionally charged, yet sociopathic-driven portrayal of Borden that brings more life to Lizzie Borden than I anticipated or even expected. It has been common belief that it was more than just selfish desire that drove Lizzie Borden to kill. She carried with her a dark passenger that created a sinister, cold, disconnected aspect to Lizzie Borden that was probably an unmentioned issue from early in her childhood. Ricci gives us that in calm, calculated edified gesture.

    The stories atmosphere is a gothic blend of surrealism and psychological narrative wrapped around early Americana and polished off with modern folksy, indie rock sounds that are as dark as the story and characters within it. It gives “Lizzie Borden Took An Ax” a modern, fresh energy that excites the viewer. Now there are still down moments within the film that create momentary lulls, but nothing that causes the movie to completely stall. Bonus aspect that really makes this movie watchable is the visionary, creative way the director chose to tell the story balancing between stoic character interactions, and shocking, visceral moments of brutality that are honest to the murder scene’s “truth”. This movie definitely delivered on giving me a great Lizzie Borden film. A definite watch!    … Full Review »
  3. CameraBounceGod
    Feb 21, 2015
    2
    its great casting and light on the incest but other than that it was annoying that someone said "shes pretty she couldn't possibly haveits great casting and light on the incest but other than that it was annoying that someone said "shes pretty she couldn't possibly have committed a crime" ......making it the most annoying thing over the "commoners have always been ugly" line from Desolation of Smaug… Full Review »
See all user reviews »