Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh's reviews (from any publication) always count toward the Tomatometer
because this critic is a Tomatometer-approved critic.
| Biography: |
Maitland McDonagh is TV Guide Online's Senior Movie Editor, and has been writing about movies for more than 15 years. She is the author of three books on film: Broken Mirrors/Broken Minds: The Dark Dreams of Dario Argento, Filmmaking on the Fringe: The Good, the Bad and the Deviant Directors and The 50 Most Erotic Films of All Time, and has written for publications ranging from The New York Times to Paper and Time Out New York.
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| Publications: | Boxoffice Magazine, Film Comment Magazine, Film Journal International, Hollywood Reporter, Time Out, Miss FlickChick, AMCtv.com, Horror Hacker, TV Guide |
| Critics' Group: | New York Film Critics Online, Online Film Critics Society |
| Location: | New York, USA |
| Official Websites: | tvguide.com/movies |
Movie Reviews Only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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| 19% | Wish Upon (2017) |
Wish Upon isn't a genre changer, but it's better than it needs to be while delivering the PG-rated goods.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Jul 13, 2017
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| 88% | Man Underground (2017) |
Will disappoint viewers expecting a sci-fi thriller but succeeds as a subtle examination of the human need for connection. ‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Jul 12, 2017
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| 82% | Kill, Baby, Kill (Operazione paura) (Curse of the Living Dead) (Don't Walk in the Park) (1966) |
Restored version of Italian horror icon Mario Bava's eerie 1966 ghost story burnishes the elegant use of color often blurred on DVDs and older prints.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Jul 6, 2017
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| 50% | Hickok (2017) |
Straightforward drama featuring "Wild Bill" Hickok is unlikely to impress theatre audiences but could come as a welcome surprise to genre fans on home-viewing platforms.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Jul 6, 2017
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| 0% | Darkness Rising (2017) |
Generic haunted-house story will have trouble standing out from a crowded summer theatrical environment.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Jun 30, 2017
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| No Score Yet | A Beginner's Guide to Snuff (2017) |
This high-concept, low-budget black comedy uses the undying myth of real snuff movies to poke some mild fun at horror stereotypes.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Jun 22, 2017
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| 22% | Once Upon a Time in Venice (2017) |
This charming, scruffy dog story pits a laid-back Los Angeles P.I. against a motley crew of lowlifes, wastrels and crooks...think Keanu with a very cute pup.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Jun 15, 2017
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| 55% | 47 Meters Down (2017) |
A nifty little summer scare movie that looks great on the big screen and delivers a timely warning that it's never safe to go back in the water.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Jun 15, 2017
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| 29% | Camera Obscura (2017) |
Death follows a traumatized war photographer home from Afghanistan in this tricky thriller that loses momentum early on.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Jun 9, 2017
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| 45% | Awakening the Zodiac (2017) |
A young couple comes across evidence that might finally unmask the notorious 1960s serial murderer in this disappointing thriller.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Jun 8, 2017
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| 100% | Dawson City: Frozen Time (2017) |
True movie lovers will come away with a pair of new heroes in Michael Gates and Kathy Jones-Gates.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Jun 8, 2017
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| 60% | Aaron's Blood (2017) |
Somber and suffused with a resigned sadness, it's a must-see for vampire-movie completists.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Jun 2, 2017
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| 27% | Drone (2017) |
In this polemical drama, a military contractor who works from the safety of his home office is confronted by the brutal reality of what he does for a living.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted May 25, 2017
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| No Score Yet | Devil's Domain (2017) |
[I]ts depiction of bullying is pretty familiar stuff.‐ Film Journal International
Posted May 18, 2017
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| 68% | The Wall (2017) |
Tautly dramatic.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted May 11, 2017
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| 68% | Take Me (2017) |
A quirky comedy about power and fantasy role-play, Take Me's loopy premise fuels an off-kilter character study. ‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted May 4, 2017
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| 28% | Voice from the Stone (2017) |
While lovely to look at, Voice from the Stone is more than a little dull. ‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Apr 28, 2017
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| 13% | Black Rose (2017) |
The definition of made-for-VOD: blandly competent, undemanding and instantly forgettable.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Apr 27, 2017
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| 50% | The Promise (2017) |
[A] competent but unremarkable historical epic.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Apr 19, 2017
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| 67% | Free Fire (2017) |
An apolitical gun merchant and an IRA buyer meet in an abandoned factory building to do a deal in this mordantly funny chronicle of escalating disaster.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Apr 17, 2017
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| 30% | The Assignment (2017) |
[Not] a "good" movie in the conventional sense of the word, but it's a great piece of unbridled pulp fiction and a fabulous showcase for Weaver and Rodriguez.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Apr 6, 2017
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| 55% | Speech & Debate (2017) |
Ultimately Speech & Debate is stuck in a Catch-22: It's so hard to argue with the premise that it's tough to get excited about it. ‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Apr 6, 2017
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| 85% | The Transfiguration (2017) |
The Transfiguration's measured pace will leave some audiences restless, but its slow build-up pays off beautifully.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Apr 5, 2017
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| 73% | The Void (2017) |
A slice of nostalgic delight, good gory fun that's neither kitsch nor weighed down by a tedious string of quotes from other movies.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Apr 5, 2017
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| 55% | Here Alone (2017) |
Three survivors of a lethal virus form an uneasy alliance in this post-apocalyptic drama that prioritizes relationships over shocks.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Mar 29, 2017
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| 80% | Dig Two Graves (2017) |
Those who prefer more subtle and character-driven chills will not be disappointed.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Mar 24, 2017
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| 22% | Atomica (Deep Burial) (2017) |
Better that it needed to be.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Mar 16, 2017
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| 53% | The Belko Experiment (2017) |
Reductive but potent.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Mar 16, 2017
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| 100% | Don't Kill It (2017) |
A peripatetic demon turns a small town into a slaughterhouse in this brisk and very bloody supernatural thriller.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Mar 7, 2017
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| 33% | Lavender (2017) |
[Abbie] Cornish's strong performance [...] serves as an anchor that keeps this slow-burn thriller [...] from wearing out its welcome before the third-act revelations. ‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Mar 7, 2017
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| 85% | The Girl With All the Gifts (2017) |
[Sennia Nanua is] phenomenal, by turns glib, vulnerable, disconcertingly opaque and viscerally terrifying. ‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Feb 23, 2017
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| No Score Yet | Irada (2017) |
Kudos to Irada for taking a stand.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Feb 16, 2017
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| 98% | Kedi (2017) |
Ailurophiles should flock to this charming documentary about free-range cats in Istanbul.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Feb 8, 2017
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| 0% | Eloise (2017) |
Four friends spend a long, dark night in a haunted insane asylum in this by-the-numbers horror movie. ‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Feb 3, 2017
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| No Score Yet | Massacre on Aisle 12 (2017) |
Disgruntled hardware-store employees are trapped after hours with a killer in this formulaic horror picture enlivened by some clever dialogue.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Jan 26, 2017
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| 69% | My Father, Die (2017) |
A psychologically scarred man's battle to rise above his family's legacy of brutality drives this violent and sneakily moving story of toxic ties that bind.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Jan 19, 2017
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| 2/4 | 80% | What Have You Done to Solange? (1972) |
Even if it were loosely adapted from a Wallace mystery, the seemy sexual elements of the film's plot would have to have been invented by the scrrenwriters.‐ TV Guide
Read More | Posted Jan 16, 2017
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| 24% | The Bye Bye Man (2017) |
Three teens try to outsmart the bogeyman in this formulaic but well-executed fright flick. ‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Jan 13, 2017
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| 71% | Reset (Relève: Histoire d'une création) (2017) |
For anyone with an inherent interest in the arts, it's a fascinating look behind the curtain.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Jan 12, 2017
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| No Score Yet | Go North (2017) |
A seriously sub-par Hunger Games knockoff.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Jan 12, 2017
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| 75% | We Are the Flesh (Tenemos la carne) (2017) |
An orgy of graphic sex and (mostly) psychological violence, this Mexican art-house shocker is designed to offend. Let the viewer beware.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Jan 11, 2017
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| 86% | Dangal (2016) |
The film's drama feels authentic, and not just because it's based on a true story.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Dec 21, 2016
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| 86% | The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016) |
[A] polished shocker whose realistic special effects will limit its audience to hardcore horror fans.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Dec 19, 2016
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| No Score Yet | Kill Ratio (2016) |
There's plenty of action in this low-budget thriller [...] but without a Van Damme-level star, the movie's natural home is VOD and other nontheatrical platforms.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Dec 8, 2016
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| 32% | Abattoir (2016) |
[I]n the end, the screenplay doesn't equal the sum of its parts and the film is unsatisfying.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Dec 8, 2016
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| No Score Yet | Sins of Our Youth (2016) |
Four middle-class teens accidentally kill a younger boy and subsequently do all the wrong things in this cautionary drama about gun violence. ‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Dec 1, 2016
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| 54% | Pet (2016) |
[An] ambitious psychological thriller that's unlikely to attract mainstream audiences but should play well with horror buffs.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Dec 1, 2016
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| 75% | SiREN (2016) |
Doesn't quite live up to its premise but delivers some lurid shocks.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Dec 1, 2016
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| 75% | The Eyes of My Mother (2016) |
There's more than a hint of the classic, doom-haunted The Night of the Hunter to the proceedings, but The Eyes of My Mother has its own soft, insinuatingly creepy voice.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Nov 30, 2016
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| 20% | Tank 432 (Belly of the Bulldog) (2016) |
U.K. cinematographer Nick Gillespie makes his directing debut with this handsome but frustrating "Gotcha!" tale.‐ Film Journal International
Read More | Posted Nov 23, 2016
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