The Little Stranger Reviews

Top Critic
Johnny Oleksinski
New York Post
September 7, 2018
Occasionally spooky, but more often snoozy.
Full Review | Original Score: 2/4
Top Critic
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
August 31, 2018
A hypnotic and haunting tale of how the past can grab hold of the flesh-and-blood present and squeeze. Don't let this mesmerizing mystery slip between the cracks of studio neglect and marketing indifference. It's spellbinding.
Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5
Top Critic
Matthew Lickona
San Diego Reader
August 31, 2018
Everything here is precise: Abrahamson's direction, the understated performances, the intrusive sounds that stop just shy of jarring. The result is more sad and spooky than suspenseful or scary, an effect that seems entirely, and pleasingly, intentional.
Full Review | Original Score: 3/5
Top Critic
Richard Roeper
Chicago Sun-Times
August 31, 2018
At times, each of the main characters has us wondering what's going on beneath the surface. Who, if anyone, is to be trusted?
Full Review | Original Score: 3/4
Top Critic
Tomris Laffly
RogerEbert.com
August 31, 2018
[An] elegant, cold-to-the-touch blend of drama and gothic horror.
Full Review | Original Score: 3/4
Top Critic
William Bibbiani
TheWrap
August 31, 2018
Abrahamson seems fascinated with the idea of gothic storytelling, but he hasn't quite got the knack of it.
Full Review
Top Critic
A.A. Dowd
AV Club
August 31, 2018
The movie, like towering Hundreds Hall, casts its own foreboding spell.
Full Review | Original Score: B+
Top Critic
Adam Graham
Detroit News
August 31, 2018
Some strangers aren't worth getting to know, and this is one of them.
Full Review | Original Score: D+
Top Critic
Barry Hertz
Globe and Mail
August 31, 2018
Gleeson and Wilson deliver tightly-wound performances, while the ending is more chilling, and perhaps perplexing, than audiences might expect.
Full Review | Original Score: 3/4
Top Critic
Chris Nashawaty
Entertainment Weekly
August 31, 2018
The Little Stranger is too airless and derivative, with too many stretches of dullness, to resurrect the dormant genre. Only a few interesting performances occasionally jolt it back to life.
Full Review | Original Score: C+