78
Metascore
38 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100The GuardianBenjamin LeeThe GuardianBenjamin LeeThere’s something both reassuring and terrifying about it all, the family’s resilient warmth and togetherness providing comfort as the existential horror of what it all amounts to chills us simultaneously.
- 100The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe film is a remarkably insightful and powerful portrait of the human condition.
- 88The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Johanna SchnellerThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Johanna SchnellerThe writer’s adage that the specific is universal comes fully alive in this family drama, written and directed by Stephen Karam, based on his Tony-winning play.
- 88Vanity FairRichard LawsonVanity FairRichard LawsonKaram makes an auspicious directorial debut, one that captures all the tense, rattling mood of his stage horror while giving it a new, decidedly cinematic shape.
- 83IndieWireDavid EhrlichIndieWireDavid EhrlichThe result is a stilted and unnerving film that chips away at the petrified staginess of its origins with every sudden noise, as if Karam were sledge-hammering little cracks into the hull of his film’s WASPy modern family.
- 80SlashfilmChris EvangelistaSlashfilmChris EvangelistaThe cast is dynamite across the board. The way they converse with each other feels wholly natural, as if they've been talking for years.
- 70Screen DailyTim GriersonScreen DailyTim GriersonThe Humans is a marvel of slight shifts in tone and rhythm, guided by a uniformly strong cast of actors who deliver naturalistic performances which show the cracks in their characters’ pleasant veneer.
- 60TheWrapRobert AbeleTheWrapRobert AbeleIn the aggregate, Karam’s directing is so meticulously composed about conveying the density of what’s unsaid, and the mood around the people instead of the people creating the mood, that “The Humans” can feel a bit suffocating.
- 50The Film StageC.J. PrinceThe Film StageC.J. PrinceThe Humans spends its time inside its own head when it should have been putting more effort getting into ours.
- 50The PlaylistRobert DanielsThe PlaylistRobert DanielsAs a film, The Humans provides serrated frights and big challenges for its actors, but ultimately, it is too cold and never believable enough to immerse one in its purported dread.