60
Metascore
13 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90Film ThreatLorry KiktaFilm ThreatLorry KiktaThe Columnist is that rare mix of comedy and horror that isn’t too cheesy or over the top.
- 80CineVueMartyn ConterioCineVueMartyn ConterioThis film throws toxic male aggression right back at them.
- 77Paste MagazineNatalia KeoganPaste MagazineNatalia KeoganThe Columnist argues that silence can be more violent and political than speech.
- 75The A.V. ClubKatie RifeThe A.V. ClubKatie RifeOverall, this is a sophisticated take on over-the-top material, arch but not quite Serial Mom-style campy.
- 67Original-CinThom ErnstOriginal-CinThom ErnstDespite the film's willingness to playfully stir unrest, it never reaches its full potential, and the promise of confronting abusers who hide behind avatars gets second billing to a less exciting defense of free speech. And yet, The Columnist works because of Katja Herbers’ performance.
- 60The New York TimesBeatrice LoayzaThe New York TimesBeatrice LoayzaThe Columnist doesn’t seem to care about making a cogent statement about feminist revenge or online culture. Perhaps it just needed an excuse to carry out its bloody high jinks, which are decent fun in their own right.
- 58IndieWireKate ErblandIndieWireKate ErblandVan Aart and Windhorst make brief forays into interrogating the morality of what Femke is doing; they are fascinating and layered, and in too short supply. Hebers bridges many gaps with a fluid performance that moves between zippy joy and stone-faced sociopathy.
- 40CineVueChristopher MachellCineVueChristopher MachellFun, violent and cathartic, but with an air of arch self-satisfaction that misses the complexity of the debate it constructs around itself.
- 37Washington PostAnn HornadayWashington PostAnn HornadayUnfortunately, The Columnist doesn’t live up to its initial promise: What might have been a trenchant cultural critique couched within poisonously playful genre exercise becomes an indulgence in undifferentiated rage for its own graphic sake.