Black Rock
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Metascore
46

Mixed or average reviews - based on 19 Critics What's this?

User Score
5.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 5 Ratings

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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 19
  3. Negative: 5 out of 19
  1. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Sara Stewart
    May 16, 2013
    75
    This indie, female-centric riff on “Deliverance” is spare, smartly written and shot through with moments of twig-snapping tension.
  2. indieWIRE
    Reviewed by: Eric Kohn
    Apr 10, 2013
    75
    Black Rock never reinvents the rules, but it understands them just well enough to make its bloodless stabs at ingenuity stand out.
  3. The Playlist
    Reviewed by: James Rocchi
    May 14, 2013
    67
    Black Rock isn't going to become the sort of classic that "Deliverance" was, but if you like your scares smart, and like them to happen to people you actually care about, then Aselton's island of friendship and fury is a nice place to visit.
  4. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Tom Russo
    May 16, 2013
    50
    It’s all a fair attempt, but Aselton isn’t going to make anyone forget Kathryn Bigelow.
  5. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Marc Mohan
    May 17, 2013
    50
    Aselton is clearly trying to broaden her reach as both actress and director beyond the rumpled indie comedy of "The Freebie," her directing debut, and the concept is there, but a movie like this needs a much more polished execution that Black Rock gets.
  6. Time Out New York
    Reviewed by: Joshua Rothkopf
    May 14, 2013
    40
    A soundtrack of churning rock songs by the Kills is as close as this misfire gets to authentic grrrl power, borrowed as it is.
  7. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Joe Neumaier
    May 16, 2013
    20
    Black Rock is as dingy and dirty as the genre thrillers it appears to want to one-up. All it does, though, is bring everyone down.

See all 19 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 3
  3. Negative: 1 out of 3
  1. Thegodfatherson
    May 26, 2013
    9
    We know from past experience that the bad days outnumber the good in places called Black Rock. So it comes as no surprise that things go wrong almost from the get-go in the low-budget indie “Black Rock,” set on a tiny forested island off the coast of Maine. It’s here that three girlhood pals now in their thirties go to unwind and because two of them fell out over a fella a few years back, this is what you might call a session in survivalist reconciliation. Once on the island the friends go exploring. They turn up three hunters armed with guns. Bad sign. The hunters introduce themselves as gung-ho Army vets. Another bad sign. And did we mention they received dishonorable discharges? Cue the sirens and flashing lights.
    Violence begets violence and soon someone’s yelling, “Run!”
    Directed by Aselton from a cliche-riddled script by husband Mark Duplass the dialogue is peppered with such expressions as “Bring it!” and “I got your back!” “Black Rock” (now available on PPV) still proves a grim, entertaining, efficiently plotted little thriller. “We came here to hunt,” says one of the hunters when things start to escalate. “We’ll just hunt ’em down!” Oh, yeah? This guy obviously didn’t get a look at the script. If he had he’d know he’s part of a feminist reworking of “The Most Dangerous Game” and “Deliverance,” with the friends soon stripped down and armed, like a tribe of Amazonian huntresses. And once they get their war faces on, they give better than they get.
    Kudos to Aselton, who obviously doesn’t mind getting down and dirty plying her craft. Based on this film, her second behind the camera, she has the makings of a decent exploitation director. “Black Rock” has the visceral appeal of early Kathryn Bigelow.    … Expand
  2. BrianMcCritic
    Jul 26, 2013
    5
    This is an interesting film with some very good tension, but some of the dialogue is poor and like a lot of thriller/horror movies some of the scenes just get silly. To silly to recommend. C… Expand
  3. oliver1h
    Jul 17, 2013
    1
    A laughable feminist version of Deliverance (1972). The script is so cliché ridden to the max (I wonder if they used copy-paste from a few othher movie script...). The male characters are all cardboard hillbilly rapists, the three women are old childhood friend who reunite during a trip, and settle their past issues. Situation goes bad as the male characters try to rape, torture and murder these three (I guess that is their weekend hobby). They try to escape while their lives and friendships are turned on their head ....Sounds boring right? Well it is. We have already see this scenario a trillion times before. This movie offers nothing new, and I believe it is very insulting towards male audiences (I guess the director lady is pro man-hater of some sort...). See something else if you can! Boring cat and mouse "drama". Not recommended.… Expand

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