Harry Is Here to Help
User Score
7.0 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 8 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 8
  3. Negative: 1 out of 8

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  1. JeanP.
    Aug 9, 2009
    8
    Fanatic perfectionist, control freak; oh for sure this time bomb had several "blow moments"; flavorful taste of hitchcock, king, steiger, argento with a sprinkle of columbo-monk; his every moment was an unyielding descent into complte madness.
  2. ChadS.
    Jul 26, 2004
    8
    Spotting the nods to Alfred Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train" is the main reason to see "Harry, He's Here to Help" (this is the superior original title) about a psycho and his unrequited love. As every movie fanatic knows, Brian DePalma uses violence more explicitly than Hitchcock. Dominick Moll, on the other hand, prefers spurts of humor over blood, in which the comedic side of Hitchcock is made more explicit. People like to joke about killing the interior decorator when he/she errs, but in "With a Friend Like Harry", it's no laughing matter. This sometimes wonderful film manages to be funny and scary. How Harry murders his victims are beautifully rendered, with hardly an iota of blood, like Hitchcock. The name change is unfortunate because the original title serves as a sort of punchline for the final scene. … Expand
  3. E-man
    Nov 8, 2001
    7
    Great suspense about an obsessive houseguest. A little predictable but reminiscent of the film titled "Stepfather."
  4. AlanH.
    Aug 11, 2001
    3
    Less than meets the eye. Second rate synthetic Hitchcock.
  5. MaxC.
    Jul 12, 2001
    7
    Thrilling movie without being too "horror." I thought the actors were perfectly cast and the writer and director subtly took normal lives and twisted them upside down. I love that there is not "full disclosure" like in so many American films. There is plenty left unsaid and that's fine.
  6. KarenC.
    Jun 10, 2001
    10
    If you've ever had an old college friend pop into your life and discovered how the past impinges upon the present with a disruptive yet positive influence, if your parents have died and you've experienced a mix of elation at your sudden freedom and despair at your own mortality, if you wonder if drinking raw eggs after orgasm increases virility, if you're a blocked writer or an over-exhausted parent, or if you've ever been a down-to earth, practical couple renovating a home with independently wealthy, decadent, sensual friends who can oversleep and indulge in hedonistic freedoms, if you love a sinister Hitchcokian thriller with black comedy at once realistic and absurd, you'll adore this exquisite gem of a film.… Expand
  7. JonC.
    May 22, 2001
    9
    Sergi Lopez is brilliant. Funny and frightening at the same time. Check out "An Affair of Love" also.
  8. JunichiS.
    May 11, 2001
    4
    I kept waiting for a clear explanation of Lopez's character's motivations, but nothing is ever revealed. In other words, this is no better than any other slasher film, except that everyone speaks French.

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
75 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 28 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 28
  3. Negative: 0 out of 28
  1. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Rita Kempley
    90
    A deliciously mordant French spine-tingler.
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  2. Mr. Showbiz
    Reviewed by: Cody Clark
    80
    Rises instantly above its genre merely by taking the time to develop its characters and scenario.
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  3. Wall Street Journal
    Reviewed by: Joe Morgenstern
    70
    I did enjoy the movie's mercurial moods -- anxiety, terror, whimsical horror -- and I welcomed its confirmation that the work of the devil includes SUVs.
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