Advanced Search Beta »
Basic Search Fields
Shotgun Stories
Shotgun Stories Image
See the trailer
Metascore
76 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.0 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 10 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
Rate this:
  • Summary: Son Hayes never speaks of the scars on his back. The shotgun pellets left under his skin make for a sporadic pattern of blue-black dots. The men he works with take bets on how he got them. His brothers, Boy and Kid Hayes, don't discuss it. His past, just like the scars, is never far behind him. This stands true for the memory of his father, a man who never bothered to give his children proper names. He left the three brothers, Son, Boy, and Kid, when they were young. Their last impressions of him were of a violent drunk who never hesitated to put his own needs ahead of his family's. The brothers were left to be raised by their mother, a hateful woman who to this day blames her children for the life she's been left with and the loss of the man she couldn't keep. Their father, having left the memory of his children as completely as he left their home, managed to move on and put his life back together. He sobered up, became a devout Christian, married a wonderful woman, and fathered four new sons--all of whom received proper names. His life became a model that most would aspire to--a man successful in business, community, and family--with his only true failing being the sons he turned his back on. (Liberation Entertainment)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    Here is a tense and sorrowful film where common sense struggles with blood lust.
  2. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Bill White
    100
    An allegory of our times, Shotgun Stories is a tragedy of biblical scale and an intimate family drama. Unlike the more lauded films of last year, which glorified a national preoccupation with bloody deeds, Shotgun Stories is a passionate cry to end the violence and a reminder that we, as free individuals, have the power to determine our own destinies.
  3. Empire
    Reviewed by: Ross Bennett
    60
    An interesting first effort from Nichols - making him a director to look out for in the future.

See all 15 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 6
  3. Negative: 2 out of 6
  1. AlexP
    9
    From the trailer and title I was expecting some epic gun play flick but what I got instead was some a acted and intense movie dealing with with family, loss, grief, and revenge. How marvelously mislead I was.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. cabrita
    5
    I found the films concept and story to be quite ineresting.However after the opening scenes of the film the film became uninteresting and very boring due to it's lack of anything. The film looses you because you do not feel their dellema nor do you find the tragedys that happen in the film to be very affecting. Ultinately the film is beautifully shot, but it lacked depth and did not tell it's story in an interesting way that involed me. The director of shotgun stories has improved in his writting and directing in his newest film Take Shelter.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. ERG1008
    3
    Nicely shot but quite slow. Just found it all a bit dull really & didn't care about the characters. I was waiting for stuff to happen & it sort of didn't.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

See all 6 User Reviews

Trailers