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Hounddog
Generally unfavorable reviews
Based on 18 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 9 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info
Genre(s): Drama
Written by: Deborah Kampmeier
Directed by: Deborah Kampmeier
Release Date:
Theatrical: September 19, 2008
DVD: February 17, 2009
Running Time: 93 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: R for a disturbing sexual assault of a young girl, and brief sexuality
Starring Dakota Fanning, Robin Wright-Penn, Piper Laurie, and David Morse
Hounddog is a Southern tale set in rural Alabama in the late 1950s. It follows a spirited young girl, Lewellen, and her struggle to rise above the repression that surrounds her. (Empire Film Group)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
New York Magazine David Edelstein
Fanning is a child actor with a grown-up soul, and every move, every breath, seems mysteriously right.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter James Greenberg
In spite of a few missteps, the cumulative impact of the film is undeniable.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Michelle Orange
In the wake of the inadvertent betrayal that leads to her now-notorious rape (a sequence that, ironically, seems to have lost the horrific impact it needs), the film turns listless.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
The film is responsible, earnest, well-intentioned and, as it was in Sundance, maddeningly inconsistent.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin
Pretty but overwrought, Hounddog doesn't deserve its infamy, nor does it merit being seen or remembered.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
Assembled from the debris of countless worn-out images of the Deep South and is indeed beautifully photographed. But the writer-director, Deborah Kampmeier, has become inflamed by the imagery and trusts it as the material for a story, which seems grotesque and lurid.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Ken Fox
A handsomely produced but unintentionally risible film that mistakes high grotesquerie for high gothic.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Jeannette Catsoulis
Hounddog is never more than a sluggish dawdle from shack to swimmin' hole and back again.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
A failure on pretty much every level, Hounddog would never have been known beyond Park City had it not been for the notoriety surrounding the rape scene.
Read Full Review >Premiere Jenni Miller
It was received at Sundance 2007 with a resounding thud. Not because of this controversial rape scene, but because, well, it just wasn't good. Unfortunately, even with over a year of rejiggering, it's still not good.
Read Full Review >Variety Todd McCarthy
An indigestible gumbo of Southern Gothic ingredients seasoned with snake oil, biblical hash and thoroughly unpalatable spice.
Read Full Review >Film Threat Jamie Tipps
Overall, director Deborah Kempmeir mistakes ominous and depressing for deep and meaningful, a misfire that undermines the effect it tries to achieve.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Joshua Katzman
A bewildering slice of southern gothic hokum, it suffers from a weak script.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
Fanning gives a sensitive and fairly impressive performance. But like her over-the-top movie family, Hounddog is still trailer trash of the worst kind.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
Rarely has there been a movie as misguided as Hounddog, which self-righteously indulges in exploitation while loudly decrying it.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone Peter Travers
What I can't figure is why anyone would want to release this tripe in theaters just when Fanning has nearly lived it down. They ain't no friends of mine, or any other moviegoer.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Mark Olsen
The problems that plague the movie land squarely with the writer, director and producer, Deborah Kampmeier, who has crafted a howler of a bad script, shows little affinity for working with actors and displays no visual sense behind the camera.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
Fanning is remarkably collected and even dignified. As for the rest of the gang, they ought to be returned to sender.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 5.3 (out of 10) based on 9 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Jay H gave it a4:
Dakota Fanning s one of the most irritating actresses that I have ever seen. She is a poor actress and always tries to tackle roles way beyond her acting range. The movie is too slow, already been done - therefore predictable. And if she sang the title song one more time.
