Piercing
| Release Date: February 1, 2019 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
63
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
15
Mixed:
7
Negative:
1
Watch Now
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Chicago TribuneKatie WalshJan 31, 2019
What a deliciously demented and disturbing drama Nicolas Pesce's Piercing is, dripping with gore and laden with forbidden innuendo. Read full review
83
ConsequenceDominick Suzanne-MayerFeb 4, 2019
Throughout Piercing, it’s never clear who’s getting played, at least except for the audience. Those with the stomach for what Pesce and his stars have to offer will likely give over to the rush of it, as the film plays fast and loose with expectations at every turn. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriFeb 1, 2019
Piercing is an unnerving mix of loveliness and lunacy. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeFore
Stars Christopher Abbott and Mia Wasikowska go a long way toward keeping this tricky pic balanced, though Pesce's knowing use of sleazy-Seventies vibe (following the distinctive b&w spareness of The Eyes of My Mother, his only previous feature) creates the perfect world for them to do it in. Read full review
70
Film ThreatNorman GidneyFeb 13, 2019
Darkly comic, disturbing, and fun, Piercing is a vulgar little thriller that is one you watch without the one you love. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleJan 31, 2019
Piercing is decidedly not for everybody, but it somehow avoids exploitative luridness, thanks in part to the peculiar aura of uneasy innocence that Abbott and Wasikowska create around their roles (which are really more constructs than characters). Read full review
70
The New York TimesGlenn KennyJan 31, 2019
The movie gains momentum as it indulges in hallucinogenic phantasmagoria. Whatever you make of its intentions, it’s certainly exceptional in its visual distinction. Read full review
70
VarietyAmy Nicholson
The film is expertly crafted with jewel-toned cinematography, terrifically sleazy saxophone music, and performances by Abbott and Wasikowska that take turns seizing command. Still, like Reed’s solo rehearsals, Piercing has the feel of a blueprint, a talented man exercising his technical skills while waiting for a whack at the real deal. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerJan 30, 2019
Pushing the concepts of consensual BDSM to their very furthest extremes, Pesce's curious, stylized, and perversely erotic romance will inevitably make the audience flinch. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloJan 29, 2019
Re-conceiving the tone was a smart move on Pesce’s part—a faithful, ultra-grim adaptation would likely have been unbearable. Trouble is, he loses his nerve. Or maybe he just ran out of ideas. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyJan 29, 2019
Clocking in at a lean and very mean 81 minutes, writer-director Nicolas Pesce’s follow-up to his grim 2016 black-and-white arthouse chiller "The Eyes of My Mother" is a sick-joke psychological cat-and-mouse game with just enough twists to keep you on your toes. Read full review
67
The Film StageJared MobarakJan 28, 2019
Pesce is meticulously constructing the perfect murder only to systematically dismantle it for devilish fun. Maybe it’s a spoiler to call Piercing a comedy, but that’s exactly what it is. Read full review
67
IndieWireEric Kohn
Piercing too often gets lost in the fog of its deranged characters, but just as frequently transforms their lunacy into a heightened form of escapist entertainment. In a movie where everyone’s crazy, “Piercing” makes their malady infectious. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJan 31, 2019
The story is pure exploitation but the style bespeaks a more artistic bent. The film can be enjoyed (to the degree it can be enjoyed) for its excesses, perverse humor, and excursions into blood, barbarism, and violence, but the narrative doesn’t make a lot of sense. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineChuck BowenJan 30, 2019
If the film is mildly disappointing, it’s because it doesn’t go far enough. It confidently prepares us for a frenzy that never quite materializes. Read full review
60
The GuardianLeslie FelperinFeb 15, 2019
It all works pretty well until the abrupt ending lets all the air out of the balloon. The dream-team pairing of Abbott and Wasikowska, two of the most interesting, subtle and risk-loving performers of their generation, is a huge compensation. Read full review
60
Paste MagazineDom SinacolaFeb 7, 2019
For some, Piercing may be a sign of an exceptionally talented filmmaker still finding his stride, this expertly handled erotic thriller an imaginative, stylized headache. For others, Piercing may be all those things, but ultimately not worth the punishment. Read full review
60
Rolling StoneDavid FearFeb 5, 2019
Piercing is not exactly a sophomore slump for Pesce, nor is it an embarrassment for anyone else involved. But the longer you watch it, the more inadvertently ironic the title becomes. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd
After a briefly discombobulating fake-out twist, Piercing can’t seem to figure out how to advance or complicate its sick-joke premise. Read full review
58
The PlaylistRuss Fischer
In the end Piercing seems more interested in aesthetic playfulness than getting the most out of these characters. Playing towards comedy helps some of the more freaky scenes go down, but that’s not a substitute for substance. Read full review
50
TheWrapCandice FrederickJan 30, 2019
This sophomore effort from the filmmaker behind the gripping horror offering “The Eyes of My Mother” is as much an interesting subversion of how sex workers have been depicted in film as it is an off-putting erotic drama that falls apart at the seams. Read full review
40
Arizona RepublicRandy CordovaJan 31, 2019
It looks great, Abbott is twitchy and terrific and you really want to like it. But it's never particularly involving, and it becomes even less so as it progresses. Ultimately, it's just a gorgeous, gruesomely wrapped package with little inside. Read full review
38
RogerEbert.comSimon AbramsFeb 1, 2019
Piercing, the latest horror film by music video helmer turned feature horror writer/director Nicolas Pesce, is more frustrating than it is actually bad. Because Piercing, an adaptation of Ryu Murakami's novel of the same name, succeeds as a darkly comic provocation. I think. Sort of? Read full review
More From This Movie

63 Critic Reviews

6.2 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 82 The Northman
2 81 Everything Everywhere All at Once
3 72 Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie
4 72 7 Days
5 67 The Unbearable Weight of Massive...
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL