Stranger by the Lake
Strand Releasing | Release Date: January 24, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
82
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 26 Critic Reviews
Positive:
25
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
EmpireLiz BeardsworthFeb 17, 2014
Beautifully crafted, sinister, frightening, erotic and thought-provoking, Alain Guiraudie’s multi-faceted Cannes triumph is already one of the most provocative, intriguing films of the year. Read full review
100
RogerEbert.comMichał OleszczykJan 24, 2014
Guiraudie's directorial assurance is stunning: the entire movie is a master class in audiovisual storytelling, as well as an exemplary case of immersing the viewer in an environment. Read full review
100
Village VoiceMelissa AndersonJan 21, 2014
Stranger abounds with precision and detail, evinced not just in the spectacular visual composition but also in the observation of behavioral codes in carnally charged spaces. Read full review
100
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Adam NaymanJan 16, 2014
Spare, steely, sexually explicit in a way that transcends mere provocation, Stranger by the Lake is vital cinema. Read full review
100
Slant MagazineDiego SemereneSep 15, 2013
Alain Guiraudie's film portrays cruising as a danger-seeking and astoundingly repetitive affair, intimately linked to death itself. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyJan 30, 2014
The filmmaker constructs a growing sense of dread with the calculated precision of a classic horror movie. Read full review
90
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriJan 24, 2014
The mystery may be resolved, but the suspense and uncertainty remain. And so, Guiraudie ends his film on a cold, almost cruel note of existential solitude that just might, if you let it, break your heart. Read full review
90
The DissolveScott TobiasJan 22, 2014
Even when the plot kicks in and the stakes get raised, there’s a casualness to Guiraudie’s approach that’s singular and admirably defiant of genre expectations. He’s setting a scene. Tension insinuates itself later. Read full review
90
VarietyBoyd van HoeijSep 15, 2013
This is essentially an absorbing and intelligent exploration of queer desire spiced up with thriller elements. Read full review
85
NPRBob MondelloJan 24, 2014
Stranger by the Lake has become a psychosexually intriguing blend of Alfred Hitchcock's "Rear Window" and William Friedkin's "Cruising" — one in which sex gets intertwined with murder, fear battles desire, and the police discover that voyeurs don't necessarily make good witnesses if no one ever exchanges names or phone numbers. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanJan 15, 2014
The movie is voyeuristic, sure, but in a way that evokes Alfred Hitchcock's "Rear Window" more than William Friedkin's "Cruising." Read full review
83
The PlaylistJessica KiangSep 15, 2013
Guiraudie creates an ambiance of eerie atmospherics that is at once crisp and observant, and oddly dreamlike, or nightmarish. Read full review
80
The TelegraphRobbie CollinFeb 26, 2014
Guiraudie’s film is acutely brilliant on the funny, scary machinery of desire, and how easily humans can get caught up in its cogwheels. Read full review
80
Total FilmKevin HarleyFeb 18, 2014
Sun, sex, psychosis, skinny-dipping: it sounds like genre tat, but Guiraudie’s dark, droll study of a risky attraction upends expectations. It plays by stealth, but its sly grip is sure. Read full review
80
Time OutKeith UhlichJan 21, 2014
Though Stranger by the Lake leans a bit too heavily on its long-take, slow-cinema bona fides, there’s a clear purpose to Guiraudie’s rigorous perspective. He’s out to unearth the very potent (and often terrifying) emotions underlying every explicit act, sexual or otherwise. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawJan 13, 2014
The tired old trope "erotic thriller" does no justice to how confrontationally and explicitly sexual this movie is — nor how thrilling, nor how menacing and complex. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerSep 15, 2013
Stranger by the Lake invites you into its alluring and peaceful world, only to gradually uncover the darkness beneath it. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianJamie S. RichMar 27, 2014
Stranger by the Lake is one of those vacations that’s all right while it’s happening, but the allure dissipates once you’ve gone back to your regular routine. Read full review
75
Washington PostStephanie MerryMar 6, 2014
Writer-director Alain Guiraudie takes an all-natural approach to his material, and not just because most of the men spend the movie in the buff. He takes long, lingering shots, never rushes a scene and uses no score, just organic sounds. Read full review
75
Boston GlobePeter KeoughFeb 20, 2014
What Stranger by the Lake lacks in suspense and back story it makes up for in atmosphere: It’s a subtle exercise in the pathetic fallacy. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezFeb 6, 2014
The movie is filled with graphic sex scenes that leave nothing to the imagination — this film would make even John Waters blush — but there’s more at work here than shock value and sensationalism. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter TraversJan 23, 2014
Like his characters, Guiraudie is walking a tightrope, finding the point where sex and death exude a similar allure. You won't be able to look away. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubBen KenigsbergJan 22, 2014
As withholding as it may be in terms of narrative, Stranger places rare faith in the viewer’s visual sense. Guiraudie presents his widescreen long takes with little inflection, conjuring suspense simply from the sounds of crackling leaves and other hallmarks of the natural (or is it au naturel?) realm. Read full review
70
The New York TimesA.O. ScottJan 23, 2014
Stranger by the Lake is seductive and fascinating, but it is also a bit trapped in its own conceit, and in its carefully maintained emotional detachment. Read full review
70
The New YorkerAnthony LaneJan 22, 2014
Stranger by the Lake, it must be said, flirts with monotony. There is something both fascinating and numbing in the rituals on display, and in the matching rhythm of the film's approach. [27 Jan.2014, p.79]
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleFeb 6, 2014
Stranger by the Lake has no rating, but if it had, it would earn an NC-17 ten times over. Read full review
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