
Critic Reviews
60
Metascore
Mixed or Average
positive
8(62%)
mixed
4(31%)
negative
1(8%)
Showing 13 Critic Reviews
All Reviews
All Reviews
Metascore
Metascore
Apr 8, 2021
90
The Columnist is that rare mix of comedy and horror that isn’t too cheesy or over the top.
Apr 5, 2022
80
Director Ivo van Aart and writer Daan Windhorst weave the darkest satire. In essence their scenario pushes at the same boundaries between what is acceptable and unacceptable as Anna’s campaign, even as Femke’s vendetta shifts the argument from merely discursive, theoretical terms to the realm of the viscerally physical.
May 6, 2021
77
The Columnist argues that silence can be more violent and political than speech.
Apr 8, 2021
75
Overall, this is a sophisticated take on over-the-top material, arch but not quite Serial Mom-style campy.
May 6, 2021
75
The result is entertaining satire with a dark edge of relatable excitement.
May 6, 2021
67
Despite the film's willingness to playfully stir unrest, it never reaches its full potential, and the promise of confronting abusers who hide behind avatars gets second billing to a less exciting defense of free speech. And yet, The Columnist works because of Katja Herbers’ performance.
May 7, 2021
63
The Columnist hits more like a one-note horror movie, less intellectually deep than its original introduction.
May 6, 2021
60
The Columnist doesn’t seem to care about making a cogent statement about feminist revenge or online culture. Perhaps it just needed an excuse to carry out its bloody high jinks, which are decent fun in their own right.
May 4, 2021
58
Van Aart and Windhorst make brief forays into interrogating the morality of what Femke is doing; they are fascinating and layered, and in too short supply. Hebers bridges many gaps with a fluid performance that moves between zippy joy and stone-faced sociopathy.