Critic Reviews

The Columnist is that rare mix of comedy and horror that isn’t too cheesy or over the top.

This film throws toxic male aggression right back at them.

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.

The Columnist argues that silence can be more violent and political than speech.

Overall, this is a sophisticated take on over-the-top material, arch but not quite Serial Mom-style campy.

The result is entertaining satire with a dark edge of relatable excitement.

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.

The Columnist hits more like a one-note horror movie, less intellectually deep than its original introduction.

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.

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.