36
Metascore
9 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90Los Angeles TimesKevin ThomasLos Angeles TimesKevin ThomasAs audacious as it is compelling and as dark as it is erotic. Its sexuality is explicit, alternately teasing and brutal, and one that is ultimately a cautionary tale.
- 50New York PostMegan LehmannNew York PostMegan LehmannAn interesting addition to a genre that tends too often to disregard artistic technique.
- 50Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumChicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumReminded me most of Jean Genet's "Un chant d'amour," with bondage and latex replacing incarceration and cigarettes. This is not to say that it's equally good or poetic, but the eroticizing of a whole universe is no less apparent.
- 50Chicago TribuneChicago TribuneA muddy, dreamlike Portuguese offering.
- 50Village VoiceDennis LimVillage VoiceDennis LimEasily the artiest queer stroke movie of the year.
- 40TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghTV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghWhile the transgressive trappings (especially the frank sex scenes) ensure that the film is never dull, Rodrigues's beast-within metaphor is ultimately rather silly and overwrought, making the ambiguous ending seem goofy rather than provocative.
- 38New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanWith little dialogue, a murky night setting and the slowest of plots, this Portuguese fantasy only comes alive when it conforms to its true nature as arthouse pornography.
- 30L.A. WeeklyChuck WilsonL.A. WeeklyChuck WilsonFirst-time director João Pedro Rodrigues' unwillingness to define his hero’s background or motivations becomes more and more frustrating as the film goes on.
- 10The New York TimesDana StevensThe New York TimesDana StevensBoth grueling and dull. Imagine (if possible) a Pasolini film without passion or politics, or an Almodóvar movie without beauty or humor, and you have some idea of the glum, numb experience of watching O Fantasma.