39
Metascore
10 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 70The Hollywood ReporterJustin LoweThe Hollywood ReporterJustin LoweA determined focus on tight plotting and engaging character development not only helps keep the budget in check, but also necessitates an economy of style that heightens the impact of the film’s numerous plot twists.
- 63Philadelphia InquirerTirdad DerakhshaniPhiladelphia InquirerTirdad DerakhshaniAn ambitious, if wildly uneven, character study that relies on a taut script, snappy dialogue, and a few well-placed plot twists, The Barber boasts a fine turn by Scott Glenn as an aging serial killer.
- 60TheWrapJames RocchiTheWrapJames RocchiWhile The Barber may be a first-time directorial effort, it’s tense and taut enough to make an impression thanks in no small part to the steadying, strong presence of Glenn.
- 50Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreGood acting and sharp editing make The Barber a most engrossing serial killer thriller. But too much talk, mostly in a lecturing over-explained finale, almost undoes all of that.
- 50VarietyDennis HarveyVarietyDennis HarveyThe Barber is a slick but ultimately underwhelming psychochiller.
- 40The New York TimesNeil GenzlingerThe New York TimesNeil GenzlingerScott Glenn handles the balancing act required of him in “The Barber” with his usual skill... The film, though, delivers its plot twists muddily and doesn’t really distinguish itself from the countless other creepy-killer tales out there.
- 40New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierNew York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierWhat remains rote is how easily the fiend’s victims fall for his tricks. It’s almost as if they’ve seen too many movies like The Barber, and shaved away all common sense.
- 30Village VoiceVillage VoiceOnly Glenn, whose taciturn performance is punctuated by flashes of genuine menace, lifts The Barber to "watchable."
- The acting and the direction shows enough promise to keep it from being buried alive, but it might not be the worst idea to put it out of its misery and ignore it.
- 20Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleLos Angeles TimesRobert AbeleScreenwriter Max Enscoe and director Basel Owies — enamored of twists at the expense of logic and character — might as well have made a clip reel of their favorite cat-and-mouse movies, because their fever-pitch story is as tension-free, transparently obvious and ludicrous as they come.