It's the most haunted and dreamlike of all American films, a gothic backwoods ramble with the Devil at its heels.
– Tom Huddleston,
Time Out,
26 Jan 2006
fresh:
All this has been crisply compacted into clear screen drama by the late James Agee and it is put forth under the direction of Mr. Laughton in stark, rigid visual terms.
– Bosley Crowther,
New York Times,
25 Mar 2006
rotten:
This start for Gregory as producer and Laughton as director is rich in promise but the completed product, bewitching at times, loses sustained drive via too many offbeat touches that have a misty effect.
– Variety Staff,
Variety,
28 Aug 2007
fresh:
Ultimately the source of its style and power is mysterious -- it is a film without precedents, and without any real equals
– Dave Kehr,
Chicago Reader,
28 Aug 2007
fresh:
One of the great movie horror tales, with one of the greatest of all movie villains.