Metacritic Movie Ratings
Evil Reviews

A sample of reviews from critics across the country.

• 70

  out of 100

  VarietyDavid Stratton

  Evil is not, as the title would suggest, a horror film, at least not a conventional one. Based on the autobiographical novel by Jan Guillou and set in the mid-1950s, the film relates the experiences of a troubled young man who's enrolled into a hidebound private school.

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• 70

  out of 100

  Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern

  A thoroughly serious film, full of vivid details, but also a relentlessly serious one that requires Mr. Wilson to spend a great deal of time looking disconsolate.

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• 70

  out of 100

  The Hollywood ReporterFrank Scheck

  Although Evil eventually suffers from its heavy-handed treatment of its subject, it is a well-made and engrossing melodrama.

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• 60

  out of 100

  The New York TimesStephen Holden

  The movie is as blunt as its title. It portrays such behavior as "evil" without offering any deep insights or revelations, beyond handing out the plot equivalent of a lollipop at the end of the movie as compensation for the vicarious anguish.

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• 30

  out of 100

  Los Angeles Times

  Director Mikael Hafstrm's dramatic sense is so pedestrian and snail's-pace obvious -- since this 2003 feature, he's made the leap to Hollywood with the plodding thriller "Derailed" -- one starts biding time for the inevitable retributive smackdown that will save our hero from the gantlet of draggy high-mindedness about counteracting fascism with stony resolve.

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