60
Metascore
7 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90Village VoiceMichael NordineVillage VoiceMichael NordineThere are no jump-scares in this sensuous thriller, and the lack of anything corporeal on which to focus our unease only makes Butter on the Latch more darkly exhilarating.
- The different techniques Decker uses — the improvised dialogue that feels like listening to one side of a phone conversation, the woozy cinematography and sound design, the disorienting editing — create a sense of claustrophobia. The film’s world is beautiful and scary, but also as intimate as a childhood sleepover.
- 70The DissolveKate ErblandThe DissolveKate ErblandDecker’s style is experimental, but not abrasive, and Butter demonstrates her ability to retain an audience’s attention even when refusing to give them a clear story told in a traditional manner.
- 70VarietyPeter DebrugeVarietyPeter DebrugeThere’s something deeper — and deeply original — going on in Decker’s film that demands either a second viewing or a willingness to push past easy dismissal (certainly by conventional standards, the film seems hopelessly amateurish).
- 60The New York TimesNicolas RapoldThe New York TimesNicolas RapoldButter on the Latch thrives on its casually true snapshots of confusion and connection.
- 42The PlaylistRodrigo PerezThe PlaylistRodrigo PerezDecker is good at articulating sinister moods and unstable psyches, but anything resembling a cogent narrative is challenged.
- 20The Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinThe Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinThe film just looks a mess, apart from some of the rather pretty shots of banana slugs and redwoods. It doesn’t help that the characters, even accounting for how little developed they are, come across as entitled, self-absorbed brats, and that the very title is, on a first viewing, a complete enigma. At least it’s only 72 minutes long.