As fascinating as it is freakish. It confirms Mr. Lynch's stature as an innovator, a superb technician, and someone best not encountered in a dark alley.
100
Los Angeles TimesSheila Benson
Los Angeles TimesSheila Benson
The most brilliantly disturbing film ever to have its roots in small-town American life. [19 September 1986, Calendar, p.6-1]
88
Chicago TribuneGene Siskel
Chicago TribuneGene Siskel
One powerful, mesmerizing thriller, a masterful exercise in controlling an audience's attention. [19 September 1986, Friday, p.A]
80
Film.comJohn Hartl
Film.comJohn Hartl
An exhilarating piece of popular entertainment.
80
Variety
Variety
Hopper creates a flabbergasting portrait of unrepentent, irredeemable evil.
67
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
You either think it's dementedly wild at heart or a lost highway to nowhere.
50
Chicago Reader
Chicago Reader
It's mostly fascinating, though the unconverted may be in for a rough two hours.
50
San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
Dark, menacing and sexual, with satanic overtones, like a Black Sabbath song, with many moments of genuine fright and harsh eroticism. [19 September 1986, Daily Notebook, p.76]