---
title: "Climax: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/climax/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/climax"
critics_score: 65
critics_reviews: 23
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Climax (2018): what the critics said

Critics' score 65 from 23 reviews: 12 positive, 4 mixed, 7 negative.

The consensus leans positive, with praise clustering around the opening dance sequence, the ensemble’s physical commitment and the choreography. Most critics admire the energy of these passages, including several who dislike the film that follows. The more enthusiastic reviews also praise the fluid, disorienting camerawork and forceful use of music and sound, finding that Gaspar Noé makes the dancers’ mounting panic claustrophobic and convincing.

The spread is wide, however, and the chief disagreement concerns whether that sensory assault gives sufficient reason to care about the people caught in it. Paste finds greater warmth and care for the characters, making their suffering affecting. Variety argues that escalating shock tactics lose the human drama that initially makes the film compelling. Other reservations centre on thin characterisation, repetitive images and excessive length: even some favourable reviews find the film difficult to care about once the dancing gives way to distress.

## Radio Times — Alan Jones

Rating 5/5. 

Jones describes the film as a demented, tripped-out descent from musical frenzy into a destructive comedown. He praises its brilliantly choreographed dance routines, which shift from hypnotic delight to chilling shock.

[Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-e5n8nb/climax/)

## The AV Club — A.A. Dowd

Rating A-. 14 May 2018. Festival review. 

Dowd praises Climax as a brilliantly deranged, topical horror film and an exceptionally immersive experience. He singles out Noé’s disorienting camera work and choreography for making the bad-trip panic feel claustrophobic and convincing.

[Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/what-if-gaspar-noe-threw-a-party-and-everyone-lost-thei-1826005788)

## Vulture — Emily Yoshida

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 13 May 2018. Festival review. 

Yoshida finds the film exhilarating, humane, and a small miracle in Gaspar Noé’s recent work. She particularly praises the vibrant ensemble and the joyful, expertly choreographed dance sequence.

[Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2019/02/climax-is-the-best-movie-gaspar-no-has-made-in-ages.html)

## Sight and Sound — Ella Kemp

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 21 May 2018. 

Kemp finds the film an overwhelming, electric and compellingly visceral experience. She particularly praises the dancers’ honest portrayal of intoxication and the dizzying single-shot sequence.

[Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/climax-first-look-gaspar-noes-dance-demonic)

## The Hollywood Reporter — Todd McCarthy

Fi1m's normalised score 82/100 (inferred from the text). 13 May 2018. Festival review. 

McCarthy praises the film as a rousing, visually bold return for Gaspar Noé. He singles out the fluid camerawork and musical choices that make the dancers’ exhilarating first half and harrowing descent compelling.

[Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/climax-review-1111455/)

## Little White Lies — Adam Woodward

Rating 3/4/3. 20 September 2018. 

Woodward finds the film entertaining but ultimately hard to care about. He praises the exhilarating opening dance routine, while faulting the film for prioritising immersive long takes over developed characters.

[Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/climax)

## Time Out — Joseph Walsh

Rating 4/5. 13 September 2018. 

The critic’s verdict is positive, presenting the film as a boundary-pushing experience worth joining. The page singles out its cranked-up sound and nausea-inducing camerawork.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/climax-1)

## Empire — Helen O'Hara

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 18 September 2018. 

O’Hara finds the film upsetting but energetic and hard to look away from. She praises the cast’s physicality and Noé’s dizzying long takes, while noting the thin plot and unclear point.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/climax-review/)

## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw

Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 13 May 2018. Festival review. 

Bradshaw finds the film visually audacious and demonically inspired, though its finale becomes anticlimactic. He especially praises the extraordinary dance sequences and their vivid, high-energy presentation.

[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/may/13/climax-review-gaspar-noe-satanic-dance-troupe-freak-out-sex-despair-dance)

## Screen Daily — Jonathan Romney

Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 13 May 2018. Festival review. 

Romney presents the film as an uncompromising street-dance and horror hybrid. The review’s specific verdict and any singled-out praise or complaint are unavailable in the paywall shell.

[Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/climax-cannes-review/5129272.article)

## The New York Times

Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 28 February 2019. 

The page could not be accessed, so the critic’s verdict is unavailable. No praise or complaint can be reliably identified from the page provided.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/28/movies/climax-review.html)

## Los Angeles Times — Justin Chang

Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 28 February 2019. 

Chang finds the film exhilarating at first but ultimately disappointing, with its rave-fueled finale less affecting than it aims to be. He praises the opening dance sequence for its electrifying choreography and fluid, single-take camerawork.

[Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-climax-review-20190228-story.html)

## Variety — Owen Gleiberman

Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 13 May 2018. Festival review. 

Gleiberman finds the film compelling at first but ultimately undone by its escalating shock tactics. He praises the dancers’ opening performance and the vivid choreography, while faulting the later scenes for losing the human drama.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/2018/film/reviews/climax-revew-gaspar-noe-1202808699/)

## Slant Magazine — Sam C. Mac

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 14 May 2018. Festival review. 

The critic finds the film a disappointing missed opportunity, short on ideas despite its provocative premise. They praise its fleeting moments of disturbed horror and twisted beauty, but fault its repetitive visual approach.

[Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/cannes-film-review-climax/)

## The New Yorker

Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 

The critic finds the film numbingly dull and morally schematic. They praise the inspired choreography in several long dance scenes, but fault the way Noé films them.

[Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/climax)

## Collider — Gregory Ellwood

Rating A-. 1 March 2019. Festival review. 

Ellwood finds the film overwhelmingly captivating, though its increasingly frantic sequences can feel never-ending. He especially praises the sweeping, extended dance sequences and their mesmerizing camerawork.

[Read the review](https://collider.com/climax-review-gaspar-noe/)

## Paste — Will Leitch

Rating 9.0. 1 March 2019. 

Leitch calls Climax Noé’s best film and welcomes its greater warmth and care for its characters. He especially praises the opening dance sequence, whose vivid energy makes the dancers’ later suffering affecting.

[Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/gaspar-noe/climax)

## The Wrap

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 27 February 2019. Festival review. 

The critic finds the film an exhilarating, stylish trip and calls it an absolute scream. They single out Benoit Debie’s fluid camera, which moves in lockstep with the dancers through the shifting moods.

[Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/climax-film-review-movie-lsd-trip/)

## Den of Geek — Don Kaye

Rating 4/5. 26 February 2019. 

Kaye praises Climax as an astonishing visual and technical achievement, though he describes it as a harrowing experience rather than an enjoyable film. He singles out the long, kinetic dance sequence and the camera’s hypnotic movement as striking achievements.

[Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/climax-review/)

## /Film — Marshall Shaffer

Rating 7 out of 10. 10 September 2018. Festival review. 

Shaffer finds the film visually thrilling but ultimately overlong and thematically thin. He praises the unbroken dance sequence and the camera’s kinetic movement, while faulting the film for lingering after its images lose their impact.

[Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/560817/climax-review/)

## Consequence — Sarah Kurchak

Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 25 February 2019. Festival review. 

Kurchak finds the film often provocative but ultimately overindulgent, hollow, and less unsettling than it aims to be. She praises its brilliantly staged dance sequence and the paranoid sensory immersion before the chaos becomes cartoonish.

[Read the review](https://consequence.net/2019/02/film-review-climax/)

## Polygon — Karen Han

Fi1m's normalised score 25/100 (inferred from the text). 8 March 2019. 

Han finds the film visually impressive but ultimately draining and hollow, arguing that its provocations lack a meaningful center. She praises the dancers’ opening performance and the film’s striking style, but says the escalating cruelty feels designed chiefly to shock.

[Read the review](https://www.polygon.com/2019/3/8/18250419/climax-review-a24-gaspar-noe/)

## HeyUGuys — Ben Robbins

Fi1m's normalised score 15/100 (inferred from the text). Festival review. 

Robbins finds the film dramatically empty and far less provocative than Noé’s earlier work. He gives some credit to the early dance sequences’ visual appeal, but complains that the film’s later chaos lacks substance and bite.

[Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/climax-review-frightfest-2018/)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/climax.md