--- title: "Heathers: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/heathers/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/heathers" critics_score: 78 critics_reviews: 18 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." --- # Heathers (1989): what the critics said Critics' score 78 from 18 reviews: 17 positive, 0 mixed, 1 negative. The reviews lean strongly positive, and they agree on where the credit belongs. Most critics single out Daniel Waters’ screenplay: the slang, the one-liners and the savagery of its take on high-school cliques, which several set against the sunnier John Hughes films of the same decade. Winona Ryder and Christian Slater are praised almost everywhere, and the garish colour scheme is read as part of the joke rather than a distraction. The film’s satire on peer pressure, bullying and teen suicide is widely judged to have held up, and in some readings to have anticipated the subject. The spread is narrow, and the reservations cluster in one place: the ending. Empire, Time Out, Sight and Sound and Eye for Film all find the final stretch slows or compromises what came before. A few note dated elements, including a pop song and some slurs. The one outright dissent is the Los Angeles Times, which argues the director lacks the nerve of his own cynicism and lets three deaths pass without weight. ## Radio Times — Alan Jones Rating 5/5. The critic describes it as a stunning debut and prime cult movie, a devastatingly witty black comedy with a serious satire on peer-group pretensions beneath its hip surface. He praises the snappy dialogue and jabs at high-school life that never get in the way of the entertainment. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-5hg7uf/heathers/) ## The Times — Kevin Maher Rating ★★★★☆. 10 August 2018. Still shocking after 30 years, this definitive blast of teenage nihilism is strong medicine, attacking a school system that nurtures bullying, prejudice and homicide, with its most potent critique in the final monologue noting that 'the school was society'. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/education/article/film-review-heathers-1988-2qdjnn0zb) ## The AV Club — Scott Tobias Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 5 August 2010. The critic praises Heathers as a sharp, nasty black comedy that critiques and explodes the stereotypes of John Hughes-style teen movies, highlighting its satirical take on high school cliques and enduring appeal through memorable dialogue and characters like Winona Ryder's Veronica. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/heathers-1798221153) ## The New York Times — Janet Maslin Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 31 March 1989. Heathers is as snappy and assured as it is mean-spirited, with originality that extends into the genuinely perverse. Its buoyant style and vicious spirit give the film the air of a demonic sitcom that sustains a bracingly nasty tone. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/31/movies/review-film-when-a-not-so-bad-girl-turns-very-very-bad.html) ## Variety — Variety Staff Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1988. Heathers is a super-smart black comedy about high school politics and teenage suicide that showcases promising young talents. Daniel Waters’ enormously clever screenplay blazes a trail of originality through the dead wood of the teen-comedy genre. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1988/film/reviews/heathers-1200427965/) ## The New Yorker Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 27 March 2019. The 1989 cult classic ushered in a darker, weirder, more experimental era for teen movies with its garishly Technicolor palette and influence from Blue Velvet as much as Sixteen Candles. It blew up the high-school comedy template of the time. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/touchstones/an-appreciation-of-the-dark-comedy-heathers) ## Vulture Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 22 June 2011. The piece examines how Heathers holds up as a cult classic, commending its quotable slang, nihilistic worldview, memorable performances by Winona Ryder and Christian Slater, and prescience on teen issues like bullying and suicide while noting some dated elements. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2011/06/nostalgia_fact_check_does_heat.html) ## Empire — Adam Smith Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The critic calls Heathers a rare 1980s teen film that genuinely explores darker elements of adolescence through black comedy in garish colours. Daniel Waters' self-aware screenplay is singled out for its witty, savage take on high-school archetypes and adult hypocrisy, though the ending is faulted for losing steam and copping out. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/heathers-review/) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 31 March 1989. The film offers a bleak, macabre and bitingly satirical point of view on peer pressure, teenage suicide and the deadliness of high school cliques. Its bright colors and featherweight tone allow dumb sight gags to coexist with heavy subject matter in a way that inspires thought. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/heathers-1989) ## Sight and Sound — Richard Combs Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 8 August 2018. The critic highlights the film's playful western-like structure and witty stylistic gags in this black comedy about high-school cliques. He notes its moral drift toward favoring the nerds over the powerful, while praising the dreamlike quality and ensemble performances despite the compromised ending. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/heathers-archive-review-teen-western-filled-with-demons) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 9 August 2018. The critic finds the 30th-anniversary re-release of this strange, shocking high-school satire even more surreal today, praising its beady-eyed anarchy and Winona Ryder's unique talent as an elfin ingenue who is also a killer, while noting some parts feel formless now. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/aug/09/heathers-cool-kids-cult-hit-even-more-surreal-30-years-on) ## Time Out — NF Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 12 April 2012. The review calls it a wicked black comedy and refreshing parody of high-school movies, venomously scripted and sharply directed. It praises the subversive use of teen-movie clichés, ensemble acting and slang, while criticizing the compromised ending as a serious let-down. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/heathers) ## Los Angeles Times — Sheila Benson Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 31 March 1989. The film thinks of itself as black comedy but director Michael Lehmann lacks the courage of his cynicism, wimping out with a cloying After School Special ending. It waves away three deaths without weight or guilt. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-03-31-ca-552-story.html) ## Eye for Film — Amber Wilkinson Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 5 April 2002. The critic describes it as dark as night but great fun, a witty and powerful satire that holds up teen cruelty and issues for inspection in a decade of lighter fare. She praises the performances, especially Slater and Ryder, while noting it slows in the final quarter with a too-neat ending. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/heathers-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson) ## HeyUGuys — Daniel Goodwin Rating 4/5. 31 July 2018. The critic calls it a quotable, timeless and influential teen film that offers a precise, derisive take on the darker side of American high school life through sharp dialogue and vibrant visuals. He notes some dated elements like a pop song and slurs but praises its enduring relevance and cult status. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/heathers-re-release-review/) ## NME — Sophie Charara Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 10 August 2018. The piece affirms that Heathers remains a potent, witty dark satire on high school cruelty and social types, praising its sharp script and ironic cynicism while noting some dated elements in light of modern sensitivities. [Read the review](https://www.nme.com/blogs/the-movies-blog/heathers-30-winona-ryders-re-released-gen-x-classic-fare-age-earnest-millennial-outrage-2365264) ## Paste — Amy Glynn Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 22 September 2017. The critic presents Heathers as a stylized, dark satire of high-school cliques and conformity that contrasts sharply with sunnier John Hughes teen films. It is praised for its black-comedy tone that remains both hilarious and profoundly disturbing in its portrayal of peer pressure and manipulation. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/heathers/que-sera-sera-introducing-a-teen-to-the-teen-canon) ## The Skinny — Kirsty Lecki-Palmer Rating ★★★★. 9 August 2018. The critic praises the film's enduring scathing black comedy and relatable high school satire, singling out its sharp one-liners that lampoon everything from suicide to eating disorders. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/dvd-reviews/heathers) --- © 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/heathers.md