---
title: "High-Rise: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/high-rise/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/high-rise"
critics_score: 57
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."
---

# High-Rise (2015): what the critics said

Critics' score 57 from 23 reviews: 10 positive, 6 mixed, 7 negative.

The reviews are divided on High-Rise, with admiration for its craft offset by frustration with its storytelling. Praise clusters around the production design and cinematography: the tower, its interiors and the use of colour impress even several detractors. Supporters also value Ben Wheatley’s dark humour and unruly energy, finding the excess appropriate to the class-war premise. Performances attract less consistent attention, though Tom Hiddleston earns praise across otherwise conflicting assessments.

The central disagreement is whether the disorder serves the satire or makes it harder to follow. Even favourable reviews acknowledge uneven pacing and weak cohesion; harsher assessments find the film tedious, detached or politically blunt. The spread is wide rather than mildly mixed. HeyUGuys praises the clarity of its class divisions and its fidelity to Ballard, while Variety argues that both the class allegory and narrative logic break down.

## Total Film — Kevin Harley

Rating 4/5. 14 March 2016. 

Harley gives the film a positive verdict, despite its wobbly plot. He praises its singular style, dark wit, and striking production design.

[Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/high-rise-review/)

## IndieWire — Eric Kohn

Rating B. 14 September 2015. Festival review. 

Kohn finds the film messy and incohesive but anarchically entertaining, with a vivid class-war premise. He especially praises its colorful production design and rock soundtrack.

[Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/toronto-review-ben-wheatleys-high-rise-stars-tom-hiddleston-in-a-demented-class-war-58199/)

## Empire — Nev Pierce

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 14 March 2016. 

Pierce finds the adaptation bold, troubling and visually dazzling, though its story can become monotonous. He especially praises Wheatley and cinematographer Laurie Rose’s restless, arresting imagery.

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

## Los Angeles Times — Justin Chang

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 11 May 2016. 

Chang praises the film’s unruly excess as fitting its ambition, despite its incoherent storytelling. He singles out the tower’s striking design and the increasingly beautiful spectacle of its destruction.

[Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-high-rise-review-20160506-snap-story.html)

## Screen Daily — Fionnuala Halligan

Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 14 September 2015. 

The accessible page does not reveal the critic’s verdict or any specific praise or complaint. It identifies Ben Wheatley’s 2015 film as the subject of a review.

[Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/high-rise-review/5093065.article)

## Radio Times — Stephen Carty

Rating 3/5. 

The review is critical of the film’s shift into chaos, finding it too sudden. It singles out that abrupt turn as a key weakness.

[Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-8bhmhs/highrise/)

## Time Out — Joshua Rothkopf

Rating 3/5. 14 September 2015. 

Wheatley’s adaptation is beautifully crafted and retro, but difficult to connect with. Its craftsmanship is praised, while the very literal approach to Ballard’s satire is suggested as a weakness.

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

## Slant Magazine — Chuck Bowen

Rating 2/4. 25 April 2016. 

Bowen finds the adaptation bombastic and reductive, stripping the source novel of its subtle social critique. He praises the striking mirrored elevators but says the film’s conspicuous style undermines its themes.

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

## The Guardian — Henry Barnes

Rating 2/5. 14 September 2015. Festival review. 

Barnes finds the film a less interesting, increasingly grating take on Ballard’s story. He praises Tom Hiddleston’s ease amid the confusion, while criticizing the unclear class divisions.

[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/sep/14/high-rise-review-tom-hiddleston-ben-wheatley-jg-ballard-film-toronto-tiff)

## Little White Lies — David Jenkins

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

Jenkins finds the film alienating and formless despite its dazzling individual sequences. He particularly praises the production design, editing, performances and writing, while faulting the lack of cohesion holding them together.

[Read the review](https://www.lwlies.com/festivals/high-rise-first-look-review)

## Evening Standard — David Sexton

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 18 March 2016. 

Sexton finds the film tedious and lacking dramatic impulse, despite its striking imagery. He singles out the source novel’s hypnotic prose as better suited to the vision.

[Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/highrise-film-review-a-vision-better-conveyed-in-ballard-s-hypnotic-prose-a3206556.html)

## The New Yorker

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 

The critic finds the adaptation stiff and ultimately unsuccessful. They fault Wheatley for privileging symbolism and degradation over telling a compelling story.

[Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/high-rise-2)

## Variety — Peter Debruge

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 14 September 2015. Festival review. 

Debruge finds the adaptation flashy and frequently incoherent, concluding that its chaotic approach largely fails. He praises the arresting visuals but faults the film for letting its class allegory and narrative logic break down.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/2015/film/reviews/high-rise-film-review-1201592866/)

## Den of Geek — Matthew Schuchman

Rating 4/5. 21 April 2016. 

The critic calls High-Rise a polarizing but brilliant modern masterpiece. He singles out its ravishing visuals and praises Ben Wheatley for making the building feel like a living participant.

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

## HeyUGuys

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). Festival review. 

The critic praises the film as a perceptive and faithful adaptation of Ballard’s novel. They single out its sharp portrayal of class divisions and society’s fragility.

[Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/high-rise-review/)

## Consequence — Sarah Kurchak

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 10 May 2016. Festival review. 

Kurchak finds the film an original, daring, and audacious success overall, despite uneven pacing and an overly explicit ending. She praises its playfully demented takedown of civilization and its distinctive, twisted style.

[Read the review](https://consequence.net/2016/05/tiff-film-review-high-rise/)

## Paste — Andy Crump

Rating 7.6. 12 May 2016. 

Crump finds the film a sly, observational take on class conflict, though its rapid escalation and pointed political message can feel overly obvious. He praises Wheatley’s heightened craft and gallows humor, especially the film’s sharp social observations.

[Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/high-rise)

## Digital Spy — Scarlett Russell

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 15 March 2016. 

The review is strongly positive overall, though it feels the film runs at least 20 minutes too long. It praises the eclectic cast’s performances and the psychedelic photography.

[Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a786940/high-rise-review-the-apocalypse-never-looked-prettier-than-in-tom-hiddlestons-dystopian-drama/)

## The Wrap

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 27 April 2016. 

The critic finds Wheatley’s adaptation hypnotizing and unnerving, with a bleak vision of social collapse. They single out Tom Hiddleston’s icy yet ultimately empathetic performance for praise.

[Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/high-rise-review-tom-hiddleston-gets-skyscraper-views-of-the-apocalypse/)

## The Skinny — Ian Mantgani

Rating ★★★. 12 October 2015. Festival review. 

The critic finds High-Rise energetic but lurching and ultimately confused. They praise its colour and energy while faulting its handling of the film’s political commentary and disorder.

[Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/festivals/uk-festivals/film/london-film-festival-high-rise-and-tangerine-review)

## The Playlist — Kevin Jagernauth

Rating C. 13 May 2016. Festival review. 

The critic finds the film stylish but lacking in substance, with its thematic ambiguity and lengthy runtime making it hard to engage. He praises the cinematography, especially its visual distinctions between classes and memorable use of color.

[Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/review-ben-wheatleys-high-rise-presents-middling-vision-madness-20160513/)

## Collider — Matt Goldberg

Rating D-. 13 May 2016. Festival review. 

Goldberg finds the film poorly constructed and incomprehensible, with its class commentary reduced to broad, blunt statements. He singles out Wheatley’s pitch-black comedy as an occasional glimpse of a more effective film.

[Read the review](https://collider.com/high-rise-movie-review-tom-hiddleston-tiff-2015/)

## Eye for Film — Amber Wilkinson

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 6 February 2016. 

Wilkinson finds the film visually impressive but ultimately too detached and scattered to give its class-war story sufficient force. She praises Luke Evans’s Wilder as its most compelling element, while criticizing the central montage and the weakly grounded political references.

[Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/high-rise-2015-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson)

---
© 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/high-rise.md