---
title: "Seven Psychopaths: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/seven-psychopaths/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/seven-psychopaths"
critics_score: 68
critics_reviews: 27
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."
---

# Seven Psychopaths (2012): what the critics said

Critics' score 68 from 27 reviews: 18 positive, 7 mixed, 2 negative.

Most critics find Seven Psychopaths funny and well acted, with enthusiasm for McDonagh’s profane dialogue and absurdist approach to crime-film conventions. Praise clusters around the ensemble, particularly Christopher Walken and Sam Rockwell, whose performances give the violent farce energy and occasional emotional depth. Even several less persuaded reviews enjoy the deadpan humour, while admirers welcome the film’s jokes about screenwriting and Hollywood storytelling.

The main divide concerns whether that self-consciousness sustains the comedy or becomes an irritation. Reservations recur about the rambling plot, uneven jokes and uncertain treatment of violence; several critics find it less coherent and emotionally substantial than In Bruges. The spread is wide: Collider celebrates the screenwriting comedy and energetic performances, while The Telegraph finds the genre parody smug and derivative, also objecting to weak female roles. Between those poles, many reviews recommend the film’s company while finding its cleverness more convincing than its substance.

## IndieWire

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 8 September 2012. Festival review. 

The review praises the film as a gloriously absurd satire of the writing process.

[Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/toronto-2012-martin-mcdonaghs-seven-psychopaths-is-a-gloriously-absurd-satire-of-the-writing-process-241732/)

## Film Comment — Graham Corrigan

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 1 October 2012. 

The critic praises McDonagh's dark humor and panache in navigating the film's chaotic narrative. Rockwell and Walken deliver standout performances that humanize the ensemble despite the violence and absurdity.

[Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/seven-psychopaths-martin-mcdonagh/)

## Little White Lies — David Jenkins

Rating 3/4/4. 5 December 2012. 

It's a fascinating, amusing, daring follow-up that deconstructs criticisms of In Bruges, though sometimes shock for shock's sake and directorially functional.

[Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/seven-psychopaths/)

## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw

Rating 4/5. 9 December 2012. 

The critic praises McDonagh's follow-up to In Bruges as startling and funny, highlighting its meta take on Hollywood, violence, and storytelling through strong performances and black humour, though noting some repetitive moments.

[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/dec/09/seven-psychopaths-review-french-mcdonagh)

## The Times — Kate Muir

Rating 4/5. 7 December 2012. 

The critic describes it as a funny, brutal, well-acted romp with a quality cast, enjoying the parody of crime capers and Walken's performance, while noting it is uneven and best not watched for the plot.

[Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/article/seven-psychopaths-g2cj8w86rf2)

## Time Out — Dave Calhoun

Rating 4/5. 4 December 2012. 

A fun, knockabout self-reflective film with sharp humor, energetic pacing, and fun performances from a stellar cast; violent, seedy farce.

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

## The AV Club — Keith Phipps

Rating B. 11 October 2012. 

The critic notes the film's meta touches and pleasures in performances and storytelling but finds some postmodern gestures game-like and the commentary on violence vague.

[Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/seven-psychopaths-1798174560)

## Empire — Kim Newman

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 14 August 2012. 

The critic calls it enormously entertaining, endlessly quotable, perfectly cast and packed with rich ensemble acting, while noting it is ever so slightly hollow with too much material and a plot that is basically a dance around the fact that there isn’t one.

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

## Screen Daily

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 8 September 2012. Festival review. 

The film has pulp sensibilities with witty dialogue and strong cast, a deliriously twisted tale that's a must-see cult film, though lacking solid structure of In Bruges.

[Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/seven-psychopaths/5046324.article)

## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 11 September 2012. Festival review. 

The critic finds the film terrifically entertaining with killer dialogue and strong cast but notes it is not as tightly plotted or thematically rich as In Bruges, with more wit than weight.

[Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/seven-psychopaths-review-colin-farrell-martin-mcdonagh-369669/)

## The New Yorker — David Denby

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 15 October 2012. 

The film is described as an unstable mess of lunatic invention that can lift one's mood despite its disorderly metafiction. It is praised for spontaneous elation and exaggeration of cinematic styles, though lacking the balanced tone of McDonagh's prior work.

[Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/10/22/playing-dead)

## Total Film — Matt Glasby

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 4 December 2012. 

The critic describes it as an engagingly off-centre sunbaked shaggy-dog story like Charlie Kaufman taking down Quentin Tarantino, praising the profane dialogue, the fun performances from Rockwell and Walken, and standout sequences while noting it is often closer to chaos than genius.

[Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/seven-psychopaths-review/)

## The Independent

Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 10 December 2012. 

The critic finds the film far-fetched, relentlessly superficial and luridly violent but also very funny, praising McDonagh's flair for deadpan absurdist humour and slapstick along with the cast's enjoyment, especially Christopher Walken's emotional depth.

[Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/movie-review-seven-psychopaths-lurid-pulp-metafiction-with-a-sly-touch-of-the-tarantinos-8390493.html)

## Radio Times — Jamie Healy

Rating 3/5. 

A darkly comic buddy movie that lampoons genre clichés but sometimes conforms to them; has Pulp Fiction flavor and charismatic Walken performance, with cult appeal.

[Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-6uxumm/seven-psychopaths/)

## Sight and Sound — Trevor Johnston

Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 7 December 2012. 

The critic finds the film a self-reflexive, shaggy-dog story that tries to have its cake and eat it, with strong performances but lacking moral or emotional substance compared to In Bruges.

[Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/film-week-seven-psychopaths)

## The New York Times — Manohla Dargis

Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 11 October 2012. 

The critic finds the meta comedy sporadically funny but slight overall, with clever observations undercut by thudding jokes. Strong performances from Christopher Walken and Colin Farrell are singled out amid the ensemble.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/12/movies/seven-psychopaths-written-by-martin-mcdonagh.html)

## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan

Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 11 October 2012. 

The rambling narrative is a shaggy dog story that fails to cohere despite audacious riffs and engaging performances. Unlike 'In Bruges,' the outlandish elements remain disconnected and do not fully deliver on subverting genre expectations.

[Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-xpm-2012-oct-11-la-et-mn-seven-psychopaths-20121012-story.html)

## Slant Magazine — John Semley

Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 10 October 2012. 

The critic praises the textures, jokes, performances and cinematic tricks but finds the film show-offy with a fuzzy core and troubling cake-and-eat-it-too approach to violence.

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

## Evening Standard

Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 8 May 2013. 

The critic notes that the film takes fun and games with killers to a new level but ultimately loses the plot, becoming so self-conscious, tricksy and parodic that it disappears up its own premise, wasting a great cast despite some witty dialogue.

[Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/seven-psychopaths-review-8392452.html)

## The Telegraph — Robbie Collin

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 6 December 2012. 

The review calls the film a debacle and overly meta-smug, critiquing its derivative Tarantino-like style, weak female roles, and failure to improve on the clichés it mocks despite a strong cast.

[Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/9727760/Seven-Psychopaths-review.html)

## Collider — Matt Goldberg

Rating A-. 12 October 2012. 

The critic calls the film brash, brilliant, and wickedly fun, the best about screenwriting since Adaptation. They single out the wild, energetic performances from Sam Rockwell, Colin Farrell, and Christopher Walken as fueling McDonagh’s machine-gun script.

[Read the review](https://collider.com/seven-psychopaths-movie-review/)

## Den of Geek — Simon Brew

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 6 December 2012. 

The critic finds it an unpredictable, funny and regularly excellent piece of cinema with strong moments and cast performances, though messier and less cohesive than In Bruges. It is still recommended as a treat.

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

## The Wrap

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 11 October 2012. 

The critic calls it a bloody hoot that mixes laughs and screams effectively, though it becomes too self-referential and distances the audience compared to McDonagh's prior work. They single out the brilliant ensemble cast, particularly Christopher Walken's standout performance, for keeping the film engaging.

[Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/seven-psychopaths-review-its-throat-slitting-bloody-lunatic-hoot-60171/)

## Eye for Film — Owen Van Spall

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 30 November 2012. 

McDonagh's follow-up delivers on its premise and cast but feels more sprawling and random than In Bruges, with a lower hit-to-miss ratio. Film buffs will enjoy the meta references and nods to genres and filmmaking itself.

[Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/seven-psycopaths-2012-film-review-by-owen-van-spall)

## HeyUGuys — Ian Gilchrist

Rating 3.5/5. 20 September 2012. Festival review. 

The film is an undemanding but very entertaining shaggy dog black comedy following a screenwriter entangled with dognappers. It delivers enjoyable character interactions and a satisfactory conclusion, with Christopher Walken stealing the show.

[Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/tiff-2012-seven-psychopaths-review/)

## Paste — Jonah Flicker

Rating 8.0. 14 October 2012. 

The review describes the film as a hilarious, hare-brained, spastic ride built on snappy self-referential dialogue and a game cast. It praises the ensemble (especially Rockwell and Harrelson) and McDonagh’s love-hate take on Hollywood conventions and violence.

[Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/seven-psychopaths)

## Digital Spy — Stella Papamichael

Rating 3/5. 3 December 2012. 

The critic notes the self-referential black comedy and witty dialogue but finds the plot messy and the film frustrating for those seeking straightforward thrills, though it remains funny and intriguing.

[Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a441487/seven-psychopaths-review-colin-farrell-gets-trigger-happy/)

---
© 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/seven-psychopaths.md