---
title: "Take Shelter: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/take-shelter/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/take-shelter"
critics_score: 81
critics_reviews: 21
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."
---

# Take Shelter (2011): what the critics said

Critics' score 81 from 21 reviews: 20 positive, 0 mixed, 1 negative.

Most critics respond warmly to Take Shelter, with praise centred on Michael Shannon’s performance as a family man troubled by apocalyptic visions. The reviews repeatedly describe his work as nuanced and vulnerable, giving the psychological terror a convincing domestic basis. Jeff Nichols’s control of creeping dread also draws broad approval, particularly where fears about mental illness meet the anxiety of losing a secure family life. Several critics find the small details of marriage and community as affecting as the threatening imagery.

Reservations concern the slow pace, an overextended final act and occasional awkwardness in combining supernatural horror with everyday drama. Approval is otherwise closely grouped, with one sharply negative outlier. The Guardian finds the film incoherent and its ending a cop-out, while The Telegraph praises that ending’s boldness. Even among favourable reviews, the handling of the conclusion remains a point of disagreement.

## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 5 October 2011. 

The critic praises the film's quiet exploration of spreading dread and anxiety about losing a good life amid possible disasters. Michael Shannon's performance as the tormented family man is highlighted as powerfully evocative.

[Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/take-shelter-2011)

## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 15 May 2011. Festival review. 

The critic calls it a masterfully controlled prestige picture about a man's mental collapse, praising its precise mood modulation, emotional accuracy, craftsmanship, and imagery. Shannon's lead performance is highlighted as exceptionally convincing.

[Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/take-shelter-film-review-75360/)

## The New York Times — A.O. Scott

Rating NYT Critic’s Pick. 29 September 2011. 

The review describes the film as a remarkable, quiet exploration of latent terrors in contemporary American life. It singles out the anxiety of losing a good life and the masterful performances for praise.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/30/movies/take-shelter-with-michael-shannon-and-jessica-chastain.html)

## The Telegraph

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 24 November 2011. 

Michael Shannon delivers a riveting performance in this slow-burn parable about apocalyptic visions, shot with ominous beauty. Nichols sustains tension and delivers a gutsy ending without short-changing the audience, making it one of 2011's standout films.

[Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/8913914/Take-Shelter-review.html)

## Los Angeles Times — Sheri Linden

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 30 September 2011. 

The critic commends the film's pre-apocalyptic dread and Michael Shannon's nuanced, compassionate performance as a man possibly cracking up or prescient. It highlights the wrenching depiction of family love in the climactic shelter scene.

[Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2011-sep-30-la-et-take-shelter-20110930-story.html)

## Slant Magazine — Bill Weber

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 25 September 2011. 

Nichols viscerally connects viewers to the protagonist's deteriorating mental state via Shannon's taciturn yet vulnerable performance, rendering rural settings both pacific and threatening. Some missteps occur with nightmare staging and therapy-drama elements, but the film sustains dread about a good man facing a cursed fate.

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

## Variety — Justin Chang

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 25 January 2011. Festival review. 

The review calls it a hallucinatory thriller that confirms Jeff Nichols's talent, anchored by Michael Shannon's resonant performance as a man driven by apocalyptic visions. It praises the domestic drama and sense of dread in a troubled world.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/2011/film/markets-festivals/take-shelter-1117944389/)

## The AV Club — Noel Murray

Rating B+. 29 September 2011. 

Nichols develops a mood of creeping dread through Shannon's performance as a man plagued by apocalyptic visions, though the film moves too slowly with some clumsy plotting. It focuses effectively on how family and community react to one man's mania.

[Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/take-shelter-1798169775)

## Empire — Angie Errigo

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 15 November 2011. 

Nichols’ intense drama is disturbing and unsettling, with Shannon delivering a tour de force as a man cracking up under the strains of normality. The film builds extraordinary palpable dread, though it is overlong and falters in its depiction of a working-class community.

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

## Little White Lies — Adam Woodward

Rating 3/4/3. 24 November 2011. 

The critic praises the lead performances by Shannon and Chastain as a compelling force but finds the blend of supernatural horror and suburban drama uneven, suggesting more restraint would strengthen the impact.

[Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/take-shelter)

## Screen Daily

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 16 May 2011. Festival review. 

Nichols combines inner and outer storms effectively in this compelling psychological thriller about a man's descent into schizophrenia, which also reflects post-9/11 and financial crisis anxieties in middle America; Shannon gives a riveting, empathetic lead performance.

[Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/take-shelter/5027637.article)

## Time Out — Tom Huddleston

Rating 4/5. 30 September 2011. 

Nichols delivers a major, ambitious state-of-the-nation film that captures middle-American desperation through a man's apocalyptic visions; Shannon's intense performance anchors this flawed but resonant work.

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

## Total Film — James Mottram

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 23 November 2011. 

A beguiling mix of psychological terror and social realism, boldly executed with poetic visuals and strong performances from Shannon and Chastain. Nichols shows excellent control of mood and themes, though the final act is overlong.

[Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/take-shelter-review/)

## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw

Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 24 November 2011. 

The film mixes elements of The Happening and The Tree of Life but fails to cohere, with some visual moments undermined by an absurd cop-out ending. It becomes a self-important shaggy dog story rather than a compelling human dilemma about possible hallucinations or real apocalypse.

[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/nov/24/take-shelter-review)

## Collider — Scott Wampler

Rating A-. 26 September 2011. 

The critic calls it an excellent, powerful little film with one of Michael Shannon’s finest performances and a haunting final image. They single out Shannon’s nuanced portrayal of a potentially paranoid family man for particular acclaim.

[Read the review](https://collider.com/take-shelter-review-michael-shannon/)

## Eye for Film — Jennie Kermode

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 18 November 2011. 

The critic calls it an astounding film about an ordinary family facing extraordinary struggles, with mythic overtones and a clash of realities. Michael Shannon's remarkable performance and the emotionally powerful ending are singled out for praise.

[Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/take-shelter-film-review-by-jennie-kermode)

## The Playlist — The Playlist Staff

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 29 September 2011. Festival review. 

The review praises the film's naturalistic and novelistic portrayal of madness and potential apocalypse through Curtis's visions and actions. It highlights Michael Shannon's performance and the ambiguity of whether the threat is real or imagined.

[Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/review-take-shelter-a-naturalistic-novelistic-portrayal-of-madness-apocalypse-20110929/)

## Digital Spy — Simon Reynolds

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 18 October 2011. Festival review. 

The review commends the compelling dive into a psyche spiraling into the abyss, with Shannon delivering a nuanced and layered performance. The journey is described as riveting, with the ambiguous ending leaving much to ponder.

[Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/bfi-london-film-festival/a345769/take-shelter-review-london-film-festival-2011/)

## HeyUGuys — Jon Lyus

Rating 4/5. 25 November 2011. Festival review. 

The review describes an unflinching meditation on control and mercy, with a compelling central performance by Michael Shannon as a man protecting his family amid mental strain. Nichols's handling of the family's internal collapse and the ambiguity of the visions are highlighted positively.

[Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/lff-2011-take-shelter-review/)

## The Skinny — Chris Fyvie

Rating ★★★★. 25 November 2011. 

The critic highlights Shannon's performance of genuine depth and power at the center of this haunting drama on mental illness. Nichols is praised for creating palpable menace and tension, with the intimacy of the family story making it truly heartbreaking, despite the curveball ending.

[Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/take-shelter)

## Den of Geek — Michael Leader

Rating 4 out of 5. 24 November 2011. 

The critic praises the film's subversion of the protective father trope through a psychological lens and highlights Michael Shannon's standout performance as Curtis. The small domestic details and family dynamics are singled out as strengths, though the confounding ending is noted as potentially divisive.

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

---
© 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/take-shelter.md