---
title: "The Incredible Shrinking Man: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-incredible-shrinking-man/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-incredible-shrinking-man"
critics_score: 82
critics_reviews: 7
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."
---

# The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957): what the critics said

Critics' score 82 from 7 reviews: 6 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative.

Most critics respond warmly to The Incredible Shrinking Man, with praise clustering around its effects, Grant Williams’s performance and Jack Arnold’s direction. The reviews credit the optical and practical effects with making the shrinking convincing, while Arnold’s framing turns familiar domestic spaces into threats. Williams’s sensitive performance gives the fantasy a human centre, and several critics find lasting force in the story’s simplicity, scares and fear of becoming insignificant.

The differences are chiefly between enthusiasm and more qualified enjoyment, rather than approval and rejection. Empire finds the paranoia dated and the mood downbeat, though it still praises the film’s handling of perspective. Slant Magazine admires its ambition but argues that its psychosexual implications remain underexplored. The supplied scores range from mixed to strongly positive, with no negative verdicts, although the inaccessible New York Times review leaves its reasons for reservation unverified.

## Radio Times — Alan Jones

Rating 5/5. 

Jones calls the film a must-see classic that retains its irony, shock and power. He praises Grant Williams’s sensitive portrayal of a man pushed into a freak’s world.

[Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-xq1nnp/the-incredible-shrinking-man/)

## Slant Magazine — Chuck Bowen

Rating 4.5/5. 5 January 2022. 

Bowen sees the film as a startlingly personal and ambitious fantasy that gives its hero’s fears of irrelevance existential force. He praises the ingenious effects and Arnold’s direct visual style, while noting the film cannot fully explore the story’s psychosexual implications.

[Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/the-incredible-shrinking-man-blu-ray-review-jack-arnold/)

## Time Out — GA

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

The review calls it one of the finest films in science fiction. It singles out the story’s simplicity as a strength.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-incredible-shrinking-man)

## Empire — Ian Nathan

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 27 April 2006. 

Nathan finds the film very enjoyable despite its dated paranoia and downbeat mood. He praises how Arnold’s camera adopts the shrinking protagonist’s perspective, transforming familiar domestic spaces into threats.

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

## Variety — Variety Staff

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1956. 

The review is positive, highlighting the film’s uncompromising ending and effective scares. It particularly praises the optical effects that make the shrinking visually convincing.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/1956/film/reviews/the-incredible-shrinking-man-1200418227/)

## The New York Times

Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 11 April 2003. 

The page could not be read, so its verdict is unavailable. No specific praise or complaint can be verified from the accessible material.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/11/movies/film-review-crazy-shrink-treats-the-last-sane-man.html)

## Eye for Film — Jennie Kermode

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 10 November 2017. 

Kermode finds the film daring, thrilling, and still among the best speculative-fiction films. She especially praises Grant Williams’s performance and the practical effects, particularly Jack Arnold’s confident framing.

[Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-incredible-shrinking-man-1957-film-review-by-jennie-kermode)

---
© 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/the-incredible-shrinking-man.md