50
There's some nifty soft-focus cinematography and fine performances, but otherwise, not much to resonate on this side of the pond.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
70
Chilling, often moving docudrama focuses not so much on the mayhem or murderer, but on the bewildered, occasionally courageous reactions of ordinary citizens caught in the inexplicable violence.
50
The Hollywood Reporter by Frank Scheck
Ultimately, the film, for all its evident verisimilitude, never really demonstrates a compelling reason for being.
75
New York Daily News by Jack Mathews
As sensitive to its subject as it is stark in its rendering.
100
With his carefully controlled pacing and superb use of sound, Sarkies draws the viewer deep into the experience of a town caught completely off-guard by a kind of violence they could never have expected, and won't soon forget.
75
A taut thriller based on the tragedy, which remains the most lethal mass killing in New Zealand history.