40
The New York Times by Dana Stevens
Permeated by a self-pitying, adolescent naïveté.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
30
A repetitious, borderline-silly vanity project.
60
New Times (L.A.) by Gregory Weinkauf
Argento knows how to work her stuff, and the result is by turns saucy and grody, a fat lasagna of yesterday's "extreme" behavior dripping with Euro cheesiness.
0
New York Daily News by Jack Mathews
Italian actress, writer and director Asia Argento's performance in the godawful Scarlet Diva is one of those bawl, spit, scream and vomit exhibitions that provoke admiring applause in acting classes and great gales of laughter in theaters.
60
TV Guide Magazine by Maitland McDonagh
Actress-turned-writer/director Asia Argento's angry, outspoken, semi-autobiographical rant of a film is strident and occasionally juvenile, but it packs an undeniable wallop.
70
Los Angeles Times by Manohla Dargis
It's a demented kitsch mess (although the smeary digital video does match the muddled narrative), but it's savvy about celebrity and has more guts and energy than much of what will open this year.
50
Austin Chronicle by Marc Savlov
Certainly it's not for everyone, but fans of Euro-sleaze will groove on Argento's obvious charms and the film's dystopian thrill ride, while the rest will probably doze off dreaming Fassbinder dreams.
63
New York Post by Megan Lehmann
This is an egotistical endeavor from the daughter of horror director Dario Argento (a producer here), but her raw performance and utter fearlessness make it strangely magnetic.
58
Entertainment Weekly by Owen Gleiberman
Has a voyeuristic tug, but all in all it's a lot less sensational than it wants to be.
40
Though Scarlet Diva contains flashes of pungent black humor and self-deprecation, it's hard to know how seriously Argento takes herself, or how much her real life has been inflated for dramatic effect.