Village Voice by Melissa Anderson

Stranger abounds with precision and detail, evinced not just in the spectacular visual composition but also in the observation of behavioral codes in carnally charged spaces.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto)

Spare, steely, sexually explicit in a way that transcends mere provocation, Stranger by the Lake is vital cinema.

Slant Magazine by Diego Semerene

Alain Guiraudie's film portrays cruising as a danger-seeking and astoundingly repetitive affair, intimately linked to death itself.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Adam Nayman

Spare, steely, sexually explicit in a way that transcends mere provocation, Stranger by the Lake is vital cinema.

RogerEbert.com by Michal Oleszczyk

Guiraudie's directorial assurance is stunning: the entire movie is a master class in audiovisual storytelling, as well as an exemplary case of immersing the viewer in an environment.

Empire by Liz Beardsworth

Beautifully crafted, sinister, frightening, erotic and thought-provoking, Alain Guiraudie’s multi-faceted Cannes triumph is already one of the most provocative, intriguing films of the year.

The Dissolve by Scott Tobias

Even when the plot kicks in and the stakes get raised, there’s a casualness to Guiraudie’s approach that’s singular and admirably defiant of genre expectations. He’s setting a scene. Tension insinuates itself later.

Variety by Boyd van Hoeij

This is essentially an absorbing and intelligent exploration of queer desire spiced up with thriller elements.

New York Magazine (Vulture) by Bilge Ebiri

The mystery may be resolved, but the suspense and uncertainty remain. And so, Guiraudie ends his film on a cold, almost cruel note of existential solitude that just might, if you let it, break your heart.

Los Angeles Times by Betsy Sharkey

The filmmaker constructs a growing sense of dread with the calculated precision of a classic horror movie.

NPR by Bob Mondello

Stranger by the Lake has become a psychosexually intriguing blend of Alfred Hitchcock's "Rear Window" and William Friedkin's "Cruising" — one in which sex gets intertwined with murder, fear battles desire, and the police discover that voyeurs don't necessarily make good witnesses if no one ever exchanges names or phone numbers.

Entertainment Weekly by Owen Gleiberman

The movie is voyeuristic, sure, but in a way that evokes Alfred Hitchcock's "Rear Window" more than William Friedkin's "Cruising."

The Playlist by Jessica Kiang

Guiraudie creates an ambiance of eerie atmospherics that is at once crisp and observant, and oddly dreamlike, or nightmarish.

Time Out by Keith Uhlich

Though Stranger by the Lake leans a bit too heavily on its long-take, slow-cinema bona fides, there’s a clear purpose to Guiraudie’s rigorous perspective. He’s out to unearth the very potent (and often terrifying) emotions underlying every explicit act, sexual or otherwise.

The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw

The tired old trope "erotic thriller" does no justice to how confrontationally and explicitly sexual this movie is — nor how thrilling, nor how menacing and complex.

The Hollywood Reporter by Jordan Mintzer

Stranger by the Lake invites you into its alluring and peaceful world, only to gradually uncover the darkness beneath it.