83
Perkins commits even harder to his singularly strange approach to the genre, turning a simple ghost story into an exercise in extremely prolonged unease. It could give Norman Bates the willies.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
100
I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House is the very best of gothic horror, that which needles at your insecure core and whispers in your ear what you already suspected: You will never be all right.
75
RogerEbert.com by Brian Tallerico
Most importantly, this is not a film to be “solved.” It is a mood piece made by someone constantly playing with structure, but never in a way that calls overt attention to itself.
50
Intriguing as the resulting ambiance is, it alone can’t sustain the film.
50
We Got This Covered by Matt Donato
A few images sear with the burning sensation of undead terror, but that only accounts for a few short minutes of an otherwise more-daunting-than-it-should-be cinematic exploration of death.
40
It’s commendable that Perkins seems wholly uninterested in the tropes of the genre: there’s only one jump scare, hardly any gore and no final girl. The elusiveness of the narrative, however, grows weary fast.
75
Consequence by Randall Colburn
What’s clear in Perkins’ second feature is that he’s clearly become aware that his talents as a visual storyteller outweigh his skill with narrative. He’s leaning into that, and while it might make for a more “difficult” film, it’s ultimately a more satisfying one.
80
The Hollywood Reporter by Stephen Dalton
I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House is a lightly gothic murder ballad made with great finesse and a fine cast.