Critic Reviews

• Bill Stamets, Chicago Sun-Times

  Endless auditions get the annoying Francois nowhere closer to grasping what turns women on.

• Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

  Critics I admire have assured me that many of Brisseau's earlier films are less silly, more interesting, and even commendable.

• Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune

  The content may be dubious, but the execution is hypnotic.

• Michael Booth, Denver Post

  Gorgeous French silliness, yes, featuring stunning women having languorous, artful sex with each other. What was I saying? Oh yes, the silliness. Artful, gorgeous, sexy, sure, but ridiculous nonetheless.

• Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

  [Director] Brisseau calculatedly offsets the silliness of the surreal elements and the earnestness applied to the sex by savoring the overall absurdity.

• Andrew Sarris, New York Observer

  Mr. Brisseau honors the infinitely varying psyches of his female subjects. One may scoff at his voyeuristic self-indulgence, but when you come right down to it, isn't that what the cinema is all about, one way or another?

• Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

  A complex, confessional examination of [Jean-Claude Brisseau's] twisted, thorny and ultimately ambiguous feelings toward women and sex.

• Ted Murphy, Murphy's Movie Reviews

  ... the film is passably entertaining but dramatically inert.

• Jack Garner, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

  The cinematic equivalent of getting drenched with a splash of ice water.

• Matthew Sorrento, Film Threat

  It lacks any introspection to illuminate the erotic subject matter.

• Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

  It's not smart enough to actually pull off what it purports to do, and it's not free enough to simply enjoy itself.

• Matt Pais, Metromix.com

  Little more than Lesbians Lesbians Lesbians.

• Josh Bell, Las Vegas Weekly

  It's hard to tell if Brisseau is a raging misogynist or a radical feminist, and what makes the movie interesting is that he's probably a little bit of both.

• Andy Klein, Los Angeles CityBeat

  ... plenty of heat, not all that much light.

• Steven Snyder, Zertinet Movies

  A sexually-charged, eyebrow-raising thriller that often straddles that fine line between erotic thriller and all-out pornography.

• George Wu, culturevulture.net

  If the movie was meant to render sympathy to Brisseau, it only reinforces how monstrously repugnant he is. The audacity to suggest his complete innocence makes the whole thing seem like black comedy, only the core sentiment is not funny.

• Ron Wilkinson, Monsters and Critics

  A venture into the world of lust and love scripted with the beauty and discipline of Greek tragedy. As enthralling as it is disturbing. A must see for those who can tolerate the explicit sex.

• Noel Murray, AV Club

  Exterminating Angels is undeniably arousing.

• Kam Williams, NewsBlaze

  Masturbation as method acting!

Read all 19 critic reviews