56
Metascore
7 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80Village VoiceDiana ClarkeVillage VoiceDiana ClarkeSurreal and wordlessly unsettling, Eduardo Williams’ globe-crossing feature The Human Surge is intimate and pleasurably inscrutable.
- 75The Film StageEthan VestbyThe Film StageEthan VestbyOften blatantly ugly or boring, it’s not so much deliberately confrontational in the way so many experimental films are (or pride themselves on being), but rather risk-taking for the sake of something almost impossible to articulate — even if based in something obvious.
- 50VarietyJessica KiangVarietyJessica KiangIf the slender paradox at the heart of the film is that the thing that connects us most is the difficulty of connection, The Human Surge is a victim of its own effectiveness: It’s rigorous, rarefied, and utterly remote.
- 50The New York TimesGlenn KennyThe New York TimesGlenn KennyJust when you think you’ve got the movie pegged, it pulls a daring switch of perspective. While the thrill of that little coup is short-lived, it suggests that Mr. Williams may come up with something more substantial with his next feature.
- 25Slant MagazineCarson LundSlant MagazineCarson LundThe film’s default state is an ambient inertia that gestures vaguely in multiple directions without concerning itself with the hard work of constructing an argument, a convincing milieu, or even a compelling mood.
- 25RogerEbert.comMatt FagerholmRogerEbert.comMatt FagerholmThough the picture is admirable on a conceptual level, its execution is incoherent, interminable and a colossal strain on the eyes.