Seven PsychopathsMovie Reviews

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Avg. Critic Score: 66 out of 100 Generally favorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
17 Iffy for 17+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 88
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    Men in movies are often just overgrown boys, and Seven Psychopaths is out to prove it - in the most twisted, hilarious way possible. Read full review

  • 83
    Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum

    An energetically demented psycho-killer comedy set in faux-noir L.A., Seven Psychopaths rollicks along to the unique narrative beat and language stylings of Anglo-Irish writer-director Martin McDonagh (In Bruges), channeling Quentin Tarantino. Read full review

  • 80
    The Hollywood Reporter |

    While it's way behind the "Pulp Fiction" curve, Seven Psychopaths can be terrifically entertaining. Read full review

  • 75
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    Blood splatters, heads explode, and McDonagh takes sassy, self-mocking shots at the very notion of being literary in Hollywood. It's crazy-killer fun. Read full review

  • 75
    Boston Globe | Ty Burr

    Absurdly entertaining even after it disappears up its own hindquarters in the last act, and it gives some of our weirder actors ample room to play. Read full review

  • 70
    NPR |

    There's something overtly mechanical about McDonagh's approach that keeps it all from being as outrageously fun as it's pretending to be. Read full review

  • 63
    Philadelphia Inquirer | Steven Rea

    Meta and messy, Seven Psychopaths does not hang together like "In Bruges." Read full review

  • 60
    New York Daily News |

    Each cast member helps push it along, with standouts including Rockwell, Harrelson and Gabourey Sidibe in a brief but memorable scene. They help make Seven Psychopaths an astute, bloody and bloodshot-eyed addition to a genre it knows it's part of. Read full review

  • 50
    Wall Street Journal | Joe Morgenstern

    The violence wears you down. Like one of its nutso characters, Seven Psychopaths has a death wish. Read full review

  • 50
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    Compared with other movies, Seven Psychopaths is clever and inventive enough to be considered a weak success or a modest failure, the kind of effort that usually gets damned with the faint praise of "not bad." Read full review

View more reviews for Seven Psychopaths on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 17+ Graphic violence, strong language in clever crime comedy.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that Seven Psychopaths is the second feature film by acclaimed playwright and Oscar-winning filmmaker Martin McDonagh, who frequently uses crime, violence, and strong language in his smart-but-edgy stories. Seven Psychopaths is no exception: Expect lots of graphic, bloody images, including shooting and killing; spraying, splattered blood; victims burned alive; sawing a victim's neck; and an over-the-top bloody shootout with exploding heads. Language is very strong ("f--k," "s--t," "c--t," etc.), and there's a near-sex scene, a topless woman, and a woman wearing a wet, see-through top. A major character is also shown to have a drinking problem.
  • Families can talk about Seven Psycopaths' violence. Is violence necessary to tell a good story? Why do the characters discuss violence? Do you agree with their conclusions?
  • How does the movie portray the main character's drinking problem? Do the consequences seem realistic? How does it compare to other depictions in movies/on TV?
  • There's a brief comment about how the fictitious screenplay in the story has no strong female characters. How are women characters represented in the real movie? How does the comment relate to it?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: The characters discuss the option of telling a story without any violence or conflict, but their conclusion is that a good story needs a lot of violence.
  • rolemodels true1 Positive role models: The main character, a screenwriter, grows tired of violent stories and tries as much as he can to work toward something that involves introspection and discussion. He tries to save a wounded bad guy, even though the attempt backfires on him. Unfortunately, violence tends to win the day here. Additionally, this character is shown to have a drinking problem.
What to watch for
  • violence false5 Violence: Many characters are shot and killed, with lots of spurting blood. In one scene, a gangster shoots an innocent old lady in the head; blood is sprayed on the walls. A woman is shot in the stomach. Throats are sliced, and a character is shot with a crossbow. Heads explode. A character attempts suicide via a bombing. In a flashback, two killers shoot people, burn them alive, and saw victims' heads off. In an imagined finale, there's a ridiculously bloody shootout. Much of the violence is meant to be comical in a shocking way, i.e. the suddenness and randomness of the targets.
  • sex false4 Sexy stuff: Characters are shown attempting to have sex (with noises), but they stop. A topless woman is shown. A main character is shown with a wet top, and her breasts are somewhat visible beneath.
  • language false4 Language: Very strong, frequent language includes uses of "f--k," "motherf---r," "s--t," "p---y," "c--t," "bitch," "d--k," "ass," "bastard," "hell," "damn," "goddamn," "oh my God," "Jesus Christ" (as an exclamation), and derogatory terms such as the "N" word, "f-gs," and "homos."
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: A Milky Way chocolate bar is shown very briefly.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false4 Drinking, drugs and smoking: The main character is shown to have a drinking problem. It costs him his relationship with his girlfriend, and he turns to drinking for every problem he has. The problem is acknowledged, and it's assumed that he has stopped drinking by the story's end. Another character regularly smokes peyote.
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Exclusive Features

Cast Interviews Exclusive Cast Interivew Colin Farrell, Woody Harrelson and director Martin McDonagh name the most outrageous character and Sam Rockwell and Christopher Walken talk about the craziest scenes. Woody Harrelson Talks Dark Humor in 'Psychopaths' The veteran actor sat down with us during the Toronto Film Festival last month to chat about the humor in the film and also touches on the upcoming Hunger Games sequel.