If people want to talk about really bad films, it won't be long before Paul Verhoeven comes along Show girls gets a mention. At just 23% on Rotten Tomatoes, it's just above that of Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol, Highlander II: The Quickening And Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 – all of which have a 0% rating on the review site.
But now there's a new name in the lower ratings, a 2020 crime thriller titled The silence. With only 20% discount on the Tomatometer, The silence is officially worse than Show girls but better than Jaws: the revenge.
And yet, of all the Christmas movies in Netflix's top 10 this week, it's the sixth most-watched film on the top streaming service, with nearly four million views and better than any other crime thriller. The murderer in seventh place. So who is wrong: the critics or the viewers?
What are the critics saying about The Silencing?
The silence is a mysterious crime thriller about a reformed hunter who lives a quiet life in a nature reserve. But he has a dark past, and guess what: he can't escape it! There's a vicious killer in town, and that killer could be the man who kidnapped his daughter several years earlier.
Decision maker has seen it all before. It's “a scowl-inducing suspense exercise with a series of functional performances that are dutifully to the letter and focused entirely on simmer” that is “like an extended episode of any standard cable murder drama.” And RogerEbert.com has Certainly have seen it all before and say, “You feel like you've seen this all before.” Rolling stone says it's a “long journey to a boring ending”, while Starburst says it's “desperately boring and predictable”.
But not all reviews are so scathing. Reel Film Reviews says it is “solid” and Common sense media says “it works because of the interestingly flawed characters and good performances”. The times of India says “it makes quite a killing spree” and Film research says it's “an underrated, underrated film that knows why its tropes work and sticks to its guns.”
If you want to decide for yourself, The silence now streaming on Netflix. And if you finally decide to watch another crime thriller, there's another option, too The murderer or if you've seen these three top crime movies, try them.