Dual (2022)

"Dual skillfully operates on (at least) two levels: There’s the superficial thriller plot, which points toward a knock-down, drag-out finale, and there’s the more identity-centric subtext, which delivers a different kind of punch entirely."

"An underdeveloped follow-up to the director’s thornier features."

"After a thrilling opening... Dual slows down and settles into an offbeat sci-fi comedy..."

"Ruthless, deeply cynical, and thrumming with jet-black humour..."

"Weird and hilarious..."

"Dual is never boring, but it starts to feel hollow, an experiment that doesn’t just eschew deeper meaning but pushes back against it."

"A rewarding and gut-busting film (whose) lingering ideas are nearly as strong as its humorous, thoughtful construction."

"An odd mix of deadpan satire and high concept sci-fi..."

"An uncanny film with a precisely bizarre lead performance."

"Your mileage with this darkly comedic slice of lo-fi sci-fi will vary depending on your appreciation of the writer/director’s earlier work."

"It’s enough that Dual adds a fresh sprinkle of doom to the already savage deadpan of Stearns’ previous work... That it also allows Karen Gillan to give two hilarious performances, both colder than death but at distinctly different temperatures, is just icing on the cake."

"Riley Stearns’s film consistently tickles the funny bone, even when it comes at the expense of psychological nuance."

"(Dual) boasts an intriguing premise and a solid central performance, but its vagueness is to its detriment."

"Darkly funny..."