1. The problem with making a smart horror parody -- and James Gunn's Slither is a smart horror parody -- is that it's kind of like doing a virtuoso performance of 'My Way.' The skill of execution tends to be eclipsed by the tedium of the material.
2. There's something winning about this grab bag of orally fixated invertebrates and mucus-covered Noids.
3. Cloying smart, gleefully mischievous and resplendently, stupendously gross.
4. If you're the type who appreciates the half-scary, half-silly comic book-y approach of titles like Gremlins, Tremors, and Eight Legged Freaks, I'd bet you $9.50 and a small popcorn that you'll enjoy Slither.
5. Slither's deadpan wit has its price -- it's hard to be scared by something this riotously entertaining. But for a piece of slimy horror this tasty, you should leave a little wiggle room.
6. Takes a stylish, back-to-basics approach to the material and doesn't hesitate to throw everything in but the kitchen sink.
7. I didn't have a date by my side, but I know a Bruised Forearm Movie when I see one, and I'm happy to report that Slither is the genuine article.
8. Actually makes good on the 'horror comedy' label by being both flat-out creepy and darkly funny.
9. Finally, we have a horror film that recaptures the schlocky spirit of the '80s
10. Gunn's directorial debut pays homage to so many classics with ample enough wit that most viewers won't care that Slither doesn't offer much originality of its own.
What is the critic consensus?
A: A slimy, B-movie homage oozing with affection for low-budget horror films, Slither is creepy and funny -- if you've got the stomach for it.

1. A lame exercise, delivering shameless thrills at the expense of logic and genuine suspense.
2. Unfortunately, they squander their white-knuckle goodwill on an 11th-hour about-face so preposterous it undermines everything that preceded it.
3. You have to give it to the filmmakers for their contempt of convention: no foreplay, no teasing, no steady buildup of dread, just a knock on the door and the slaughterer is there.
4. Director Alexandre Aja, who wrote this with Gregory Levasseur, doesn't have a gift for horror suspense so much as a compleat geek knowledge of all the superior scare flicks that have preceded High Tension.
5. A humorless, even borderline pretentious exercise in sick scaremongering...
6. The movie [isn't] scary, suspenseful, thought-provoking or -- heck -- even remotely entertaining.
7. Even a bloody lesbian kiss can't save this flick.
8. See this only if you have a taste for gore.
9. Can a film be undone by its lame twist ending? In the case of High Tension, the answer is yes.
10. Very bloody, sometimes difficult to watch and sometimes just tiresome.
What is the critic consensus?
A: There is indeed a good amount of tension in this French slasher, but the dubbing is bad and the end twist unbelievable.

1. It's the revealing performance from Press that breathes life into the film.
2. A portrait of adolescence at its most innocent -- and most resilient.
3. Pawlikowski treats the girls' escalating attraction with delicacy, avoiding the titillating pitfalls of the genre.
4. Their romance seems alternately fluid and jaunty, as they explore one another and their own feelings.
5. Pavlikovsky ends up falsifying everything his style was working so effectively to create, and only because he ultimately chose content over style.
6. It is, in short, a very good coming-of-age story of love and obsession, but not a remarkable one.
7. Arguably the best film of the summer, perhaps even the year.
8. Intoxicating, even hypnotic...The steamy relationship between Mona and Tasmin has an almost tactile sultriness.
9. Sometimes predictable and cliched, occasionally even dull, but worth watching because of the performances of newcomers Natalie Press and Emily Blunt.
10. Thoughtful, carefully crafted drama about youth and summer love in a small town is a great acting showcase for a talented cast.
What is the critic consensus?
A: My Summer of Love is a moody, bittersweet love story featuring outstanding performances from the leads.

1. ... the dark, sarcastic tale no doubt will recall the profound likes of "Midnight Cowboy" and "The Graduate" ... That's not such bad company to keep for a boy named Igby and guy named Burr.
2. A kinetic drama that seems to wander aimlessly, beautifully until it crashes in an odd anti-climax befitting reality itself.
3. It suffers from Culkin's monotonous performance, which does not inspire sympathy or interest.
4. The sly, visceral and daring comedy with its startling opening and strong, magnetic cast has a lot going for it.
5. Follows so closely in the footsteps of Catcher in the Rye that it can hardly fail to please the myriad fans of that book.
6. Culkin exudes none of the charm or charisma that might keep a more general audience even vaguely interested in his bratty character.
7. It's Harold and Maude without the humanism, Rushmore without the insight and The Graduate without the irony.
8. A prickly coming-of-age tale in which everybody -- but especially Culkin -- shines.
9. Surprises you with a reservoir of emotion and sentiment that happily counters the film's trendy ironic veneer.
10. The kid is a bit of a twit.
What is the critic consensus?
A:
In the vein of The Catcher in the Rye, Igby Goes Down is scathingly witty and sharply observant.