The result is a grungy and entirely engrossing neo-noir that takes deliciously unexpected turns.

| Apr 21, 2025

Gazer takes the idea of an unreliable narrator to thrilling, surreal places in this neo-noir mystery.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Apr 17, 2025

Better and truer than that character gimmick, though, is the well-realized, lived-in pall of Frankie’s sad existence, which imbues her problem-solving survival with a genuinely fresh, in-the-bones urgency.

| Apr 14, 2025

Time is not on the side of Gazer's protagonist nor it's shambling, ersatz neo-noir narrative siphoned from various auteur aesthetics, with whom unavoidable comparison suggests a better edit would have benefitted this film's capabilities.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 14, 2025

It took them four years to make it, and for the audience, it will feel like it at an almost punishing two-hour mark. The atmosphere is strong, but not substantial enough to make a lasting impression. They are better filmmakers than story tellers.

| Apr 14, 2025

Ariella Mastroianni caries the film from scene to scene and mesmerizes

| Original Score: B | Apr 11, 2025

If nothing else, that unexpected second half saves “Gazer,” though it’s unlikely to prompt repeat views, it still captures enough attention to warrant one’s gaze.

| Original Score: B | Apr 10, 2025

A self-financed directorial debut is a twisty and sometimes-surprising neo-noir that fails to find meaning in its motives.

| Apr 10, 2025

Sloan doesn't compromise his vision, and that's commendable, yet the endurance test of the film's dragging momentum is a challenge in the third act.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Apr 8, 2025

All told, the film fairly seethes with ingenuity, however much it must frequently do battle with its lack of originality.

| Apr 8, 2025

Even as it stumbles, Gazer remains nothing less than a wholly unique mood. Perhaps the biggest compliment one would give is that it leaves you clamoring for whatever Sloan and Mastronianni do next.

| Apr 8, 2025

The authors of Gazer clearly have great taste in movies and genuinely love everything they pay homage to here. However, despite what the excessively optimistic ending of the film seems to imply, sometimes love is simply not enough.

| Apr 8, 2025

If Gazer doesn’t pick up the momentum needed to match Frankie’s increasingly dire situation, it’s nevertheless a pleasure to watch.

| Apr 7, 2025

GAZER is a rich visual feast that toys with the mind in the most perplexing and fiendish ways. The movie's brooding almost unnecessarily measured pace, however, weighs things down a bit.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Apr 7, 2025

To further tie itself in the traditions of the scummy paranoia features, Gazer looks like a 1970s thriller. Visually, it often resembles Altman’s The Long Goodbye and uses shadow to perfection.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Apr 6, 2025

Gazer has some interesting ideas but the overall result feels tedious.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 5, 2025

Noteworthy for its cool stylistic influences more than its meandering storyline, this gritty throwback thriller showcases future filmmaking potential yet also stands on its own.

| Apr 4, 2025

While it might be tempting to dismiss Gazer as wholly derivative based on that description alone, Sloan’s execution, the way he threads that referentiality throughout the plot, and the strength of Mastroianni’s performance all work to the film’s benefit.

| Apr 4, 2025

A mesmerizing and stylish noir thriller.

| Apr 4, 2025

A fractured, sensory puzzle of memory and fear.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Apr 4, 2025