A lesser movie about hazing would cluck its tongue and put on a mask of sympathy for these boys, painting them as victims. Goat has the temerity to let us see them as they see themselves. As survivors.

| Jan 5, 2021

Some may see it as a recruitment video for bad behavior in general, while others (including the filmmakers) may see it as an angry cautionary tale. Either way, it's a heartbreaking experience.

| Apr 28, 2020

Without indicting the fraternity system, co-writer/director Andrew Neel scrutinizes the viability of young men who look for a solution to the problems of masculine assertion and social cohesion within such groups.

| Apr 20, 2019

It's resonant, thought-provoking and memorable.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 21, 2019

Goat harrowingly explores the hypocrisy of fraternal brotherhood, bearing witness to the ugly rights of passage that men must submit to into order to earn their badge of masculinity.

| Original Score: B- | Nov 5, 2018

Goat explores the worst of youthful masculinity, that moment when the lines is crossed from good natured ribbing into degrading torture.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Nov 1, 2018

As a meditation on the mechanics of male bonding, Goat ... has a lot to recommend, filled with sensitive performances from its two leads.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Feb 6, 2018

Goat paints an ugly portrait of young white manhood stewing in its own idiocy until the inevitable tragic result is reached.

| Oct 16, 2017

Andrew Neel's Goat is an excellent showcase for up-and-coming star Ben Schnetzer, whose strong performance hints at the better film it could have been.

| Jun 29, 2017

The barbaric practice of hazing... turns out to be a toxic brew of sadomasochism and machismo, which makes this unflinching American indie drama at times tough to watch.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 7, 2017

Whatever the second half's flaws, Goat's final sequence is at once plangent, hopeful, and instructive.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Dec 20, 2016

Saved primarily by a first act that stuns and a leading man that captivates, Goat needed to go further into its excoriating of this lifestyle to be more than a blip on the cinematic radar.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Oct 6, 2016

Unflinching look at frat culture has sex, drugs, violence.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 4, 2016

Most are already keenly aware of how disgusting and deplorable hazing is, but Neel's film serves as a wake-up call for those who still perpetuate the tradition or don't view it as a deadly serious issue.

| Original Score: 6/10 | Sep 30, 2016

... explores in convincing detail the legacy of unabated white privilege and sadistic macho posturing that pervades such organizations.

| Sep 26, 2016

Hearing adorable little Nick Jonas drop the F-bomb over and over just seems to go against God's law.

| Original Score: C- | Sep 24, 2016

Like a driver's-ed filmstrip of bloody car wrecks, its scenes of ritualized cruelty, initially grueling, soon blur together.

| Sep 24, 2016

If you are college-bound, go and see Goat first, but for God's sake don't take your parents.

| Sep 23, 2016

Effective and jarring, Goat is a tough pill to swallow, but that's the point.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Sep 23, 2016

A pretty fantastic character study that really keeps you invested in the story and where it goes.

| Original Score: B+ | Sep 23, 2016