The film does drag in the second act, as the mystery slowly builds and builds... However, Master has a decent final note and is a confident, chilling campus horror from Mariama Diallo.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jul 25, 2024

A fantastic Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi try hard, but a so-so screenplay makes their job difficult...

| Jul 18, 2024

It’s an ambitious experiment that sometimes stumbles, but in the end its relevance eclipses its narrative fuzziness.

| Oct 31, 2023

Diallo created a story that is bold and astonishingly unique, twisted with jolts and tension of a surprising final act.

| Sep 4, 2023

Diallo chooses horror to warn students and academics of color of the psychological dangers hiding behind the hallowed halls. The moral monsters of “I Am Not Your Negro” (2016) become literal.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Aug 16, 2023

effective psychological horror film that builds incredibly creepy scares that got right under my skin…. The movie might be mesmerizing with its scares

| Jul 25, 2023

Diallo layers the exposition with a duality that emphasizes the feelings of anxiety experienced by both women.

| May 9, 2023

A lot of details about the pressures of being a college student are explored to some degree in this movie, along with a lot of current trends in society. This is a movie that gives the viewer much to think about in addition to its main ghost stories.

| Original Score: B | Dec 25, 2022

Master is an impressive, exciting horror debut that holds up a mirror to American academia to reflect the bigotry at its core.

| Dec 17, 2022

"Diallo has a deft handle on the film’s tone and atmosphere, expertly creating the playground for her characters’ fears to manifest. But she never closes the loop on the narrative itself, leading to an unsatisfying and confounding end."

| Nov 19, 2022

This is magnetic, poised film-making with a keen eye for both social commentary and horror imagery that lingers beyond the credits. This is a film that treats its performers with reverence, resulting in a truly engaging experience.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Sep 10, 2022

None of the horror stuff is the slightest bit unsettling, and it feels tacked on in a vain attempt to fit genre expectations.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 16, 2022

"Master" is best when it leaves the spooky ghost stories behind and focuses on the real horrors of society.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Jun 27, 2022

Gruesome elements from past, dark legends… tied into a present that is perhaps more sinister, traumatizing, and terrifying than the old days. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | May 16, 2022

a deeply effective film, one in which black viewers will likely recognize a great deal of their own experience and one that white viewers should take to heart

| Original Score: 3/4 | May 10, 2022

Rather than ending on a tragic and ambiguous note, we're instead confronted with a ridiculous plot twist that introduces an unwelcome "ripped from the headlines" perspective.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 19, 2022

Intriguing character nuances are continually brushed against without deeper exploration, all in service of an ending that’s not really scary, sad, or disturbing so much as a resigned shrug of abnegation.

| Apr 18, 2022

A really interesting film, with more than a little Jordan Peele in it.

| Apr 15, 2022

This is an effective if not quite successful use of horror movie conventions to make an old New England university a symbol of institutional racism in the United States.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 11, 2022

The racially-charged horror of Master made an impression last month, not so much because of its compelling story, but thanks to its strong performances.

| Apr 7, 2022