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About this movie

Genres:
Drama, Horror
Language:
English
Running time:
2:01:06
Partner rating:
R
Released:
Quality:
720 (High Definition)

Cast & Crew

Cast

  1. Shea Whigham
  2. Kathy Baker
  3. Katy Mixon
  4. Jessica Chastain
  5. Michael Shannon

Directors

  1. Jeffrey Nicholson

Writers

  1. Jeff Nichols

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Take Shelter

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Play video in overlay2:06

Trailer for Take Shelter

Following his acclaimed debut, Shotgun Stories, writer/director Jeff Nichols reteams with actor Michael Shannon to create a haunting tale that will creep under your skin and expose your darkest fears. Curtis LaForche lives in a small town in Ohio with his wife, Samantha, and daughter, Hannah, a six-year-old deaf girl. When Curtis begins to have terrifying dreams, he keeps the visions to himself, channeling his anxiety into obsessively building... Following his acclaimed debut, Shotgun Stories, writer/director Jeff Nichols reteams with actor Michael Shannon to create a haunting tale that will creep under your skin and expose your darkest fears. Curtis LaForche lives in a small town in Ohio with his wife, Samantha, and daughter, Hannah, a six-year-old deaf girl. When Curtis begins to have terrifying dreams, he keeps the visions to himself, channeling his anxiety into obsessively building a storm shelter in his backyard. His seemingly inexplicable behavior concerns and confounds those closest to him, but the resulting strain on his marriage and tension within his community can't compare with Curtis's privately held fear of what his dreams may truly signify. Take Shelter features fully realized characters crumbling under the weight of real-life problems. Using tone and atmosphere to chilling effect, Nichols crafts a powerful psychological thriller that is a disturbing tale for our times. MPAA Rating: R Rated R for some language.

Reviews by Rotten Tomatoes

Scored 'fresh' by Rotten Tomatoes

92%Tomatometer score: 92% positive reviews from professional critics.

percent positive reviews

  1. Positive review
    Justin Chang, Variety A hallucinatory thriller anchored by a deeply resonant sense of unease. Full review External link
  2. Positive review
    Tim Robey, Daily Telegraph An impressively sustained slow-burn parable from writer-director Jeff Nichols, shot with ominous beauty, guarding its mysteries with care. Full review External link
  3. Negative review
    Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK] The film's power should reside in this agonised human dilemma, but in the end it becomes a rather self-important shaggy dog story. Full review External link
  4. Positive review
    Anton Bitel, Film4 An intense drama of mental meltdown and domestic apocalypse for an age of anxiety. Full review External link
  5. Positive review
    Tom Huddleston, Time Out When future film historians look back at the cultural fallout from America's financial collapse, 'Take Shelter' will be a key text. That is, if the storm doesn't sweep us all away. Full review External link
  6. Positive review
    Angie Errigo, Empire Magazine Terrific. Michael Shannon delivers a fractured everyman who'll stay with you long after the final frame. Full review External link
  7. Positive review
    Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel Shannon wonderfully modulates Nichols' portrait of a man whose mind and life seem to unravel before our eyes. Full review External link
  8. Positive review
    Tom Long, Detroit News There's a strong, unsettling sense of disease that runs through Take Shelter, the best drama of the year so far. Full review External link
  9. Positive review
    Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic Shannon is astounding, playing a good man pushed to the brink of sanity, maybe beyond. He portrays a sense of quiet desperation -- a feeling recognizable to many. Full review External link
  10. Positive review
    Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post A work of hushed and persuasive emotional veracity. Full review External link

Read more reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

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