8 critics on Whalefall: 4 positive, 2 mixed, 2 negative. Every verdict quoted, with ratings and links to the full reviews.
8 critics have reviewed Whalefall so far. By our reading of each review, 4 positive, 2 mixed, 2 negative. Below, every critic's verdict in their own words, with the rating where they gave one and a link to the full review.
Critics at a glance
The Hindu
"There are many reasons to enjoy Whalefall, from the grand visuals to the sheer audacity of execution and the none-too-delicate underpinning of love and forgiveness"
Also: "The practical effects and eerie sound design create the whale’s stomach chambers, including the acid-filled one, to give the feeling of being there with Jay"
Read The Hindu's full review
JoBlo.com
"At times, Whalefall succeeds, but it also struggles to maintain a sense of forward momentum, with it falling prey to more than a few cheesy moments"
Also: "I think it would have been better as maybe a forty-minute piece of episodic TV than an entire feature"
Read JoBlo.com's full review
The Free Press Journal: 3 1/2 Stars
"Overall, the film offers genuine tension and moments of visual audacity, even if its emotional revelations are less convincing than its appetite for the grotesque"
Also: "Austin Abrams shoulders the film with remarkable commitment, conveying panic, pain and mounting desperation largely through his eyes, laboured breathing and physical reactions"
Read The Free Press Journal's full review
Collider
"Thankfully, the word "impossible" isn't in Duffield's vocabulary, and he has delivered a masterful, pulse-pounding thriller that I was ready to watch again the moment it ended"
Also: "it would be impossible to talk about Whalefall without mentioning the sound design and score"
Read Collider's full review
The Hollywood Reporter
"If all this sounds batshit crazy, it is, just not batshit crazy enough to be much fun"
Also: "But despite slick effects work, we never get sufficient understanding of the architecture of the whale’s insides"
Read The Hollywood Reporter's full review
TheWrap
"Whalefall” is a strange and fantastic film. If you weren’t crying real tears you’d be laughing at the screen"
Also: "Abrams is phenomenal in both, playing characters whose emotional vulnerability and questionable confidence can only be overcome — with varying degrees of success — by old-fashioned stick-to-it-iveness"
Read TheWrap's full review
Variety
"But “Whalefall,” the movie, is a carcass of a thriller that never rises"
Also: "With a hero who spends the heart of the film sucking on his oxygen mouthpiece, not so much talking as making frantic grunts of fear, “Whalefall” shuts us off from the most basic rooting interest"
Read Variety's full review
IGN
"As visceral as the film is, Whalefall is ultimately a moving story about grief and the gulf that can develop between fathers and sons"
Also: "An exceptional Austin Abrams anchors the whole endeavor with grueling dedication"
Read IGN's full review
More on the film
Updated 17 October 2026. CutMirchi does not review films itself: this page gathers published critics' reviews, quoted word for word and linked, and is updated as more arrive. "Verdict" is our one-word reading of each review; ratings are as each outlet printed them.
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