The film is a must watch for any true fans of thrillers. It features different stories, diverse narratives, and surprising plot twists. Calahan accentuates the art of storytelling and its complexity and value of a good story.

Full Review | Feb 11, 2022

The film's themes are relatively thin, but there's a nice depth to the connections between these men.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | May 7, 2021

There is something hypnotic in the way the night progresses, and in the way phrases and ideas repeat across different decades and different tales.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5 | May 6, 2021

Cliché? Maybe on my part, but not when it comes to The Oak Room, a taut exercise in story-weaving and twists turned on their heads.

Full Review | Apr 29, 2021

Not technically much of a film, but a terrific and dark piece of storytelling by Peter Genoway that could be told around a campfire, performed onstage or embellished onscreen ("Goose the truth!" as Peter Outerbridge's character Paul describes it).

Full Review | Original Score: B | Apr 28, 2021

An intimate yet unsettling thriller

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Apr 28, 2021

The Oak Room has a destination in mind. It gets there surely, but more slowly than many viewers will like.

Full Review | Original Score: B- | Apr 20, 2021

As the tales gather weight like snow on a roof, and intriguing correspondences accumulate, the impressive structuring tells.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 20, 2021

Handling its selected structure very well and taking no easy linear routes, The Oak Room is, in its own way, an ode to the power of storytelling.

Full Review | Apr 12, 2021

The strength of performances helps The Oak Room work even in moments where its story falls flat.

Full Review | Apr 8, 2021

Back and forth The Oak Room goes, without ever building the tension it ostensibly seeks. Instead, it meanders from tale to tale, and the writing isn't sharp or specific enough to sustain this kind of complex framework.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Apr 2, 2021

This cut-and-paste cliche collection could have been written by a machine.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Mar 27, 2021

What happens when a horror director takes on a two-set stage play? He wins. A low-action, high-tension thriller made up of stories within stories.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 14, 2021

With an emphasis on slowly providing the details and a healthy understanding of atmosphere, The Oak Door asks the audience to enjoy the ride and rewards them with interesting suspense.

Full Review | Sep 16, 2020

The Oak Room is a tightly-wound coil and deftly constructed to maximize the tension in every moment

Full Review | Sep 15, 2020

Ambitious, suspenseful and truly atmospheric, The Oak Room is a slow-burn masterclass in storytelling.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 4, 2020

This is exactly the sort of movie you're meant to stumble across at a festival. So go do that.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 1, 2020

"A man walks into a bar" may be the classic set-up to a gag, but this time, the punchline will leave you reeling.

Full Review | Sep 1, 2020

I was left wishing that the finale would bring everything together or leave us with a kind of gasped realization. Maybe the story could have used a little goosin' itself.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 31, 2020

This is a great film for anyone who enjoys a good, small-scale, dark mystery that takes its time to build up the tension in the beginning, takes the viewers through some twists and turns, and has a payoff that's worth the wait.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Aug 30, 2020