Take Shelter

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Take Shelter

R

2011

2h 4m

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

167 Reviews

81%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Curtis LaForche lives in a small Ohio town with his loving wife and hearing-impaired daughter. Though money is tight, he and his family are very happy. But then, Curtis begins having terrifying dreams about an apocalypse that threatens them all. Rather than confiding in Samantha, he begins building a storm shelter in the backyard, and his strange behavior causes tension in their marriage and the surrounding community.

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Critics Consensus

Michael Shannon gives a powerhouse performance and the purposefully subtle filmmaking creates a perfect blend of drama, terror, and dread.

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Geoff Andrew

Sight & Sound

08/29/2017

What makes Nichols' film so satisfying, at least until the melodrama of the final act, is the deftness of the characterisations and the constant sense that things are probably considerably more complex than they're perceived.

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David Thomson

The New Republic

06/20/2013

In my estimate, this unique and frequently arresting film suffers from the monotony of the lead players' affect, and from the film's urge to have its gloomy cake and eat it.

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Justin Chang

Variety

01/04/2012

A hallucinatory thriller anchored by a deeply resonant sense of unease.

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Ray Pride

Newcity

07/04/2024

10/10

Taut masterpiece of prescient dread... Day clouds are pretty and plain, puffs of white, expanse of common blue. Nichols finds telling details everywhere in the countryside, in mood akin to Eggleston but far from Shore.

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Michael Leader

Den of Geek

05/08/2024

4/5

Whether it achieves such standing or not, Take Shelter succeeds in something quite impressive.

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Patrick Cavanaugh

The Wolfman Cometh

09/24/2023

4/5

A captivating experience, thanks in large part to Michael Shannon's powerful performance, with the payoff only elevating the journey into something even more satisfying.

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Lorenz L

@Lorenz1060 Apr 2

That rarest of rarities: a horror film for intelligent adults.

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Katie S

@KatieS19 Mar 22

Beautiful film and great acting. Could have been edited down to 90 mins, but I was still intrigued even when slow and the ending was fantastic. I’m not one to normally say this, but I feel like they could have gone even more artsy with some of the shots, especially since the whole movie was shot on film! Worth a watch!

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Gloid L.

@gloidbreal Mar 12

Wow! What a movie! It is an intense and trippy watching experience! Michael Shannon is an underrated actor. Definitely worth the watch!

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Melissa L

@Agent99 Mar 11

It was intense. It was sad and distressing at times. It was a good movie. The ending was up in the air, I felt, since there was no clear way to delineate between dreams and reality.

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Ricardo G.

@rickgo Jan 4

Interesting but a bit slow

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Christopher K.

@gtrod47 Dec 24

Suspenseful, interesting

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Jeff Nichols

Director

Michael Shannon

Curtis LaForche

Jessica Chastain

Samantha LaForche

Shea Whigham

Dewart

Katy Mixon

Nat

Ray McKinnon

Kyle

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Critics Consensus: 50/50 is Certified Fresh

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Synopsis

Curtis LaForche lives in a small Ohio town with his loving wife and hearing-impaired daughter. Though money is tight, he and his family are very happy. But then, Curtis begins having terrifying dreams about an apocalypse that threatens them all. Rather than confiding in Samantha, he begins building a storm shelter in the backyard, and his strange behavior causes tension in their marriage and the surrounding community.

Director: Jeff Nichols
Producer: Tyler Davidson, Sophia Lin
Screenwriter: Jeff Nichols
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co: Strange Matter Films
Rating: R (Some Language)
Genre: Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 30, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 25, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.7M
Runtime: 2h 4m