The Canyons

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The Canyons

R

2013

1h 35m

Mystery & Thriller

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

21%

Tomatometer

95 Reviews

15%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

The discovery of an illicit love affair leads two young Angelenos on a violent, sexually charged tour through the dark side of human nature.

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Critics Consensus

Oppressively misanthropic and ineptly made, The Canyons serves as a sour footnote in Paul Schrader's career -- but it does feature some decent late-period work from Lindsay Lohan.

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Jason Bailey

Flavorwire

Jun 19, 2016

Bret Easton Ellis's screenplay is filled with the worst kind of tin-eared dialogue and situations that seldom rise above their soapish base instincts, and in the third act, he clearly just gives up and turns one of his characters into Patrick Bateman.

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Kate Muir

The Times (UK)

Sep 23, 2014

2/5

With the pungent combination of a script from novelist Bret Easton Ellis, a performance by Lindsay Lohan and direction by Paul Schrader, The Canyons might have been a micro-budget sensation, but sadly it reeks of laziness.

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Mark Kermode

Observer (UK)

May 11, 2014

1/5

Merely confirms Schrader as an all-but spent force (it's been largely downhill since the dismal Dominion) and nails Bret Easton Ellis as a one-trick pony.

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Mike Thorn

In Review Online

Oct 10, 2024

[It] signals prophetic visions of breakdown — in empathetic corporeality, in cinema genre legacies, and in the capitalist American psyche.

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Mitchell Beaupre

Paste Magazine

Jun 24, 2024

4.5/10

There are some compelling ideas here, they just get too often washed out in the muck of navel-gazing nothingness and a truly abominable performance from Deen.

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Jason Adams

My New Plaid Pants

Jul 6, 2021

Flat and imbecilic, The Canyons is a chore in every sense

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Huntin P

@PaxVobiscum80 Sep 16, 2026

This movie can best be summed-up with one word: vapid. Or vacuous. Vicious! The three V's. If you want to see a titillating movie by Paul Schrader then see Cat People (1982).

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David S

@PhaggotsAreTrash Jan 23, 2026

Might as well of just turned it into a p0rn0!

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Jeffrey P

@vanillavoodoo1 Jun 19, 2025

Uninteresting characters in an uninteresting plot for a pedestrian and uneventful relationship drama that amounts to little more than someone airing dirty laundry.

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Leigh D

@These634 Aug 20, 2024

Laughed my way through it. It watches much like The Room. Lohan is a diamond in some very rough rough, however.

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Peter G

@PeterGabrielle Jul 14, 2024

If you understand high camp this is for you!

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helder f

@uniquecliches Jun 2, 2024

The movie is very dislikable due to the poor acting and chemistry among the actors.it feels like a high school project. Lindsay Lohan has great scenes though. The very first scene of the movie, it looks like she’s the only actor in the room. I guess if you can put all that aside the story might be tempting.

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Paul Schrader

Director

Lindsay Lohan

Tara

James Deen

Christian

Nolan Gerard Funk

Ryan

Gus Van Sant

Dr. Campbell

Amanda Brooks

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Synopsis

The discovery of an illicit love affair leads two young Angelenos on a violent, sexually charged tour through the dark side of human nature.

Director: Paul Schrader
Producer: Braxton Pope
Screenwriter: Bret Easton Ellis
Distributor: IFC Films
Production Co: Post Empire Films
Rating: R (Brief Drug Use|A Bloody Crime Scene|Graphic Nudity|Language Throughout|Strong Sexual Content)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 2, 2013, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 5, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $49.5K
Runtime: 1h 35m

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