78
Metascore
11 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlVillage VoiceAlan ScherstuhlOne of the great films about boys and violence, about the allure and horror and inevitability of young toughs seizing power by smashing some skulls — and replicating, in their own private hellscape, the societal structures that have ground them down.
- 80The GuardianThe GuardianThis grim picture of borstal life packs a real punch. And kick, and headbutt. [13 Feb 2010]
- 80Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangLos Angeles TimesJustin ChangIn Scum, one of only three features he directed for the big screen, Clarke finds a bleak beauty in an institution devoted to controlling, yet also propagating, all manner of human ugliness.
- 80The New York TimesBen KenigsbergThe New York TimesBen KenigsbergIf some of the plot seems familiar, the intelligence with which Mr. Clarke dissects the flaws of Britain’s “borstal” system is not. [15 Jun 2017]
- 80Time OutTime OutA toughened docudrama (schools of BBC/old Warners/Corman) that carries the same force as the improvised weapons Ray Winstone uses to bludgeon his way through the Borstal power structure.
- 75The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloThe A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloA straightforward prison flick, basically, honoring all of the genre’s many conventions, from the sadistic screws to the wars between rival cell blocks to the innocent who gets brutally gang-raped.
- 75The Film StageMike MazzantiThe Film StageMike MazzantiScum lives up to its title to this day, its manic energy balanced with an assured and naked openness that creates a searing level of realism and, as such, savagery.
- 75Slant MagazineSlant MagazineOne of director Alan Clarke’s most uncompromising docudramas.
- The performances are mostly good, and the direction and editing work wonders in the tight gray interiors of the juvenile prison. Not for everyone, but worthwhile viewing for the not-easily-shocked.