Donkey Punch

Empire

The sexiest, most shocking thriller of the year.

Arena

Unexpectedly effective.

Heat

Satisfyingly shocking... An exhilarating burst of refreshingly uncensored sex and shocking violence.

ZOO

A surprising, frightening British horror.

TNT

Outstanding.

The Times Online

This neat British horror-thriller stood head and shoulders above almost all of the fare on offer in Park City this year. Donkey's punch is a notable achievement in all departments, handled superbly by its first-time director and largely unknown cast, with a tight, frighteningly plausible script… Donkey Punch has a respect for formula but, more importantly, a commitment to doing things differently, and properly.A scary, truly edgy film.

The Guardian

Expertly made and painfully tense.

Total Film

A skilfully-made, gripping thriller

Dazed & Confused

Cutting-edge horror

i-D

This summer's must-see horror flick.

Evening Standard

One of the most controversial movies in years. The most controversial British film since Trainspotting. Smarter and more realistic than the average British thriller. Tautly plotted and… superlatively creepy.

Baz Bamigboye, Daily Mail

It's a violent, cracking shocker. In fact, I was so stunned by several scenes that I sat frozen in my seat… The young, up-and-coming British actors are all good, director Olly Blackburn has a sure, confident touch and Warp X (the production company behind the picture) has a sense about how to make audience-pleasing movies.

James King, Radio 1

A dark and disturbing Britflick that'll keep you talking well after the end credits. Featuring the uber-cool Jamie Winstone and a brilliantly edgy soundtrack.

Philip French, The Observer

A commendable job

Tony Earnshaw, The Yorkshire Post

This taut, tense and claustrophobic low-budget thriller may well be one of the films of the year.

Jason Solomons, The Mail on Sunday

A stylish mix of Ibiza Uncovered, Lord of the Flies and Dead Calm… I liked Blackburn's energy and tension and was taken by the ensemble performances - the film has an eye on cult audiences and late night thrills, all of which it delivers with unsavory relish.

The Times

Fabulously deranged British horror thriller.

Sight & Sound

Blackburn shows an assured command.

AIN'T IT COOL NEWS

Blackburn has the deftness and effortlessness of touch of a master of the genre. blending several subtle elements and themes into a seamlessly shifting, always satisfying whole, delivering a ferocious, guttural punch to the face of British cinema.

Mark Olsen, LA Times

The film constantly reinvents itself as it goes along, upending viewers' expectations of what might happen next.

Tim Evans, Sky Movies

First-time director Olly Blackburn has succeeded in making the characters - good time girls meet public school manipulators - believable.The tension is kept as tight as an anchor chain.

BBC2 Newsnight Review

Something really interesting is happening with British horror films, this year we've seen two excellent ones - Donkey Punch and Eden Lake…. In the 90s it looked like British horror films were a dead genre. They'd all become ironic, they were constantly winking at the camera. This is a return to a style of horror film like we saw in the 1970s.

Clash

The latest in squirm-inducing thrillers, with one difference: realism… Despite the small budget, first time feature director Olly Blackburn and cowriter David Bloom really went to town with this. The rollercoaster starts light yet gets more sinister and even more gory as the minutes tick. starring an ensemble cast of brilliant young British actors, including Jaime Winstone and Julian Morris, this will leave you reeling.

David D'Arcy, Screen International

Olly Blackburn's cruise in the Mediterranean sun to bloody murder is stylish, deftly scripted, and superbly acted by its sexy ensemble cast… More a slick commercial genre film than anything "independent," Donkey Punch was just the Love Boat that earnest Sundance needed…

Peter Howell, Toronto Star

One drama broke through as both a critical favourite and genuine commercial prospect. It's Donkey Punch, a thriller named for the dangerous sexual practice that puts seven young men and women in terrible danger on the Mediterranean Sea. Olly Blackburn, knows how to build suspense and then maintain it, without resorting to gratuitous gore. Fans of horror and thriller films should put Donkey Punch on their must-see list for 2008.

Todd McCarthy, Variety

The characters are virtually interchangeable, the violence grisly and the attitudes coarse. Half lurid and half just murky... in the U.S., the frequently incomprehensible dialogue and British slang earmark this for straight-to-DVD.

Amanda Platell, Daily Mail

Quite simply, the most distasteful, depraved and nihilistic film I have ever had the misfortune to sit through.

Eric Kohn, NY Press

SUCH A UNIQUE THRILL. Director Blackburn develops the scenario with remarkably shrewd finesse and builds to a satisfying spectacle.

Dennis Dermody, Paper

A LEAN, MEAN, REFRESHINGLY NASTY THRILLER.

Stephen Holden, New York Times

There is no transcendent agent of evil; the enemy is within … the movie remains above the typical splatter 'n' scream fest. These careless hedonists are convincing, and the ensemble acting feels believable.

Jeff Craig, Sixty Second Preview

HIS RELENTLESS SUSPENSE THRILLER FROM ENGLAND IS A BLOODY BLAST. For film fans looking for some totally intense thrills, this is pure, nasty fun.

Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times

As a cautionary B-movie for the "Girls Gone Wild" generation, "Donkey Punch" isn't without a certain power as it gleefully turns its careless hedonists into caged, paranoid rats.

The Village Voice

A Knife in the Water for the era of Ugly Briton, package tour imperialism.

Philadelphia Inquirer

A gripping mix of sexual heat and nasty menace.

Tony Medley, Rotten Tomatoes

A spellbinding metaphor for what separates people from civilization and barbarity … You won't see a more brilliantly made, exciting film this year.

Ted Fry, Seattle Times

"Donkey Punch" packs a magnetic jolt of fearsome intensity.

Harry Knowles, Ain't It Cool News?

Damn I fucking loved it! … This is an incredibly well made movie.