Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- cynical
- operatically heightened
- darkly comic
- halloween night
- art house movie night
What critics said
Critics generally found the film ambitious and visually memorable, with an excellent ensemble and sharp art-world satire, though uneven execution and superficial silliness limited its impact.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The plot targets Los Angeles artists, collectors, dealers, critics, and galleries whose financial interests shape their judgments of art.
The dead artist's paintings drive the mystery and transform the art world's fascination with them into supernatural peril.
The contemporary Los Angeles art scene is rendered as gleaming and sunlit while the violence and supernatural threat intensify beneath that surface.
Artists, collectors, critics, and dealers face consequences as their exploitation and vanity collide with the paintings' supernatural force.
Films like Velvet Buzzsaw, and why
Nightcrawler
shares a cynical Los Angeles milieu, morally compromised characters, social satire, and heightened psychological thriller energy
The Menu
combines art-world satire, grotesque horror, dark comedy, and a critique of commodified culture
Suspiria
uses supernatural horror and disturbing imagery to expose elite institutions, repression, and cultural hypocrisy
The Neon Demon
pairs stylish mystery, macabre deaths, and satirical commentary on wealthy creative industries
Movie Details
- Director
- Dan Gilroy
- Release Date
- 2019-02-01
- Runtime
- 112 min
- Rating
- 5.4 / 10 (2046)
Cast
- Rene Russo
- Jake Gyllenhaal
- Zawe Ashton
- Tom Sturridge
- Toni Collette
- Natalia Dyer
- Daveed Diggs
- Billy Magnussen
- John Malkovich
- Mig Macario
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Velvet Buzzsaw about?
- A supernatural curse turns Los Angeles’s profit-driven contemporary art scene into a gallery of grotesque consequences.
- What is Velvet Buzzsaw like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Velvet Buzzsaw as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Velvet Buzzsaw violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Velvet Buzzsaw as graphic.
- What did critics think of Velvet Buzzsaw?
- Critics generally found the film ambitious and visually memorable, with an excellent ensemble and sharp art-world satire, though uneven execution and superficial silliness limited its impact.
- Which films are like Velvet Buzzsaw?
- Films with a similar feel include Nightcrawler, The Menu, Suspiria, and The Neon Demon.
- How long is Velvet Buzzsaw?
- Velvet Buzzsaw runs 112 minutes.
- Where can I watch Velvet Buzzsaw?
- In United States, Velvet Buzzsaw streams on Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads.
