Little Joe

Play trailer

1:57

Little Joe

Released Dec 6, 2019

1h 45m

Horror

Sci-Fi

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

66%

Tomatometer

128 Reviews

41%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

A plant created via genetic engineering appears to produce curious changes in the people and animals it comes into contact with.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Critics Consensus

Little Joe's unorthodox approach may baffle horror fans lured in by its premise -- but like its title character, the end result exerts a creepy thrall.

Read Critics Reviews

Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

This agonisingly slow pseudo sci-fi has camera moves, performances and lines of dialogue that. Seem. To. Take. An. Eternity. To. Deliver. Without. Much. Impact. Or. Dramatic. Pay Off.

Rated: 2/5

Feb 24, 2020

Full Review

Charlotte O'Sullivan

London Evening Standard

It's a little film. But it's epic.

Rated: 4/5

Feb 24, 2020

Full Review

Mark Kermode

Observer (UK)

For some, Little Joe may seem too sterile to engage emotionally, but I found it glassily unsettling - even more so on second viewing. Inhale at your peril.

Rated: 4/5

Feb 23, 2020

Full Review

Diana Tuova

Spotlight on Film

Little Joe is excruciatingly awkward, unforgivably contrived and downright boring.

Rated: 1.5/5

Jul 29, 2024

Full Review

Agustín Acevedo Kanopa

La Diaria

Little Joe isn't emotional or even tacky enough in its convictions and twists to be fun —like a lot of B-movie sci-fi movies—nor is it as elevated and complex as Upstream Color (Shane Carruth, 2013)

Rated: 5/10

Feb 27, 2023

Full Review

Brian T. Carney

Washington Blade

Little Joe is a sleek and stylish rethinking of the “pod” movies like Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

Dec 7, 2022

Full Review

Read all reviews

Cylon W

In nature, the term "zombie" refers to one organism hijacking the well-being of another (see 11/2025 Nat Geo). This film explores a very plausible science base outbreak. If you want serious sci-fi, this film is a very thoughtful must see. However, if you're looking for over the top action/horror (i.e., World War Z or Resident Evil), you'll be disappointed.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/15/25

Full Review

James H

Slow moving but interesting. It will anger some, but I found it quite good. The only disturbing thing is some of the main characters shirt collars.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/06/25

Full Review

Jay A

Ugh…wasted 2 hours of my life. Nothing happened, waited and waited....and waited.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

10/29/24

Full Review

Julian S

Disappointingly flat and dull for a film with such a visually striking color palette.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

08/28/24

Full Review

Dave

There's something not quite right about this film. I think it's trying to capture the creepiness of old TV series like 'Chocky' or 'Children of the Stones', but the production values are too high to make it work. The normally great actors were clearly given a directive line to be a bit stiff throughout, presumably to increase the uncertainty about whether the plants are affecting people or not—a brave strategy that unfortunately doesn't pay off.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

04/02/24

Full Review

ana e

Its supposed to be horror? I thought it was an arthouse or student movie. There is really only 20 minutes of plot stretched out over 2 hours. The music and sound is particularly bad. If you can't stand overbearing music, don't watch this movie. It has a lot of Japanese-y music for some unknown reason - shakuhachi and similar. Its either so quiet you can't hear anything, or so ridiculously loud you'll need to turn it down. I like Japanese music, but this was a lousy use of it.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/18/24

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Jessica Hausner

Director

Emily Beecham

Alice

Ben Whishaw

Chris

Kit Connor

Joe

Kerry Fox

Bella

David Wilmot

Karl

Color Out of Space

86%

82%

Color Out of Space

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Color Out of Space

The Silence

30%

25%

The Silence

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Silence

Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell

40%

27%

Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell

Watchlist

Crimes of the Future

80%

50%

Crimes of the Future

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Crimes of the Future

The Changed

80%

79%

The Changed

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Changed

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

13 Oscar-Worthy Genre Performances Awards Voters Should Consider

Dark Waters Is Certified Fresh

Little Joe: Trailer 1

1:57

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

A plant created via genetic engineering appears to produce curious changes in the people and animals it comes into contact with.

Director: Jessica Hausner
Producer: Philippe Bober, Bruno Wagner, Martin Gschlacht
Screenwriter: Jessica Hausner, Géraldine Bajard
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
Production Co: Coop99 Filmproduktion
Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi
Original Language: British English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 6, 2019, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 6, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $23.3K
Runtime: 1h 45m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

Most Popular at Home Now