Megan Loucks InSession Film Oct 6, 2026 A+

It has been 30 years since Bound hit theaters, and time has only made the film more impactful.

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Brook Turner Sydney Morning Herald Sep 17, 2026

Bound is so self-consciously noir, so endlessly stylised, that its few new tricks never quite make up for the dead weight of homage.

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Sharai Bohannon A Nightmare On Fierce Street Podcast Jun 9, 2026 4.5/5

Bound isn't just the Wachowskis best film. It's also possibly the best thriller of the 90s.

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Matt Brunson Film Frenzy May 3, 2026 3.5/4

A steamy crime thriller (and significant LGBTQ film) that contains more suggestive double entendres in its dialogue than perhaps any movie this side of Double Indemnity.

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Noah Berlatsky Everything is Horrible (Substack) Aug 31, 2025

The Wachowski sisters gleefully make the queer subtext of noir into more-than-text.

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Chance Solem-Pfeifer Willamette Week Jan 22, 2025

One of the most assured first films you’ll ever see, Bound rearranges and pressurizes ‘50s noir tropes into a sexy, cathartic queer thriller.

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Joshua Ryan FandomWire Oct 1, 2024 9/10

The bare-bones approach and minimal budget add a layer of rawness and authenticity.

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Jake Cole Slant Magazine Jun 14, 2024

This is an erotic thriller where eroticism is the agent of redemption, not damnation.

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Dennis Harvey 48 Hills Jun 13, 2024

1996’s Bound has Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly as co-conspirators and lovers in what’s not just one of the great neo-noirs, but way up there amongst mainstream Hollywood depictions of lesbian love and lust.

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Marya E. Gates Cool People Have Feelings, Too. (Substack) Feb 13, 2024

Works as a straight up noir, but also as a nuanced exploration of what it means to be trapped - in your life, in your job, in your sexuality, and even in your expressed gender.

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Dimitris Passas PopMatters Nov 28, 2023

The second part is intense, and the pace accelerates as things get crazy and blood is spilled.

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Trace Thurman Horror Queers Podcast Oct 2, 2023 5/5

A perfect movie.

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Joe Lipsett Horror Queers Podcast Sep 20, 2023 4/5

Easily one of the sexiest films ever made, Bound has undergone a significant reappraisal from queers in the wake of the Wachowski sisters coming out. This neo-noir is stylish, impeccably produced, and features all-time performances from Tilly & Gershon

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Bruce Walker Washington Post Jul 21, 2023

Like so many other rob-the-mob movies, the plan seems pretty far-fetched, and the ending isn’t much of a surprise. But if you like your films sprinkled liberally with sex, violence and humor, then you’re bound to like "Bound."

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Janet Maslin New York Times Jul 21, 2023

The Wachowskis make a better debut than their screenplay for ''Assassins'' or their credit on ''Hellraiser'' comics might promise.

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Cam Cieszki Chicago Reader Jun 23, 2023

Bound gets its rocks off through the intimacy of its central romance: that crackling, sublime chemistry between Tilly and Gershon that begins to simmer the moment they lock eyes in an elevator and quickly froths over...

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Andrea Thompson Chicago Reader Jun 20, 2023

Before the Wachowski sisters gave us the scoop on The Matrix, they pushed boundaries during the 90s indie boom with this neo-noir...

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David Nusair Reel Film Reviews Jun 4, 2023 3.5/4

...a compelling film-noir riff that effectively subverts one’s expectations on an impressively ongoing basis...

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Michael Atkinson Spin Dec 27, 2022

Bound is a snarky, dirty giggle-riff lifted straight from late-night cable.

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Jas Keimig The Stranger (Seattle, WA) Aug 10, 2022

Violet and Corky both bypass the rigid noir stereotypes...

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