Rhys Handley Vague Visages Jun 5, 2023

When Make Up reaches the light at the end of its twisted tunnel, its culmination is gratifying and sumptuously-realised.

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Dallas King Flick Feast Nov 12, 2022 5/5

As original and fascinating a coming-of-age story as Julia Ducournau’s Raw, Make Up is a stunning siren’s song of a calling card for [Director] Oakley.

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Ben Turner The Pink Lens Aug 31, 2021 5/5

Molly Windsor is magnificently poe-faced as she pendulums between jealousy and curiosity. Small but very present, she endows an intensity to the role that makes it feel like Black Swan in a trailer park.

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Daniel Gorman In Review Online Jun 5, 2021

There's more emphasis here on mood than story, which lends the proceedings a certain thinness, and some of the formal moves start to suffer from familiarity after a while.

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Nick Levine NME (New Musical Express) May 11, 2021

A masterful, unsettling and beautifully constructed gem.

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Amelia Emberwing What To Watch Jan 27, 2021 3.5/5

The film's short runtime ensures that no minute is wasted, and there's a palpable kind of chemistry between the leads.

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Orla Smith Seventh Row Jan 25, 2021

Claire Oakley's debut feature, Make Up, is a coming-of-age drama that often feels like a horror film, because Oakley immerses us in the terror, confusion, and ecstasy of discovering your identity.

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Liam Lacey Original Cin Jan 18, 2021

Writer/director Claire Oakley's first feature is surprisingly powerful - and surprising - at first scanning as a potential horror before shape-shifting into a feminist art film.

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Anne Brodie What She Said Jan 15, 2021

A slow burn, lifelike and profound, and utterly mesmerising; something special.

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Robbie Collin Daily Telegraph (UK) Nov 22, 2020 5/5

As poetically teasing as it is psychologically precise, Make Up signals the arrival of an exciting new talent.

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Jack Hawkins Battle Royale With Cheese Nov 15, 2020

It is a minor yet accomplished debut feature from Clare Oakley.

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Todd Jorgenson Cinemalogue Nov 14, 2020

As it subverts genre expectations, this slow-burning psychological thriller transitions into a deeply personal exploration of sexuality and self-discovery.

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Brian Tallerico RogerEbert.com Nov 13, 2020 3/4

An accomplished piece of work and a pronouncement of a great young actress.

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John DeFore The Hollywood Reporter Nov 13, 2020

A fresh, grounded take on teenage confusion.

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Kat Halstead Common Sense Media Nov 13, 2020 4/5

Genre-bending coming-of-age story has strong language, sex.

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Teo Bugbee New York Times Nov 12, 2020

It's an intriguing interpretation of adolescent discovery, one that uses horror to suggest the dread that comes with finding a sense of self.

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Michael Ordoña Los Angeles Times Nov 10, 2020

It's an insightful, deeply felt film that lets us in on a personal evolution.

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Jared Mobarak Jaredmobarak.com Nov 9, 2020 7/10

Oakley's decision to render events with an extreme air of uncertainty isn't out-of-place because they surely feel that way to Ruth. She's shedding her skin to be reborn.

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Donald Clarke Irish Times Aug 14, 2020 4/5

It is a dull commonplace to describe a debut as promising, but Oakley's film really does point towards a grand future. She can have the du Maurier comparison for free.

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Mark Kermode Kermode & Mayo's Film Review Aug 11, 2020

A real texture to it...with horror inflections to it...I spent quite a lot of it just not knowing where it was going...

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