71
Metascore
17 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineThe film features a surprisingly good performance by Rock Hudson, an impeccable supporting cast and stunning cinematography by screen veteran James Wong Howe.
- 90The DissolveScott TobiasThe DissolveScott TobiasFrom the opening-credits sequence (by Saul Bass), Seconds mangles and distends the windows of perception until viewers get immersed in his sweat-soaked nightmare.
- 89Austin ChronicleAustin ChronicleThough casting this mediocre screen hunk as an uptight businessman's alter ego was a stroke of pop genius for director Frankenheimer, it was Hudson's idea to have two actors play the lead, and his surprisingly thoughtful performance galvanizes this harrowing, cerebral thriller (and suggest Hudson's talents were under-utilized).
- 80CineVueAdam LowesCineVueAdam LowesLike the best films from its genre, Seconds acts as a potent parable and posits an intriguing idea.
- 75Slant MagazineBill WeberSlant MagazineBill WeberA beautiful x-ray of middle-aged existential crisis, Seconds is arguably a second-tier John Frankenheimer funhouse of paranoia, but the same might be said of any film that isn’t The Manchurian Candidate.
- 75The A.V. ClubNathan RabinThe A.V. ClubNathan RabinSeconds is certainly a flawed film, and it's easy to see why it flopped during its initial release: It's a relentlessly depressing, claustrophobic movie that offers no sense of catharsis whatsoever. Nevertheless, it's strangely touching, and as a portrayal of identity and alienation in suburban America, it's about a hundred times as creepy and sincere as David Lynch's thematically similar Lost Highway.
- 70Time OutTime OutSaul Bass' unsettling title sequence sets the scene for the concise articulation of fifty-something bourgeois despair, as visualised by James Wong Howe's distorting camerawork and the edgy discord of Jerry Goldsmith's excoriating score.
- The technical dazzle can’t make up for the boring, unsympathetic characters. With no one to root for, this arty, humorless film ends up pretentiously empty.