If you want better theme depth
Choose Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma. It scores 5.0 vs 4.0 for theme depth, with a 4.4 overall score.
The Incomer Movie Review
Content guidance
Older teens are the safer fit because the movie includes repeated comic violence and threats, dark folklore involving drowning and sacrifice, a recurring sex-toy gag, and a cannibalism reference.
Official rating
R
Bottom Line
Choose it for committed performances, gorgeous Scottish scenery, and a warm story about loneliness and change. Skip it if aggressive whimsy, repetitive jokes, or a tonal swing toward darker violence tends to wear you down.
Best for
Fans of eccentric Scottish comedies, adult fairy tales, strong character performances, and warm stories about outsiders finding connection.
Not for
Viewers who dislike twee humor, repeated culture-clash jokes, or comedies that suddenly veer into darker folklore and violence.
Verdict
The Incomer is at its best when its strange island folklore stays anchored to the three central performances. Gayle Rankin brings the strongest emotional weight, while Domhnall Gleeson and Grant O’Rourke give the culture clash warmth, awkwardness, and sharp comic timing. The Scottish scenery, hand-drawn animation, costumes, and tactile production work make the island feel distinctive rather than merely quirky. The tradeoff is that the film often repeats its jokes and can lose momentum after the first hour; several critics also find the later violence, romance, and aggressive whimsy tonally uneven. For viewers who enjoy sweet, eccentric adult fables, the emotional sincerity and themes of belonging, grief, and change can outweigh those structural weaknesses.
Feature Scorecards
Summary
48 reviewed features-
Very positive 4.5-5.026 (54%)
-
Positive 3.5-4.412 (25%)
-
Neutral 2.5-3.49 (19%)
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Negative 1.5-2.41 (2%)
Pros highlights
View all 38 pros-
The ensemble is a major strength: the three leads repeatedly make the oddball material feel committed, funny, and emotionally grounded. Even more skeptical takes tend to praise the cast.
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The Scottish setting is photographed with striking natural beauty, from verdant landscapes and cold coastlines to intimate natural-light interiors. Even negative takes regularly single out the imagery.
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Most responses find the film easy to enjoy, watchable, and warmly entertaining, with a handful of detractors who never connect with its style. Its strongest entertainment value comes from the cast and oddball comedy.
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The hand-drawn animation is consistently praised for turning the island’s folklore into a storybook world. Several responses wanted even more of it.
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Natural color, rugged scenery, animation, and carefully composed interiors create a vivid storybook look without making the island feel glossy or artificial.
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The film’s strongest message concerns fear of change, inherited stories, self-acceptance, and the need for connection. Even mixed reactions often find that hopeful core worthwhile.
Cons highlights
View all 10 cons-
Momentum is uneven: several responses flag repetition, overlong detours, or a loss of steam after the first hour. Others find the comic action brisk enough to keep the film moving.
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The route from hostility to connection is often predictable and follows familiar outsider-story beats. The execution, performances, and folklore details are what keep that familiar structure engaging.
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The film walks a difficult line between whimsy, tenderness, and darker folklore. At its best the balance feels controlled; at its weakest, violence and sincere trauma arrive too abruptly beside the twee comedy.
Cast & Creators
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IslaRankin is the most consistently singled-out performer, grounding Isla’s ferocity with vulnerability, yearning, and emotional pain. Her commitment helps the film’s strangest material feel human rather than merely quirky.
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DanielGleeson is repeatedly praised for making Daniel’s awkwardness warm and funny, with strong comic timing, disarming reactions, and easy chemistry with the islanders. Even harsh takes often treat him as a saving grace.
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SandyO’Rourke turns Sandy into a lovable, volatile man-child without losing the character’s sadness or curiosity. His deadpan timing and ability to shift from sweetness to danger make him a frequent scene-stealer.
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WriterPaxton earns strong praise for visual control, straight-faced absurdity, and emotional warmth, though his screenplay and feature-length pacing draw more criticism. The debut feels distinctive even when its quirkiness or structure overreaches.
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CinematographerGolan’s cinematography is a standout, using natural light, vivid greens, rugged coastlines, and careful framing to make the island both inviting and isolating.
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RozGomez brings pointed, icy, and forceful energy to Roz, helping the mainland bureaucracy register as a comic and institutional counterweight to the islanders.
View all 48 feature scores and cast & creators
Compared With Category Average
Compared with other Movies, this product is above average in story quality, dialogue quality, makeup quality, near average in theme depth, humor, below average in fatherhood portrayal, realism, runtime.
Comparison summary
48 compared features-
Above average 0.4+ pts higher30 (63%)
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Same as average within 0.3 pts12 (25%)
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Below average 0.4+ pts lower6 (13%)
Largest category differences
| Attribute | This product | Category average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| story quality | 4.6 | 3.2 | +1.4 |
| dialogue quality | 4.5 | 3.0 | +1.5 |
| makeup quality | 5.0 | 3.6 | +1.4 |
| fatherhood portrayal | 2.5 | 3.9 | -1.4 |
| special effects quality | 5.0 | 3.7 | +1.3 |
| message quality | 4.7 | 3.7 | +1.0 |
| entertainment value | 4.8 | 3.8 | +1.0 |
| animation quality | 4.8 | 3.7 | +1.1 |
Consider This Instead
If you want better plot originality
Choose Obsession. It scores 4.8 vs 2.8 for plot originality, with a 4.3 overall score.
If you want better realism
Choose Leviticus. It scores 4.8 vs 2.5 for realism, with a 4.2 overall score.
If you want better tonal consistency
Choose Rose of Nevada. It scores 5.0 vs 3.3 for tonal consistency, with a 4.5 overall score.
Compared in Reviews
Products reviewers directly compared with this model, grouped into quick takeaways.
Everything Everywhere All At Once
- Compared: comic sensibility Its comedy is described as borrowing heavily from the sensibility associated with Everything Everywhere All At Once.
Hunt for the Wilderpeople
- Similar: offbeat nature-driven comedy tone The offbeat humor and role of nature are compared positively with Hunt for the Wilderpeople.
The Ballad of Wallis Island
- Similar: outsider-on-an-island premise and emotional connection The similar setup invites an unfavorable comparison because The Ballad of Wallis Island develops its characters more fully.
FAQ
Is The Incomer mainly a comedy or a horror film?
It is primarily an offbeat comedy and adult folk fable, with brief horror-adjacent imagery, suspense, and darker folklore rather than sustained scares.
What do critics praise most?
The three central performances, the Scottish scenery, and the film’s warmth around loneliness, belonging, and change receive the most consistent praise.
Is the humor broadly accessible?
Not entirely. Many find the deadpan, physical, and culture-clash comedy hilarious, while others find the same twee eccentricity repetitive or aggressively quirky.
Does the movie feel too long?
Several responses say the 102-minute runtime loses steam, repeats jokes, or stretches the late conflict longer than necessary.
How strong are the visuals?
The rugged island cinematography, natural light, hand-drawn animation, costumes, and practical craft work are recurring highlights.
Does the emotional story work?
Often yes: the grief, isolation, and need for connection give the silliness real warmth, though some find the darker or romantic turns underdeveloped.
Sample Expert Reviews We Analyzed
These are a few of the reviews included in our analysis.
list.co.uk
This warm-hearted comedy skewers Scottish bureaucracy and insularity while finding tenderness in its oddball characters
- Review score
- 4.8
cinesthesiac.blogspot.com
The Incomer feels like Universal and Focus Features angling for another The Ballad of Wallis Island - last year's biggest sleeper hit - an...
- Review score
- 4.4
rogerebert.com
In this light, charming comedy, two siblings who've lived alone for thirty years resist eviction to the mainland.
- Review score
- 4.0
nytimes.com
Domhnall Gleeson gets more than he bargained for when he tries to evict two siblings in this quirky Scottish comedy.
- Review score
- 4.5
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