Period movies often divided audiences and critics. So The Northman — director Robert Eggers’ third movie — could face a similar polarizing reaction as his previous two movies. Both 2015’s The Witch and 2019’s The Lighthouse received largely warm critical receptions but left some horror movie fans cold. The Northman represents a shift in genre for Eggers. So going into its release, what is the critical consensus on the Alexander Skarsgård-led epic?

Robert Eggers’ movies tend to be divisive

On Rotten Tomatoes, The Witch earned a 90 percent Fresh rating from critics but only a 59 percent rating for its audience score. The Lighthouse matched its predecessors with 90 percent on the Tomatometer and performed a bit better with audiences at 72 percent. But much of that reaction is perhaps caused by the expectations fans bring to modern horror. After all, few would excuse either of Eggers’ first movies of following the current trends.