Rotten Tomatoes, a
review aggregator, reports that 55% of eleven critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating was 6.2/10. Michael Calore of
Wired.com called it "a little film" that is "large in scope". Calore wrote, "And while some of the gentler, emotional material falls flat,
Thale (pronounced 'tall-eh') does prod the brain and the heart enough for me to recommend it." In a mixed review, John Anderson of
Variety called it creepy but "too wordy by half, saying what it should be showing." Owen Williams of
Empire wrote that the film is "beautifully enigmatic and eerie" and Mark L. Miller of
Ain't It Cool News said that it is "a truly unique and amazing film". John DeFore of
The Hollywood Reporter wrote that film is "intriguing to a point but unable to exploit its mysteries in a satisfying way". Serena Whitney of
Dread Central rated it 2.5/5 stars and wrote, "Although Nordaas does a competent job directing an ambitious low-budget indie creature feature with very little money, the laughable social commentary, failed boo scares and unbelievably cheesy ending make Thale a mediocre, yawn-worthy disappointment." Noel Murray of
The A.V. Club rated it C− and wrote, "
Thale takes over an hour to get to where it should be by the end of the first reel. And then it ends."
Thale won the Best Screenplay ifab Award at the
International Film Awards Berlin. It also screened at the
Toronto International Film Festival, and later won the Audience Award at Fantasporto Film Festival. == Sequel ==