By objectifying Jews as exotic others rather than presenting them as subjects, the Raimi production eliminates the precise element that would have been most powerful for a Jewish audience.

| Aug 16, 2017

This effective little creeper is the only Judaic pastiche of The Exorcist you're likely to see this year. That alone gives it a jump on the umpteen other evil/possessed-child films that have become a seemingly monthly genre staple of late.

| Sep 7, 2012

Director Ole Bornedal doesn't add a single idea of his own.

| Sep 6, 2012

There may be need for an exorcist, but the power of Christ isn't going to compel the Jewish demon wreaking havoc in this competent but shopworn horror film.

| Original Score: C+ | Sep 5, 2012

The first half of The Possession is suitably atmospheric and reasonably creepy.

| Sep 1, 2012

The film is basically a compendium of possessed-child clichs reaching back to The Exorcist.

| Original Score: 1/4 | Aug 31, 2012

Another horror movie about a little girl possessed by a demon? Seriously?

| Original Score: 2/4 | Aug 31, 2012

The script, credited to Juliet Snowden and Stiles White, adheres so closely to formula that it's possible to predict not only which characters will end up dead, but in what order ...

| Original Score: 2/4 | Aug 31, 2012

Anyone who actually believes in dybbuks and other ghoulies will find "The Possession" terrifying. For the rest of us, the movie is a cleverly constructed, well-paced piece of hokum.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Aug 31, 2012

A better-than-most fright-time tale ...

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 30, 2012

Even if you resist the film's claims of being based on one family's actual experiences, "The Possession" is eerily enjoyable pulp.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Aug 30, 2012

This is a lugubrious, lovingly crafted B movie, with more than a little 1970s flavor but no arch postmodern attitude.

| Aug 30, 2012

The obvious bid for an unwarranted sequel at the end of The Possession suggest that Raimi, once hailed for his vision, is now content to just milk his cows and count his cash.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Aug 30, 2012

The evil spirit in "The Possession" should be embarrassed to call itself a demon.

| Original Score: 1/4 | Aug 30, 2012

Danish director Ole Bornedal has made some fine films in his career. The Possession isn't one of them.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Aug 30, 2012

"The Possession" is morally lazy.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Aug 30, 2012

Rather than embellish imaginatively, screenwriter Leslie Gornstein seems to have re-watched The Exorcist, Poltergeist and The Unborn for inspiration.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Aug 30, 2012

The Possession offers a steady stream of chuckles and a few big laughs. Unfortunately, it isn't a comedy ...

| Original Score: D | Aug 30, 2012

"The Possession" isn't exactly "The Exorcist," but Ole Bornedal's film hits enough high notes to make it a worthwhile addition to the exorcism-film heap, somewhere in the lower middle.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 30, 2012

Slick direction and a strong central turn from Jeffrey Dean Morgan will keep you watching, if rarely from the edge of your seat.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 30, 2012