Movies
Weekend Box Office
Film Awards & Top 10s By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
Wide Releases
Now In Theaters
76
(500) Days of Summer
60
9
17
All About Steve
37
Amelia
53
Astro Boy
66
Bandslam
45
Box, The
61
Capitalism: A Love Story
55
Christmas Carol, A
43
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
66
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
29
Collector, The
23
Couples Retreat
80
District 9
61
Extract
39
Fame
xx
Fantastic Mr. Fox
30
Final Destination, The
34
Fourth Kind, The
60
Funny People
32
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
27
Gamer
41
G-Force
39
Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, The
46
Halloween II
73
Hangover, The
78
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
55
I Can Do Bad All By Myself
66
Informant!, The
69
Inglourious Basterds
58
Invention of Lying, The
47
Jennifer's Body
66
Julie & Julia
34
Law Abiding Citizen
33
Love Happens
54
Men Who Stare At Goats, The
67
Michael Jackson's This Is It
51
My Sister's Keeper
42
Orphan
28
Pandorum
63
Perfect Getaway, A
86
Ponyo![]()
35
Post Grad
48
Proposal, The
30
Saw VI
53
Shorts
24
Sorority Row
83
Star Trek![]()
33
Stepfather, The
45
Surrogates
55
Taking Woodstock
47
Time Traveler's Wife
96
Toy Story/Toy Story 2 3D![]()
35
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
28
Ugly Truth, The
88
Up![]()
71
Where the Wild Things Are
67
Whip It
28
Whiteout
73
Zombieland
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Limited Releases
Now In Theaters
58
(Untitled)
96
35 Shots of Rum![]()
56
Adam
72
Adela
39
Adventures of Power
78
Afghan Star
61
After the Storm
66
Afterschool
xx
All the Best
58
American Casino
72
Amreeka
48
Antichrist
73
Araya
62
Art & Copy
55
As Seen Through These Eyes
76
Baader Meinhof Complex, The
86
Beaches of Agnes, The![]()
13
Beautiful Life, A
70
Beeswax
35
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
71
Big Fan
66
Black Dynamite
51
Blind Date
xx
Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly
76
Bliss
35
Blue Tooth Virgin, The
26
Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, The
57
Boys Are Back, The
45
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
81
Bright Star![]()
70
Bronson
45
Burning Plain, The
xx
Carriers
55
Casi Divas
57
Chelsea on the Rocks
62
Cloud 9
65
Coco Before Chanel
69
Cold Souls
59
Collapse
44
Confessionsofa Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha
82
Cove, The![]()
75
Crude
82
Damned United, The![]()
67
Departures
xx
Dil Bole Hadippa
71
Disgrace
xx
Do Knot Disturb
70
Earth Days
24
Eating Out 3: All You Can Eat
85
Education, An![]()
55
Endgame
xx
Eulogy for a Vampire
xx
Everyone Else
xx
Fatal Promises
56
Fifty Dead Men Walking
62
Five Minutes of Heaven
74
Flame & Citron
49
Food Beware: The French Organic Revolution
80
Food, Inc.
28
Free Style
xx
From Mexico with Love
50
Fuel
25
Gentlemen Broncos
50
Give Me Your Hand
58
Gogol Bordello Non-Stop
72
Good Hair
89
Goodbye Solo![]()
52
Grace
66
Harmony and Me
81
Headless Woman, The![]()
xx
Heretics, The
63
Horse Boy, The
73
House of the Devil, The
xx
How to Seduce Difficult Women
74
Humpday
94
Hurt Locker, The![]()
29
I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
16
If One Thing Matters: A Film About Wolfgang Tillmans
75
In Search of Beethoven
83
In the Loop![]()
61
Intimate Enemies
42
Irene in Time
70
It Might Get Loud
46
Killing Kasztner
19
Labor Day
xx
Laila's Birthday
41
Little Ashes
41
Little Traitor, The
66
Liverpool
34
Looking for Palladin
80
Lorna's Silence
83
Maid, The![]()
xx
Ministers, The
59
More Than a Game
67
Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, The
34
Motherhood
62
My One and Only
xx
Mystery Team
48
New York, I Love You
73
Night and Day
66
No Impact Man
47
Ong Bak 2: The Beginning
34
Other Man, The
xx
Painter Sam Francis, The
54
Paper Heart
xx
Paradise
68
Paranormal Activity
68
Paris
44
Peter and Vandy
35
Play the Game
77
Precious: Based on the Novel by Sapphire
xx
Pretty Ugly People
65
Providence Effect, The
76
Rembrandt's J'accuse
69
September Issue, The
79
Serious Man, A
40
Shrink
61
Skin
77
Skin Too Few: The Days of Nick Drake, A
xx
Skiptracers
46
Splinterheads
39
St. Trinian's
89
Still Walking![]()
50
Stoning of Soraya M., The
55
Storm
65
Tetro
70
That Evening Sun
72
Thirst
xx
Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas 3D (re-release)
61
Trucker
xx
Turning Green
83
U2 3D![]()
66
Unmade Beds
66
Unmistaken Child
70
Visual Acoustics
55
Walt & El Grupo
67
Way We Get By, The
69
We Live in Public
64
Wedding Song, The
64
Where is Where?
xx
White on Rice
74
Woman in Berlin, A
69
World's Greatest Dad
70
Yes Men Fix the World
69
Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg
xx
You, the Living
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Session 9

Mixed or average reviews
Based on 16 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 41 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Suspense/Thriller
Written by:
Brad Anderson
Stephen Gevedon
Directed by: Brad Anderson
Release Date:
Theatrical: August 10, 2001
DVD: February 26, 2002
Running Time: 100 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: R for language and brief strong violence
Starring David Caruso, Stephen Gevedon, Paul Guilfoyle, Peter Mullan, Josh Lucas, Brendan Sexton III, and Charley Broderick
A contemporary tale of terror set in an abandoned insane asylum. (USA Films)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Happy Accidents Next Stop Wonderland The Machinist
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
Anderson, his superb ensemble cast and inspired cinematographer Uta Briesewitz, appeal at once to the intellect and the emotions as they build suspense and tension mercilessly.
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
Pulls you in with smooth assurance, then holds you hostage to extremely creepy developments in the most awesome haunted house since "The Shining."
New Times (L.A.) Luke Y. Thompson
Horror fans and those who just plain enjoy a well-told story should thank the cinematic gods. Session 9 is not only the scariest movie of the year, but also perhaps the most easy to believe since the first "Blair Witch."
Read Full Review >Mr. Showbiz Michael Atkinson
May not quite be more than the sum of its creepy parts, but as a reality-is-fear launch into workaday darkness, it clearly points toward the horror genre's best destiny.
New York Daily News Jami Bernard
A natural successor to "The Blair Witch Project" in terms of its small suggestions of horror past and future.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Paul Malcolm
A deft exercise in atmospheric horror and insanity. Which is why it's unfortunate that, ultimately, Anderson steps back from the brink.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
The film isn't remotely scary. That's a shame, because it has top-notch performances by Peter Mullan and David Caruso.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Edward Guthmann
The story doesn't quite pay off, characters are underwritten and the surprise ending is contrived and unconvincing.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
The climactic revelation is a real disappointment, humdrum rather than chilling.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Dave Kehr
The film, too artfully conceived to deliver many overt shocks, often feels long and aimless.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Amy Taubin
The script for Session 9 is so underwritten that even such lively character actors as David Caruso, Peter Mullan, and Brendan Sexton III are left stranded.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Jay Carr
You couldn't ask for a better setting for a horror movie. What you could ask for is a better script.
Slate David Edelstein
The final illuminations (people have demons, a mind is a terrible thing to lose) are a poor return on nearly two hours of ear-buckling, eye-stabbing incoherence.
Read Full Review >Variety Robert Koehler
Little more than an overworked exercise in jostling red herrings, and not particularly fresh herrings at that.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 8.6 (out of 10) based on 41 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Neil S. gave it a10:
One of the best scary/spooky flicks ever.
Doug S. gave it a10:
Easily one of the scariest movies in years. Solid performances by all in the cast. Brilliantly shot and edited, this movie will creep you out and stay with you. Not for the slasher-movie fan, but if you like The Shining and Blair Witch, this movie is a must-see.
Andren M. gave it a9:
SPOOOOOKY!!!!!! FYI, Danvers State Hospital (location of movie) is now being converted into Condos! A beautiful Victorian building. I'm glad they gave it a great send off with "Session 9". A last tribute to it's original useage. Wish I could afford a condo there!
Michael M gave it a10:
One of the finest horror movies ever. Inspirational enough to have the makers of "Silent Hill 3" create an homage to the upside down wheelchair seen in the opening shot. Perhaps too cerebral for fans of the same-old horror genre. Sound design is incredible, and the HD cameras used really help to bring out details in the decrepit hospital.
Mark W. gave it an8:
...For me, this movie was a little bit spookier & close-to-home then it would be for most people...where the main characters in this movie are workers removing Asbestos from an Abandoned insane Asylum somewhere in the state of MA (I think it's Chelmsford, MA...) & me & a few of my friends have been breaking into a boarded-up abandoned Worcester State Mental Hospital, which is up on a hill in the woods about a mile off of Route 9 in Worcester, MA near UMass Memorial Hospital....I Drive my Chevelle up the hill with the lights off @ night, all 5 of us get out of my Chevelle all dressed in Black, all of us carrying some kind of weapon for self defense against anything we might encounter inside (one of us holds a Crow-Bar, one of us with a Medieval Style Sword, Large Knives, & I go in with a fully loaded .38 Special in a holster on my right hip....
Cris gave it a10:
I just loved this movie... danvers hospital... what more could you ask for? i highly recommend it. an abandoned mental facility is the best place to make a good horror/thriller.
[Anonymous] gave it a0:
Nothing ever came together...impossible to understand, no development.
