Critic Reviews
| 90 |
Los Angeles Times
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.
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| 90 |
Wall Street Journal
Pulls you in with smooth assurance, then holds you hostage to extremely creepy developments in the most awesome haunted house since "The Shining."
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| 90 |
New Times (L.A.)
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."
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| 80 |
Rolling Stone
A spine-tingler directed with fierce finesse.
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| 80 |
Mr. Showbiz
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.
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| 75 |
New York Daily News
A natural successor to "The Blair Witch Project" in terms of its small suggestions of horror past and future.
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| 70 |
LA Weekly
A deft exercise in atmospheric horror and insanity. Which is why it's unfortunate that, ultimately, Anderson steps back from the brink.
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| 67 |
Entertainment Weekly
A marvel of vérité nightmare atmosphere.
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| 50 |
New York Post
The film isn't remotely scary. That's a shame, because it has top-notch performances by Peter Mullan and David Caruso.
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| 50 |
San Francisco Chronicle
The story doesn't quite pay off, characters are underwritten and the surprise ending is contrived and unconvincing.
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| 50 |
TV Guide
The climactic revelation is a real disappointment, humdrum rather than chilling.
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| 50 |
The New York Times
The film, too artfully conceived to deliver many overt shocks, often feels long and aimless.
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| 40 |
Village Voice
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.
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| 38 |
Boston Globe
You couldn't ask for a better setting for a horror movie. What you could ask for is a better script.
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| 30 |
Slate
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.
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| 30 |
Variety
Little more than an overworked exercise in jostling red herrings, and not particularly fresh herrings at that.
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