6/10
I've mostly given up on American horror movies, and horror movies in general because the hit/miss ratio is so disparate. But this was getting surprisingly good reviews so I checked it out. I would say for about the first 2/3rds it did a good job - it was slow, creepy, atmospheric, with some decent scares. But I felt the third act really let it down - a really brassy, boring act involving an exorcism, and I am very close to swearing off all horror movies featuring exorcisms because everyone just does the same thing that was done back in 1973 and it's boring as hell.
There's also a framing device involving one of those "Hollywood creepy" dolls that has never existed anywhere in real life outside of a prop shop that is completely unnecessary and distracting.
But as I said, the first two acts were good enough to at least make it a decent movie. I give it credit for creating an emotional attachment between the audience and the exorcism victim, emotion being some thing most horror movies blow right past. The sound design is fantastic and the soundtrack is enjoyably over the top, and I really liked the opening title sequence, for whatever that's worth. But given the heavy praise, I was expecting a lot more.
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