The PossessionMovie Reviews

So-so
Avg. Critic Score: 45 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
14 Iffy for 14+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 88
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    Like "The Exorcist," the best film in the genre, it is inspired by some degree of religious scholarship and creates believable characters in a real world. That religions take demonic possessions seriously makes them more fun for us, the unpossessed. Read full review

  • 70
    Movieline | Alison Willmore

    This variation on the demon child subgenre has enough of the familiar and the new to be a decently good time at the movies. Read full review

  • 63
    Washington Post |

    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. Read full review

  • 50
    Boston Globe | Wesley Morris

    Oh my God, evil. What's with you? Ever since "The Exorcist," it's been the same song-and-crab-dance: Demons don't kill, divorce does. Read full review

  • 50
    Philadelphia Inquirer | Tirdad Derakhshani

    The Possession has none of the suspense that made Bornedal's morgue thriller "Deathwatch" such shuddering good fun. And despite the absurdly overwrought Bernard Herrmann-esque score, it has very few genuine shocks. Read full review

  • 50
    The Hollywood Reporter | Frank Scheck

    Representing a sort of equal opportunity religious variation on an all-too-familiar theme, The Possession is a Jewish-themed "Exorcist" that, if nothing else, should discourage the practice of buying antique wooden boxes at flea markets. Read full review

  • 50
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    While the sound design and spooky minimalist music add suspense, and CGI effects are duly sinister, a climactic strobe effect is more annoying than frightening. Read full review

  • 50
    New York Post | Lou Lumenick

    Unremarkable and none-too-scary horror movie. Read full review

  • 40
    New York Daily News | Elizabeth Weitzman

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

  • 25
    San Francisco Chronicle | Peter Hartlaub

    Bornedal invests so much time in the characters - Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Kyra Sedgwick play the split parents of the girls - that there are times you will forget this is a horror movie. It's Kramer vs. Kramer vs. Lucifer. Read full review

View more reviews for The Possession on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 14+ Demonically scary movie has low gore, strong characters.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that The Possession is a demon-possession horror movie that's supposedly "based on a true story." There's plenty of scary stuff and creepy special effects -- screaming, eyes rolling back in heads, etc. -- though relatively little gore. Two minor characters are beaten up by invisible forces, but a lot of the more brutal stuff happens off screen. A few trickles of blood are seen coming from eyes and mouths. Language is very infrequent and includes one use of "s--t." Sex isn't an issue, but the movie deals extensively with a divorced couple, one of whom is in a new relationship. An adult character drinks a beer in one scene.
  • Families can talk about The Possession's violence. How much blood/gore is shown compared to other horror movies? Does that make the movie feel more or less intense?
  • Is the movie scary? What were the scariest parts? Why were they scary? Is The Possession scarier or less scary than other horror movies?
  • How does the movie handle/depict divorce? Does it seem realistic? How well or how badly is the family dealing with the situation?
  • Does the movie seem like a true story? What seems true, and what doesn't? How could you find out more about what really happened?
The good stuff
  • message true1 Positive messages: Characters stand up against difficult odds, both practical and supernatural, to protect and save their loved ones.
  • rolemodels true1 Positive role models: The divorced parents appear to be working hard to get along and raise their children in the best possible way. They have their slip-ups, of course, but they keep trying.
What to watch for
  • violence false3 Violence: Lots of scary scenes and creepy special effects, but relatively little gore. Eyeballs roll back in people's heads, a pair of fingers appear at the back of a girl's throat, and a hand is stabbed by a fork. A few trickles of blood are seen (from eyes and mouths). Two minor characters are beaten up and killed by invisible forces, though much of the beating occurs off screen. There's lots of screaming and crying, especially during the climactic exorcism scene. In one sequence, the demon makes it look and sound as if the father has slapped his daughter, though he really hasn't.
  • sex false1 Sexy stuff: The wife has a new boyfriend, and there's some talk about it. She wears tight jeans during one sequence, and her extreme lower back (plus tattoo) is visible when she crouches down.
  • language false3 Language: Infrequent language includes one use of "s--t," plus "hell," "damn," and "Jesus" (as an exclamation).
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Not an issue
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false1 Drinking, drugs and smoking: The father drinks a beer with his pizza.
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