37
Metascore
10 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 50The New York TimesTeo BugbeeThe New York TimesTeo BugbeeVan Rooijen’s overreliance on herky-jerky jump scares is a pity, because the movie that exists in the silence is surprisingly satisfying.
- 50The Seattle TimesKatie WalshThe Seattle TimesKatie WalshThe dour environment doesn’t help, the humor doesn’t pop and, disappointingly, the scares just don’t land. There are a few jumps and bumps, but there’s no real sense of dread or unease or questioning.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckDoesn't bring anything new to its very tired genre.
- 50VarietyOwen GleibermanVarietyOwen GleibermanViewers hooked on the spectacle of demonic possession tend to like their satanic tropes served neat. The Possession of Hannah Grace serves them sloppy, if not without a certain random soupçon of grisly style.
- 50Chicago TribuneKatie WalshChicago TribuneKatie WalshBut for all the pondering The Possession of Hannah Grace inspires, it’s also true that at 85 minutes, it still manages to feel tedious at times. The dour environment doesn’t help, the humor doesn’t pop, and disappointingly, the scares just don’t land.
- 42The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerThe A.V. ClubJesse HassengerIt’s exorcism’s greatest hits, if exorcism were a band playing 300 casinos and state fairs a year.
- 38Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreThe production design is top drawer. It’s just that if I’m mentioning that, there’s little else in the movie to recommend it.
- 33TheWrapWilliam BibbianiTheWrapWilliam BibbianiIt lacks character, it lacks morbidity, it lacks subtext, it lacks suspense. It just kinda lays there like Hannah, but without any of her sinister magic.
- 25RogerEbert.comChristy LemireRogerEbert.comChristy LemireThe makers of The Possession of Hannah Grace clearly intended for it to be dark. After all, it’s about an exorcism that goes horribly wrong, resulting in further mayhem months later at a morgue. But they probably didn’t mean for it to be visually inscrutable, which is what this quick and dirty — and mostly scare-free — horror film ends up being.
- 20Austin ChronicleAustin ChronicleThere are undoubtedly filmmakers who could’ve taken that setting and created something genuinely spooky; it’s a shame to see an excellent setting go entirely to waste.