What happened to atmosphere in horror?

Rating: 5/10 (22 July 2013)

This movie was okay for one of it's genre. Most horror movies, while fun, are really bad. This one wasn't really bad, it was better than a lot of what I've seen lately, but it was silly, and not very scary. And I am ignoring the plot holes, because they're almost unavoidable in horror movies and they weren't awful or distracting like some.
What makes a horror movie scary is if it could happen to you or you at least think it could. Jump scares, as are typical nowadays, are fun and I like them, but they do not make the movie. They should be added in to please those who want them and make things more exciting, but loud music/sound effects surprising you does not cause fear. And neither does making the ghosts over the top.
Okay, I guess I'll say what the film did well first.
They didn't show too much, which is good for building that creepy atmosphere, even though the atmosphere was lacking in other ways. The ghosts or demons were not shown very frequently, and when they were it still wasn't too clear, so it could still seem spooky. That's the one thing I think they did right, that a lot of movies (ie Mama) don't. And, unlike most religious horror movies, they did not make the religious people seem like nuts, so they did not ruin the story. Often religious characters are so unlikeable and illogical that they take away from the rest of it, but the characters in this were pretty decent, and you do hope that they conquer their haunted house and everyone makes it out okay. Which also leads to the actors, the main adult characters were all well acted. The kids and side/beginning characters not so much, but whatever.
That said, it still wasn't very strong. It didn't feel genuinely creepy because it went too far. You don't get the sense of foreboding, instead the ghostly activity is happening all the time, and they are not realistic enough to cause real scares. There is no build up for the scares, they are constant, and that makes them leave a lot less of an impact. Even the sort of silly scares can work if its built up to them enough and isn't overdone (like in the first Paranormal Activity).
I know horror movies aren't known for the realism, but it needs to feel like it could happen to be scary, at least in my opinion, and I'm not sure why so many people are giving this movie such good reviews because of it. Never in my life have I feared having chairs thrown at me from across the room by demons, or myself being thrown across the room. Nor have I feared demonic earthquakes that destroy everything, or someone in my family being possessed and floating around and sitting on the ceiling. Nor being burnt and killed if I walked out of my house. Witches are hardly scary on their own. This one even had floating guns that shoot at you and try to kill you. Guns are scary, but because of the people that use them, not because ghosts are going to steal them and kill you. If it could never happen and is over the top, it makes it ridiculous and silly rather that scary. It's little things that could be coincidental or could be your imagination that are really creepy, leading up to the big moments at the end.
It also had typical inconsistencies to fit the plot that are a bit annoying. For example the girls wake up when they hear a thudding (the sister sleep walking) but a large amount of glass breaking making an unusually loud crashing sound right outside of the bedrooms doesn't wake up anyone. The camera angles and the soundtrack were sometimes unfitting.
If you're a horror fan as I am, you'll probably enjoy watching this, but it isn't likely to leave a lasting impression.