As an avid fan of horror, I found this extremely disappointing.

Rating: 4/10 (8 September 2013)

OK, to begin with, I have been a member of this site for six years, and only come on to review something if I think it's utterly amazing. This movie has such a high rating that I felt like it was time to toss in my two cents, and for the first time because of how BAD a film was, particularly when considered in light of how GOOD it's SUPPOSED to be. And I am not just going to bash on it; I have thought out reasons for why I disliked it.
I do in fact think that the lead actress (whom I enjoy in other things as well) did a good job in her role. I find it pertinent to mention that I am, was, and always will be willing to give movies a chance which have been "done before," plot-wise. For instance, I think the plot of random killing of innocent folks as they try to protect themselves from within a house has been done plenty of times, including in The Strangers - but I still thoroughly enjoyed You're Next, which is in a similar vein. I also in no way shape or form demand that a horror movie be extreme in its delivery for it to be genuinely scary or worthwhile. Session 9, for example: fantastic in my opinion, with very little blood. The original Pulse, as well. Although that one's not scary the entire time, there are some scenes that really unnerved me.
With these precursors, I'll continue with what I think are some legitimate drawbacks in this new possession blockbuster.
First of all, I do not understand the R rating.
No one dies. No one gets seriously hurt. Unless I'm mistaken, no one even swears in this movie - which again, does not MAKE a movie for me, I'm not 10 years old - but let's face it, the way that people talked even as far back as the '70s (the time period in which this is supposed to take place), people simply were not that squeaky clean with their rhetoric. Normally I'd be able to look past this because it's neither here nor there as far as the story goes, but it just seems to throw the vibe off a bit for me considering the lack of physical danger that the characters find themselves in. Or don't, I suppose. Which leads me to my biggest problem with this movie.
I, for one, did not feel a sense menace when it comes to the evil which plagues the characters. Maybe I'm jaded, maybe I've seen one too many horror movies, but it just wasn't there for me.
In the beginning, I gave it a chance as I do everything else.
By the time the first 75 minutes ran out, I was beginning to wonder if there would be ANYTHING that would truly make me feel as if these people were in danger. Personally, I found myself feeling disappointed.
To be clear, that does not mean that if I were in that situation and saw a girl who was definitely possessed, tweaking, and causing supernatural occurrences that I wouldn't see that as dangerous; particularly if one considers spiritual danger. My point is that I never felt like the characters were in any PHYSICAL danger. If there were more attached to legitimize the spiritual elements of terror maybe I could've gotten into it, but it seemed like the same regurgitated crap that only bible thumpers and closed-minded religionists would find scary. As proof of as unbiased of an opinion as possible, I'll state that I intensely enjoyed and was scared at certain points by both the Exorcism of Emily Rose AND the original Exorcist, despite the fact that I'm not even a Christian.
And to elaborate on those statements, I suppose I'd like to add that frankly the evil they face didn't seem all that powerful. Sure, there's some of the typical fare for movies like this (i.e. creepy faces, etc.), but in reiteration, nobody gets hurt really whatsoever. Most of what happens to Lili Taylor's character is a bunch of writhing around and stuff floating as far as that's concerned, nothing more.
It's for these reasons that I'm downright astounded that this movie got and has RETAINED a 7 star rating on IMDb, which I generally trust. Hell, it's the reason I went and saw this two hour disappointment. I'm not sure anyone will read this review, but it's definitely geared toward huge fans of horror. Trust me, if you really know what a good horror movie is, you'll think this one sucks. At most, it'll leave a bland taste in your mouth.