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THE APPARITION (2012)Movie Reviews
Horror thriller about a young couple who are haunted by an apparition that feeds on their fears and torments them no matter where they turn. Cast:Ashley Greene, Sebastian Stan, Tom Felton, Julianna Guill, Luke Pasqualino, Rick GomezDirector:Todd LincolnRelease Date:August 24, 2012DVD Release:November 27, 2012From:Warner Bros.Rating:PG-13Length:1 hr 23 min
The Apparition (2012) played to poor reviews. • Emanuel Levy wrote for Cinema 24/7, "...trashy, ghastly... makes no sense on any level and fails to deliver the basic goods... Poorly conceived and executed... Generic to a fault... preposterous..." More Reviews Below...
The Apparition (2012) Positive Reviews (20 Reviews, reviews below)
Keith Staskiewicz, Entertainment Weekly: POOR(cg) "Despite endless jarbled techno-nonsense about EEGs and spectral energy, the ghostly terror at the center of this generic scarer remains a paranormal nonentity."(See all of Keith Staskiewicz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 87 words, 08/24/12
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (8 Reviews)
Andy Webster, New York Times: POOR " 'The house isn't haunted,' Patrick says. 'You are.' Patrick is eventually dragged into a dark closet while sitting on a chair. Undigested, the chair flies out."(See all of Andy Webster's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 245 words, 08/25/12
Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times: POOR "...much of the film ends up feeling like a sense of establishing shots that never set up anything.... adds up to something lacking either body heat or visceral suspense."(See all of Mark Olsen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 213 words, 08/25/12
Roger Moore, Chicago Tribune: POOR(cg) "...makes us realize just how hard it is to master that combination of knowing which lens to use, when to cut, where to cast shadows and how to stage shocks."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 405 words, 08/25/12
Frank Lovece, New York Newsday: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...won't take you anyplace new.... [but] for casual viewers desiring a few scares, some suspense and a sustained sense of dread and malevolence, you could do worse."(See all of Frank Lovece's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 313 words, 08/25/12
Unattributed, Toronto Star: POOR(cg) "DVD rental at best, unless you enjoy paying money to tell characters onscreen how dumb they are.... at least it's not another 'found footage' movie."(See all of Unattributed's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 417 words, 08/28/12
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: POOR "...not a great or even good haunted-house movie... Todd Lincoln might have consulted someone who has talked to a living human being before for help on the screenplay."(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 218 words, 09/05/12
Glenn Sumi, Toronto Now: POOR(cg) "...looks like it ran out of money and lost its writer before it finished shooting. How else to describe the jumble of disconnected imagery, plot lines and characters..."(See all of Glenn Sumi's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 155 words, 08/25/12
KEY CITIES (2 Reviews)
Mark Jenkins, Washington Post: POOR(cg) "...disjointed... shows the power of a clumsy writer-director -- in this case, Todd Lincoln -- to make his stars appear as hapless as he is."(See all of Mark Jenkins's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 437 words, 08/25/12
Mark Feeney, Boston Globe: WEAK(cg) "What they found, one of the students later explains, wasn't a ghost or demon but an 'entity'.... The entity is a ghostly presence amid an even ghostlier absence."(See all of Mark Feeney's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 558 words, 08/27/12
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (8 Reviews)
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: POOR "...not a great or even good haunted-house movie... Todd Lincoln might have consulted someone who has talked to a living human being before for help on the screenplay."(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 218 words, 09/05/12
Mack Rawden, Cinema Blend: POOR(cg) "...the main characters are completely unlikable, and the momentum is consistently ruined by poor decision-making.... the film chooses to vaguely explain itself."(See all of Mack Rawden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 602 words, 08/24/12
Peg Aloi, Boston Phoenix: POOR(cg) "...doesn't offer anything new, let alone entertaining.... The only scary thing about this is that a film so derivative and contrived managed to get produced at all."(See all of Peg Aloi's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 157 words, 08/30/12
Keith Phipps, AV Club: POOR(cg) "...a performance by Ashley Greene plays like an homage to 'Wild Things'-era Denise Richards, all arched backs, blank stares, creepy smiles, and flat line readings."(See all of Keith Phipps's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 501 words, 08/24/12
Alison Willmore, Movieline: POOR(cg) "...an incomprehensibly garbled, derivative attempt at a horror flick... distinguished only in being what has to be the lone horror movie to set a climactic scene in a Costco."(See all of Alison Willmore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 800 words, 08/24/12
Chris Cabin, Slant: POOR(cg) "...lacks any daring expressive touches... Much of the film's interior shots of the house feel lifted from B-roll of a real estate magnate's promotional material..."(See all of Chris Cabin's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 546 words, 08/24/12
Glenn Sumi, Toronto Now: POOR(cg) "...looks like it ran out of money and lost its writer before it finished shooting. How else to describe the jumble of disconnected imagery, plot lines and characters..."(See all of Glenn Sumi's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 155 words, 08/25/12
HIGHBROW PRESS (2 Reviews)
Andy Webster, New York Times: POOR " 'The house isn't haunted,' Patrick says. 'You are.' Patrick is eventually dragged into a dark closet while sitting on a chair. Undigested, the chair flies out."(See all of Andy Webster's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 245 words, 08/25/12
Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times: POOR "...much of the film ends up feeling like a sense of establishing shots that never set up anything.... adds up to something lacking either body heat or visceral suspense."(See all of Mark Olsen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 213 words, 08/25/12
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
Joe Leydon, Daily Variety: POOR "...an enervating muddle of paranormal nonsense... To say there is a resolution to 'The Apparition' would be to credit the pic with more coherence than it deserves."(See all of Joe Leydon's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 466 words, 08/23/12
John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter: POOR "...generic... Todd Lincoln's script has no knack for the pacing of cinematic exorcisms, and the truncated climax he does offer is short on action and scares."(See all of John DeFore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 307 words, 08/24/12
Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times: POOR "...much of the film ends up feeling like a sense of establishing shots that never set up anything.... adds up to something lacking either body heat or visceral suspense."(See all of Mark Olsen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 213 words, 08/25/12
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: POOR(cg) "...trashy, ghastly... makes no sense on any level and fails to deliver the basic goods... Poorly conceived and executed... Generic to a fault... preposterous..."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 286 words, 08/24/12
Andy Webster, New York Times: POOR " 'The house isn't haunted,' Patrick says. 'You are.' Patrick is eventually dragged into a dark closet while sitting on a chair. Undigested, the chair flies out."(See all of Andy Webster's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 245 words, 08/25/12
12.7 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
The Apparition (2012)'s reviews are separated by an average 12.7 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
The Apparition (2012) (20 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:The Apparition (2012)'s reviews cover 24.7% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 7,489 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 374 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 32.5 Hours After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
The Apparition (2012)'s reviews on average broke 32.5 hours after opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is The Apparition (2012)'s opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
The Apparition (2012) (20 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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