When a frightening wave of violence sweeps through New York City, troubled cop Sarchie fails to find a rational explanation for the bizarre crimes. However, his eyes are opened to a frightening alternate reality when renegade Jesuit priest Mendoza convinces him that demonic possession may be to blame for the gruesome murders. Together, they wage a valiant supernatural struggle to rid the city of an otherworldly evil.
It's time for Derrickson, who also directed The Exorcism of Emily Rose, to master a new ritual.
– Mark Jenkins,
NPR,
3 Jul 2014
rotten:
Director Scott Derrickson demonstrates a knack for atmosphere but little sense of pacing; some sequences are effectively spooky (particularly one set at the Bronx Zoo), though just as many feel uninspired.
– Ben Sachs,
Chicago Reader,
6 Jul 2014
rotten:
Director Scott Derrickson and his co-writer, Paul Harris Boardman, deliver a routine procedural with unremarkable frights.
– Bill Stamets,
Chicago Sun-Times,
7 Jul 2014
rotten:
If you didn't know that Jerry Bruckheimer produced this movie, the boot prints on your eardrums would've clued you in.
– Wesley Morris,
Grantland,
16 Jul 2014
rotten:
An impressively staged climactic exorcism compensates in part for the random, far-fetched storytelling that precedes it.