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The Apparition (2012)

tomatometer

4

Average Rating: 2.2/10
Reviews Counted: 53
Fresh: 2 | Rotten: 51

The Apparition fails to offer anything original, isn't particularly scary, and offers so little in the way of dramatic momentum that it's more likely to put you to sleep than thrill you.

20

Average Rating: 3.3/10
Critic Reviews: 10
Fresh: 2 | Rotten: 8

The Apparition fails to offer anything original, isn't particularly scary, and offers so little in the way of dramatic momentum that it's more likely to put you to sleep than thrill you.

audience

26

liked it
Average Rating: 2.3/5
User Ratings: 20,871

My Rating

Movie Info

When frightening events start to occur in their home, young couple Kelly (Ashley Greene) and Ben (Sebastian Stan) discover they are being haunted by a presence that was accidentally conjured during a university parapsychology experiment. The horrifying apparition feeds on their fear and torments them no matter where they try to run. Their last hope is an expert in the supernatural, Patrick (Tom Felton), but even with his help they may already be too late to save themselves from this terrifying

PG-13,

Mystery & Suspense, Horror

Nov 27, 2012

$4.9M

Warner Bros. Pictures - Official Site External Icon

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All Critics (53) | Top Critics (10) | Fresh (2) | Rotten (52) | DVD (2)

This horror movie from Warner Bros. is nothing special, but it's nice to see a modest genre entertainment buoyed by a major studio's resources.

August 31, 2012 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comments (5)
Chicago Reader
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The entity is a ghostly presence amid an even ghostlier absence. This is truly distressed real estate.

August 29, 2012 Full Review Source: Boston Globe
Boston Globe
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Something lacking either body heat or visceral suspense.

August 28, 2012 Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
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For casual viewers desiring a few scares, some suspense and a sustained sense of dread and malevolence, you could do worse.

August 26, 2012 Full Review Source: Newsday | Comments (41)
Newsday
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Lights flicker; soap and cactuses blacken; claw marks appear; icky molds gather like hornet nests.

August 26, 2012 Full Review Source: New York Times
New York Times
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Might give you a restless night, but only because you fell asleep in the theater.

August 26, 2012 Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic IconTop Critic

This new supernatural thriller by first-time director Todd Lincoln has stinker written all over it. In indelible ink.

February 15, 2013 Full Review Source: Georgia Straight

The apparition, because it's lame, spends a lot of its time tying clothes into knots, moving dressers, and opening doors.

January 28, 2013 Full Review Source: Film Freak Central
Film Freak Central

When I finally get around to writing a textbook, this is going to be one of my primary examples of how not to make a horror movie.

November 30, 2012 Full Review Source: CraveOnline
CraveOnline

Instead of a genuine story line, 'The Apparition' asks us to sit and wait for something to happen. And wait. And wait. (Blu-ray edition)

November 17, 2012 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis
Movie Metropolis

I like a good ghost story, but 'The Apparition' is nothing like a good ghost story. It's more like a Syfy Channel show where they try to scare people in a darkened room.

November 17, 2012 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis
Movie Metropolis

A thinly sketched paranormal thriller stripped almost bare of anything that might provide some color, complication or personality.

November 1, 2012 Full Review Source: Screen International
Screen International

The Apparition is a rare example of filmmaking failure that is so complete, it will exacerbate its audience in nearly every way possible.

October 2, 2012 Full Review Source: ScreenRant
ScreenRant

Every fo paux The Apparition commits stems from a general atmosphere lacking any vibrant heartbeat, creating characters and conflicts which are tragically birthed on life support.

September 13, 2012 Full Review Source: We Got This Covered
We Got This Covered

Todd Lincoln, in his directorial debut, shows the restraint of a young Val Lewton. Things go bad oh-so-slowly ...

September 2, 2012 Full Review Source: CinemaDope
CinemaDope

When you look into this abyss, it yawns back at you.

August 31, 2012 Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle
Austin Chronicle

Plants wither and furniture is rearranged, as if the demon were an inconsiderate housesitter.

August 31, 2012 Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

The whole ordeal only lasts 82 minutes, but that's still too long for a film with no ambition aside from lightening your wallet.

August 29, 2012 Full Review Source: Moviedex | Comments (8)
Moviedex

Doesn't offer anything new, let alone entertaining.

August 29, 2012 Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix
Boston Phoenix

A run of the mill horror flick that gets worse and worse as it progresses

August 28, 2012 Full Review Source: jackiekcooper.com
jackiekcooper.com

It's simply one of the worst horror movies I've ever seen in my life; such a waste of time being in that theater. It's so wholly awful it's almost an acheivement how bad it is.

August 27, 2012 Full Review Source: Schmoes Know | Comment (1)
Schmoes Know

Audience Reviews for The Apparition

What director/writer Todd Lincoln is mostly missing here is the originality. While these days it is certainly hard to create anything fresh or not recycle same ideas again and again, you could still use better visual sense than Lincoln uses with his pointless and hollow The Apparition.

The whole idea for this film is silly and the few scares it has own their debt to other better films and especially J-horror masterpiece Pulse. There were moments when there was true sense of dread in the air and some scenes do have feel uneasiness in them, but most of the time this film seems to be in autopilot. Lincoln's approach is visually flat and in the final third when the suspense should be rising it all just gets kinda boring and duller than expected.

The Apparition also suffers from a weak screenplay. Basically this film just ends up being a story about a entity which does want to break into our world. That is the deepest we get with the story. We do learn that it has something to do with electricity and black fungus but that's about it. When the film reached it's weak conclusion i just felt confused and disappointed.

This film could have been turned out something so much better than it ended to be. Production values are mostly quite good but what do you need them for if the screenplay does not work at all. The Apparition has nothing new to offer for the fans of horro genre.
April 8, 2013
emilkakko

Super Reviewer

"Apparition" is the type of movie that makes you appreciate other movies, that you otherwise take for granted. This is kind of like "Paranormal Activity", only with a budget and zero of the creativity. "Activity" may not be a great horror movie, but when it came out it was inventive and unique. This is a rip off, and a very bad one at that. It's about a couple who are haunted in their home by a presence that was summoned during a college experiment. The acting is horrible, the story is generic, and the execution is poor. There is long stretches of just "spooky" music that doesn't move the story along, or provide any real suspense. All this movie made me want to do was re-watch the first "Paranormal Activity". If your a fan of horror or movies in general, you will probably be disappointed with this.
December 14, 2012
Everett Johnson

Super Reviewer

    1. Patrick: If we can pull this off, we'll prove that anything supernatural when people believe in them.
    – Submitted by Brita C (7 months ago)
    1. Maggie: Your house killed my dog.
    – Submitted by Alex K (8 months ago)
    1. Patrick: Just wait until my father hears about this Potter!
    – Submitted by Christopher M (9 months ago)
    1. Patrick: It knows you're afraid.
    – Submitted by Chris P (9 months ago)
    1. Kelly: Well, what does it want from us?
    – Submitted by Chris P (9 months ago)

Discussion Forum

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Foreign Titles

  • Apparition - Dunkle Erscheinung (DE)
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