The first hour of this movie is impeccably written and directed. I have mixed feelings about the last third, at which point most of the subtlety, creepiness, and mystery which had up to that point made the movie so compelling and intriguing is dumped in favor of a bloodbath.
This is a 6 star movie with 10 star acting, and the first hour of the movie so successfully generates a sense of eerie, atmospheric dread that I feel justified in bumping it up to 7 stars. 19 year old Kiernan Shipka displays the kind of masterful control over her facial expressions one doesn't often see even in actors with decades of experience. Many things contribute to the atmosphere I mentioned, including a fantastic soundtrack and superb pacing.
Regarding the latter, pay no attention to reviewers who are claiming that this movie is "slow." There is a distinct difference between intentionally deliberately paced and slow. A deliberate pace combined with savvy editing and eerie sound design is often what separates truly excellent horror film making from the kind of breakneck paced, unatmospheric junk we usually see. I would imagine that the people who are criticizing the pace of this movie probably don't appreciate classics of the genre like The Haunting (1963), The Changeling (1980), or The Innocents (1961). If those aren't your kind of movies then you probably won't like this one either.
I'm still thinking about the last half an hour of this film. I think the writer / director made some miscalculations and moved the plot in a direction that ultimately brings the movie down a couple of notches. That's not to say it's conclusion is a complete failure. The last two shots are striking and much more in keeping with the first hour. Maybe I should give it an 8. In any case, for fans of carefully constructed and well-made horror films, this is a must-see. Maybe not quite an inevitable classic, but perhaps a near-miss.
