Why you can trust 12DOVE Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.
Part stuffy courtroom drama, part bowel-loosening spooker, frustratingly, this US hit fails to gel. Based on a '70s German case, it has priest Tom Wilkinson in the dock for negligent homicide after college freshman Emily (Jennifer Carpenter) pegs it during an attempted exorcism. Was she possessed? Or did she just have epilepsy? Since it's obvious which way the filmmakers want you to swing, any gripping trial goes out the window.
Shame, really, because the scares are top drawer. Sure, there's the odd steal from The Exorcist, but first-timer Scott Derrickson knows how to wrangle a demon-faced jolt. And if the nasties don't ice your blood then the wintry visuals will. A quality turn, too, from Laura Linney (agnostic defence), but it really only layers varnish on TV-movie schlock. Desperate for jumps, then give it a shot, but it won't put your head in a spin.
NO VERDICT
"Souls-like meets Fable" is all this indie RPG needed to say to meet its Kickstarter goal, but it added in a Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood nod just for good measure
Gorgeous JRPG homage Clair Obscur sells out its collector's edition months before launch, dev says it didn't think "the demand for our physical editions would be so high"
Turn-based RPG Clair Obscur dev says all-star voice actor lineup includes people like Andy Serkis and Baldur’s Gate 3 alumni by accident: "He was like, 'Isn't that Clive from Final Fantasy?'"
