I've looked through the reviews and it seems like the that didn't fully understand the movie were the ones that gave it bad reviews. Even from some of the so called professional critics the case remained the same. People either really love it or really hate it. From the words of someone that gave it 1 star they basically accused those that rave about this movie of being in love with movies that they don't understand but clearly from his review it was him that didn't understand. I personally love everything about it. I found the characters relatable and therefore believeable. The setting is incredible as well as music and sounds giving it a super creepy atmosphere . As far as what's going on that a lot of poor reviewers couldn't quite put together i will explain. This where the major spoilers begin so stop reading if you don't want to know. -This is a movie about possession, insanity and mystery. When the owner of the company walks through the building for the first time you here a voice come in that says to him "hello Gordan". As the movie goes on and you get to know the characters stories and murders start taking place you begin to question 3 of the main characters hence it being a mystery. The bosses top guy had his girlfriend stolen from one of the other crew members and has plenty of motive as well as a lot of suspicious behavior. Then there's the law school dropout that becomes obsessed with listening to the sessions of one of the old patients recordings. He at times has motives because he's going back after hours to listen to the recordings and because one of the crew members has a instrument stabbed into his eye in a manner that he had demonstrated in front of everyone. In the end it's revealed that it is the boss that is responsible for the murders but you still question because he's seeing things as he's battling insanity over the actions he has done. The sessions recordings however reveal at the end of the movie that the same voice that represents the part of the old patients personality is the same voice that speaks ito Gordan at the beginning of the film. It's the same voice that says "do it Gordon" before he kills his wife. More on that when he returns home after landing the job he has a bag full of groceries which contain flowers, peanut butter and Oreos. You see the flowers with blood on them placed in the insane asylum, you see the peanut butter jar in the hall in the basement and the Oreos in his truck. It's evident from the beginning and throughout the movie that he was possessed, killed his wife along with all the other crew members but because he has the highest past integrity of the crew as well as with the other crew members motives you question if it's not him. The possession being responsible for the murders leads him to insanity much as it did Mary, the lady from the recording sessions. Perhaps that's not some people's cup of tea but possessions are a supernatural sort of thing that seems could be real as from some of my life experiences. So with my appreciation for psychological thrillers and the mood and feel of this I give it a 10 for how much it creeps me out. I can understand if that's not your thing though.

'Session 9' is a meticulously crafted and directed horror/psychological thriller film. In a conventional sense, the film isn't really scary. It doesn't have jump scares, there are no ghosts/demons jumping around, there is no mad killer cutting up people and indulging in gore. But what 'Session 9' does have is a constant, inescapable, palpable and bone chilling sense of dread that gets amplified by an absolutely exquisite score as well as great sound mixing. From a thematic standpoint, the film uses generic horror techniques to explore the negative effects of the patriarchal society, not on women, but on men. The film gives us a sensationalised version of the devastating violence that can be the result of the emotional repression of men in a patriarchal society where the stereotypical idolised version of the perfect man involves being hard, emotionally invulnerable and having the ability to handle the burden of being the sole provider of the household without ever having the right to feel stressed out. All the characters that are in the film are struggling with their inner demons. Gordon is stressed with his work and his stress level has been exponentially raised with his newborn daughter along with the financial worries. Phil is struggling with the idea of having to work alongside Hank, the man who stole his girlfriend Amy. Hank himself is no longer in love with Amy and desperately wants a way out of his job which he considers to be dead-end. Mike is struggling with the idea that he is a failure for not passing the bar exam even though his father is a state attorney general. Jeff, the young kid has a fear of the dark which clearly bothers him and he tries to compensate by listening to death metal and trying to look tough. What is interesting is that none of these men make an attempt to verbalise their concerns and have a heart-to- heart conversation with the others. They keep their emotions repressed. Some are capable of handling this repression, but some become ticking time-bombs ready to explode with devastating consequences. The director Brad Anderson himself has revealed that 'The Shining' was a huge influence on him and that becomes very clear while watching 'Session 9'. 'The Shining' utilised the Overlook Hotel, 'Session 9' uses the Danvers State Hospital. Just like Kubrick, Anderson uses the claustrophobia of the interiors brilliantly to build up the creepiness. Just like 'The Shining', there is an ambiguity to 'Session 9'. One can have a supernatural reading of the film and say that all the horrifying things that happen in the film are down to the spirits hovering inside the hospital influencing the mentally vulnerable character(s). On the other hand one can conclude that the wrong-doer in the film had already driven to the brink of depression before starting the work in the hospital and the claustrophobia inside just put him over the edge resulting in madness and violence. In a technical sense I love how Anderson lingers on shots and doesn't feel the need to speed up the pace. There is a lot of creepy imagery which work brilliantly with the sound mixing. There is a subtlety to it. There are very few plot contrivances and the film never really comes close to testing the limits of the viewer's suspension of disbelief. Another Kubrick link can be found in the way Anderson frequently uses the one-point perspective with his tracking shots. The acting is really good from everyone. It's a collective solid performance from the ensemble cast.'Session 9' is a really really good horror/psychological thriller that really surprised me pleasantly. It's a film that is somewhat obscure and not talked about that often and I think that's a travesty. I can see myself watching this over and over again. Highly Recommended.

This is a very scary and suspense filled psychotic movie. It is very simple with its atmosphere and effectiveness. The building is the real star of the movie along with the amazing lighting and cinematography. The story is very effective for the purpose. The ending feels a tiny bit flaccid but that is the most minor of complaints from an otherwise genuinely gripping and powerfully scary movie. This is a dread filled mental horror bringing the viewer into the scary with very real feeling fear.

With the amount of low budget horror films out there it's hard to find the diamond in the roughs within the wide collection of abysmal attempts at quality film. Session 9 isn't necessarily a hidden gym since there has been a good amount of recognition over time, however the film is not a known community either. The film has a ton going for it right from the start that it utilized quite effectively. First the location of Danvers State Hospital is an extraordinary place to film with an abundance and variety of spots that are very creepy visually. The setting of a mental asylum in combination with the haunting soundtrack selection blended together in a very amazing way. This really set the stage for a phenomenal atmosphere taking some pressure off of the film's characters and script. The casting turned out to be very good anyway and the dialogue that they pull off is deeply disturbing. The most impeccable dialogue though occurs when Mike listens to the old tapes left in the basement. The film is very methodical, characters spiral steadily and it hooks the viewer into a form of psychological psychosis. Unfortunately, the ending could have been done a bit better but it didn't completely sabotage the film as a whole. If you're looking for something smart with a gritty feel than Session 9 is definitely a film to look into.