By objectifying Jews as exotic others rather than presenting them as subjects, the Raimi production eliminates the precise element that would have been most powerful for a Jewish audience.

This effective little creeper is the only Judaic pastiche of The Exorcist you're likely to see this year. That alone gives it a jump on the umpteen other evil/possessed-child films that have become a seemingly monthly genre staple of late.

Director Ole Bornedal doesn't add a single idea of his own.

Just barely manages to set itself apart from the generic possession subgenre, though only barely.