I have no words.. Why is this considered good?

i guess you simply were not engaged with 'the dialogue' and nature of the conflict.

no film is going to engage everyone. the fact that many presumably intelligent people thought it had compelling elements would, perhaps, give you some indication that its merits might have escaped your appreciation, were not your cup of tea, whatevah.

i could buy into a person who found themselves in an odd situation, already somewhat alienated by prior circumstance, thrown together with old friends, also traumatized and tentative upon reunion, who were each trying to apply normal social instincts to an odd situation, as the oddness revealed itself.

very few thrillers, or any other sort of fantastic genre, can be totally rendered without dramatic devices which might not stand up to the most rigorous scrutiny.

but let me ask you, have you -never- been in odd situations which you, in retrospect, would have quit earlier than you actually did in the moment?

Like I've said before... this film is highly regarded by critics and audiences alike. It's fine that you didn't like it. I really don't know why you're wasting your time trying to pry out of everyone why they liked it so much.

The dialogue wasn't random. Mostly all of it propelled the plot forward or revealed information about the characters that was pertinent to the plot.

The woman who left wasn't "bored" like you were. She left because she was very uncomfortable and even a little frightened by that point.

The long build-up before something happened did go on a tad bit longer than it should have, but it was forgivable because the tension built up in that first hour was of a level of intensity that most thrillers couldn't dream of reaching.

Me explaining this to you is pointless because your opinion is not going to change. Again I don't know why you're wasting your time on a movie you didn't like.

I don't know why you found the characters so hard to relate to. Will and his ex-wife were grief stricken. She (Eden) unfortunately fell into the trap of a cult that manipulated her and promised her a way out of her pain. You can't completely fault her for that. Have you not experienced grief before? These characters were in a lot of pain and the film was basically about the ways that people deal with pain. Also about how people in pain can be preyed upon, like the cult leader did with Eden and David.

Tommy had every right not to help carry Eden out to the lawn but ultimately he had compassion for her because he understood that she made some horrible choices based on profound emotional pain and agony...after all he was there to witness the incident with their child.

What in the film can be defined as good? The suspense (first and foremost), the acting, the score, the emotional depth, the twist at the very end, the fact that it was mostly character-driven instead of relying on cheap devices to manipulate the action forward... to name a few.

If you can't stand this film then just move on. You're not going to like everything you see. I loved this film. I love horror films and psychological/suspense thrillers. I enjoy dark material - especially characters that are dealing with a past/current tragedy because I have dealt with a lot of that in my life and I relate to it. There quite a number of films that have gotten extremely high reviews and praise that I can't stand. No big deal. I mean, I can't for the life of me understand why people like certain films but I'm not going to waste my time trying to figure it out because nothing is going to change my opinion.

On rare occasions I will see a movie once and hate it, and on second viewing find that I actually really enjoy it. But those instances are few and far between. Usually it's a done deal when I don't like a movie.

May I ask you what kinds of films you enjoy? Like what genre? What titles? And I'm sorry if I sound rude I'm really just attempting to have a conversation with you.

Some of my favorite films are: this film, The Gift (2015), The Descent (original uncut version), Side Effects, Martha Marcy May Marlene, The Last House on the Left (2009), The Skeleton Key, A Perfect Getaway, Sinister, The Conjuring, Gone Girl, Nightcrawler, Kill List, The Ruins, The Ring, Stir of Echoes, Scream, The Shining, Black Swan, Oculus (one example of a movie I didn't like the first time and enjoyed it a lot the second time), The Grey, Secret Window, Shutter Island, Maria Full of Grace, Tom at the Farm, The Cabin in the Woods, The Prestige, Inception, The Hurt Locker, Flight, The Town... I could go on and on but as you can see I am primarily drawn to horror, suspense and psychological thrillers.

Oh, you also mentioned you hated how slow the 'big bang' happened so to speak and I thought the slow motion combined with the score made it even more horrifying, chilling and memorable.

Can't take anyone seriously who considers 'dialogue, dialogue, dialogue' to be legitimate criticism. Have YOU watched a lot of movies? There are many great movies that revolve around little more than character and dialogue.
Not saying this is up there but I think it did a great job of building tension while keeping you guessing. Very well filmed and acted too.

I don't understand the hype about this film. I did try to engage and become emersed in what so many people are calling the suspenseful build up, but I found I was just bored. The film lost its credibility when Eden slapped her pals face and it was just accepted. I mean, who would do that?
100 minutes of my life wasted that I will never get back. I could tell what was going to happen within the first half hour of the film.
Poor, pretentious and predictable cult storyline trying to be dark and moody and failing in my opinion.
A big thumbs down from me.

Not everyone will enjoy this movie. It takes a certain type of person of person to appreciate it.

I for one have no idea how people can enjoy Marvel movies.

[deleted]

Without sounding too disrespectful this movie relies on the watcher having a certain amount of intellect.
The way some of these reviews are written feels like a lot of what went on went over people's heads and they totally missed the psychology and subtle nuances of this superb movie.

I loved it.