The Exorcism of Emily Rose

The Exorcism of Emily Rose is a different view of the traditional horror film. First, it is more of a suspenseful dramatic tension than a slasher who’s next sort of setup. But any film focusing on the unusual Catholic rite of exorcism has a tough act to follow. The 1973 film The Exorcist set a very high bar for the psychology and imagery of exorcism. The Exorcism of Emily Rose lives up to this difficult pedigree by taking things from a slightly different tack. The Exorcism of Emily Rose is a horror film about demonic possession wrapped in the by now comfortable cloak of a courtroom procedural. Those who watch Law & Order on a regular basis will find the juxtaposition comforting between the sterile courtroom and the ghastly flashbacks that recount the case.


Tom Wilkinson plays Father Moore a priest who is on trial for neglect in the death of Emily Rose during a botched exorcism. I won’t tell you who wins the case or why the priest wanted to go to trial, mainly because that isn’t the point of the film. The point is to interlace brightly lit courtroom process with the gloomy devolution of a small town girl from college bound dreamer to wailing vessel of the devil. Of course there are some things that cannot be avoided in such a film. There is the pale makeup and the wounds and there are the strangely contorted body and the speaking in tongues. There is no revolving head or spitting up pea soup but that doesn’t mean that the film is any less intense. Jennifer Carpenter plays Emily, a fresh faced college freshman who becomes possessed by devils. Of course in this case Emily fights them as best she can and even after she is possessed sometimes she is able to surface and receive and deliver messages. But for the most part she is a devil infested human pretzel given to bashing her head into walls, speaking in German, Latin, and Aramaic, and attacking those around her.


Laura Linney plays Erin Bruner Emily’s somewhat reluctant defense attorney. Erin is a hard drinking lawyer who agrees to accept the case in exchange for a big promotion but she is of course the non-believer in the story, the lawyer who doesn’t necessarily believe in God or in the devils around which this case revolves. Every film that deals with in-depth topics of this nature needs a non-believer so that: 1.The believers can explain what is going on to the non-believer, and 2. the non-believer can see things with the perspective of the audience, with a measure of disbelief. Linney seems a little out of her element in this film as if unsure whether to play over to the inherent disbelief that the subject matter inspires or just to go along with some of the schlock spewn along the way. One thing I can say for her is that she had an incredible hairdo for the film. Her hair had highlights just so, ends perfectly turned out and framing her face just so. Her hair bounced and played so well in some of the scenes I found it positively distracting.


Campbell Scott plays the prosecutor Ethan Thomas and his role as a religiously devout attorney hand picked to prosecute this case could have been better written. Father Moore is the glue that holds the film together both as the calm and collected leader of the exorcism and as the face of the court case and how the turn of events shattered lives beyond Emily’s life. Father Moore is a stalwart on earth against the devils all around and his presence lends gravity, and rationality, and humanity to what could have been a very far fetched and dehumanized plot.


>The Exorcism of Emily Rose, much like the original The Exorcist, claims to be based on a true story. This time it is of a German girl who died in the early 1970s. Both her parents and two priests were brought to trial for negligent homicide in the case. But that is beside the point. The point of the film is the never ending battle between good and evil for the souls of humanity and how such bad things can happen in a cold and procedurally driven world. The Exorcism of Emily Rose contains something for everyone in this Halloween season and should do very well up through Halloween. If you want to see something scary, this is by far the best scare at the Cineplex.