Horror Movie Talk The Exorcism of Emily Rose Review
We rented
The Exorcism of Emily Rose on Amazon, and while Bryce couldn’t seem to
stay awake, I was reminded of one of my favorite possession movies ever made.
This was a Patreon pick of the month, and they voted on it, so we reviewed it.
Synopsis of
The Exorcism of Emily Rose
The
Exorcism of Emily Rose is directed by Scott Derrickson (Sinister) and is the
story of a court case where The People are prosecuting Father Moore (Tom Wilkinson) for the negligent homicide of
Emily Rose (Jennifer Carpenter). Good news for Father Moore,
Erin Bruner (Laura Linney) is on the case.
As we are
walked through the trial, we get glimpses into the hellish end of days that
made up Emily’s life. She was a deeply devout catholic girl in a deeply devout
catholic family, and that never seems to be a good combination in possession
movies.
Watch The Exorcism of Emily Rose
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The
defender of The People is Ethan Thomas (Campbell Scott), and he makes the claims that
Emily was epileptic and psychotic, which could have been treated medically.
Erin has to
come to terms with her own lack of faith to depict this priest in the light of
his intentions and the reality that the possession was real, and the exorcism
was vital to save Emily from the devil.
Review of The
Exorcism of Emily Rose
The
Exorcism of Emily Rose is an interesting and well-executed movie that
really floored me the first time I watched it several years after it’s 2005
release. I’ve seen it a handful of times since then, and it continues to be
compelling to watch.
The visuals
in this movie work best on the first go-around, so it didn’t have the same
disturbing impact on me this time as it did my first viewing.
I
appreciate the new twist on an old classic – being told from the perspective of
the homicide case made it much less of a movie about possession and much more
of a movie about faith and religion. The Defense attorney had her own brushes
with the demonic during her trial, which gave the movie stakes in the present.
This movie
respects the audience and shows a lot of restraint in favor of fewer terrifying
moments. The result is that these very disturbing scenes have a heavier impact.
I’m a
sucker for a well-made possession movie, and this is exactly that.
Score
8/10
Spoilers for The Exorcism of Emily Rose
This starts
with a great ambiance shot of a dreary farm-house in a mist-covered field. A medical
examiner shows up to find Emily deceased, surrounded by her family, and in
horrific condition. He can’t conclusively say that the cause of death is
natural, which makes a great allusion, not only to murder but to the
possibility of satanic possession.
The Religion/Science
Dichotomy
The Exorcism of Emily Rose asks the interesting question of, “What is possession, real or explained away with mental health diagnoses?” I love the way this movie tackles that question. First, from the side of the Prosecution (science), then from the side of the Defense (religion).
Many times we will see Emily acting possessed, and horrible
things will happen to her that appear to be because of the supernatural. For
example, she will be out in the field in the throws of possession, and stigmata will appear on her
hands. When viewed from the side of the Defense telling the account, it will
appear as it the mark on her hands show up without any outside influence. When
viewed from the side of the Prosecution, it shows that Emily grabs tightly onto
a barbwire fence, producing the wounds in the palm of each hand.
I enjoy the way this movie walks the line between religion
and science – never tainting the audience with a “true” fact one way or the
other.
The Exorcism
We only get to see bits and pieces of the actual exorcism of
Emily, but what we do see is harrowing. The actual (real-life) exorcism of
Emily Rose (a girl named Anneliese Michel) included
67 exorcism attempts.
One of the best parts of the movie is when we learn that
Emily has not one, but six demons residing in her. I really can’t explain this
and do it justice, so check out this clip:
The Verdict
As the trial draws to a close, we get to see the closing arguments
made by both sides. The Prosecution makes the case that this poor girl died a
horrible wasting death while in the care of Father Moore.
The Defense makes a great closing statement. If you scroll
up to the top of this page and listen to our podcast episode, you will hear her
whole closing statement at timestamp 1:02:54.
Final Recommendation
If you are in the mood for a possession movie, this is one of the best. It’s an interesting movie told from a unique perspective and it has aged quite well. The only other possession movie we have reviewed as of the release of this review is The Devil’s Doorway, and Emily Rose is a much better choice.