The Exorcism Of Emily Rose Review Country : USA Year: 2005 Genre: Horror/Supernatural Format: Cinema Running Time: (tba) Distributor: Sony An attorney takes on both church and state when she defends a priest who was involved in a deadly exorcism of a purportedly demon-possessed woman..... Credits Directed by Scott Derrickson. Written by Paul Harris Boardman and Scott Derrickson. Starring Jennifer Carpenter, Tom Wilkinson, Laura Linney, Colm Feore and Mary Beth Hurt. The Exorcist is one of Hollywood's premier cinematic achievements for one simple reason — it's a film that creeps under your skin and stays there for years and years. The Exorcism of Emily Rose achieves the same effect, only on a more visceral level. Based on the true case of Anneliese Michel. A 22-year-old woman who was a student at the University of Wurzburg and in the late 1970s and exhibited symptoms —including spasms, writhing, speaking in devilish tongues — construed by her devout Catholic family as diabolic possession. The archbishop of Wurzburg concurred with their diagnosis and entrusted two priests to perform the Exorcism from the 17th-century Rituale Romanum. To the embarrassment of the church, the victim died of starvation during the procedures, for the exorcists had added the discipline of fasting to the other means of driving out the demons. Insult was added to embarrassment when the district attorney's investigation and a trial found the two priests guilty of negligent manslaughter. The film follows that basic premise and tells the story of the possession and untimely death of 19 year old college student Emily Rose, (Jennifer Carpenter) a bitter and repressed single defense lawyer Erin Bruner, (Laura Linney) and her client Father Moore (Tom Wilkinson) who performed the deadly exorcism on the young woman. Bruner must battle a cocky state prosecutor as well as her own loneliness, as she realizes that her career so far has not fulfilled her, nor is she happy in her job on a day to day basis. Being an agnostic, Bruner also experiences certain things throughout the trial that bring her to a turning point in her faith as she tries to prove her client innocent. It's interesting that The Exorcism of Emily Rose is being released in a time when North American politicians are revisiting "family values" agendas. The film brings to light certain aspects of possession and the ritual of exorcism that has yet to be brought to the screen--even with The Exorcist. However, this film is not just your average girl gets possessed… floats around, spits green pea soup at priests, and yell obscenities. It also works as a very powerful courtroom drama that will have the believers rooting for the defense and the non-believers laughing at the premise of the film, even though it’s based on true events. How true these events are is beyond me at the moment, however I am very intrigued to find out more. Hopefully, you will as well. That is the entire basis of the film. Setting aside interpretations of the film's social agenda, once you see the film, you will either hate it or be unable to deny that it is one of the most powerful horror films ever made. Never mind the PG-13 rating, this film would work no matter what the rating. The team that brought us Hellraiser: Inferno and Urban Legends: Final Cut, Paul Harris Boardman and Scott Derrickson, bring us the first ever courtroom horror film hybrid and pulls it off great. Director Scott Derrickson’s direction looks great and you can tell they both put a lot into the screenplay, which can’t be said for many films these days. This is the firs time in a long, long time that I have been freaked out by a film and totally went home and said all my prayers. I am a believer, and the thing that hit home with me was the fact that I have experienced some of these exact things in my youth. I won’t go into the specifics, but in one scene where the demon tries to enter Emily, I couldn’t help but remember exactly what had happened to me (several times) when I was younger. It may very well only have a deep effect on those who do believe in this sort of thing or have experienced similar events. You may not find this film scary at all. You may find it funny like the morons sitting behind me, laughing throughout the film. The look and sound of the film is another story, you can tell the Derrickson spent a long time on the soundtrack, balancing silence with suspenseful music and harrowing voice effects. The scenes during the actually exorcism are creepy as hell, and look great. One of the best looking scenes in the film is featured on the poster, where Emily exits her body and walks into a field of mist and fog. That scene will send chills up and down your spine. It's also refreshing to once again see a horror film that emphasized real performances from its actors. Jennifer Carpenter conjures a very disturbing performance, contorting her body and bringing something to the film that is fresh, exciting, and very disturbing. Laura Linney and Tom Wilkinson both pull off amazing performances, as well stand out scenes with Campbell Scott and Colm Feore. If anything, see this film with an open mind, and try to view it from both perspectives. Something that is easily done with the way the film is presented. You can choose your side and at least when the film is over, you and your friends will have some great conversation. Now, if you can actually go home and go to sleep well after seeing the film, then you are probably not human. OFFICIAL SITE Review by John Gray, for Pitofhorror.com