A realistic horror film. Review on The Exorcism of Emily Rose Movie

Exorcism of Emily Rose is based on the real life events of Anneliese Michel who in early 1970’s had to undergo immense ordeal due to her disturbing and violent behavior, ultimately leading to her death.

Doctors perceived it to be epilepsy while few priests saw it as a demonic possession.

The tag “Based on real life events”would instigate any average viewers curiosity about this film. I had always believed that making a horror film based on real life story would be a big challenge. It would be like conveying an apparent message that ghosts actually exist in the real world. This can be quite tricky but was handled deftly. Rather than portraying the entire film in one single story, the film proceeds in a courtroom where witnesses transmit their version of the story at different levels. Some of them are supernatural and few are quite scary.

Story line is gripping; it triggers contemplation on the fractional differentiation between religion and science. Is possession real? Does science have all the answers? Does god exist? Can god allow us troubles? Was Emily Rose really a saint?

Many more questions are provoked as you watch this film.

I must warn that there are some disturbing images that are quite graphic. A scene - where Emily’s friend wakes up in the middle of the night to find Emily lying on the floor cuddled up in the shape of a ball with the legs above her head was chilling and sent out few murmurs in the theater, Or the scene where Emily eats spiders and beetles can be quite nerve shattering.

But these images fit perfectly into the film, the director can’t be blamed if few viewers are disappointed because they entered in expecting a Sound Of Music.

All actors esp. Laura Linney as the lawyer, Tom Wilkinson as the priest and Jennifer Carpenter as Emily Rose have done a commendable job. Tom Stern’s cinematography is laudable. Of all - Its director Scott Derrickson who is the real winner of this movie for his craftsmanship in making this film so much believable.

On the flip side, there are few scenes which seem to be forced to scare the audience, like the eyes of Emily’s classmates getting dark and scary, or the intermittent loud music of Christopher Young which could have been more sober. In general terms it’s like adding chilly powder in a hot cup of coffee. I mean, both are hot yet different.

I would suggest this movie to anyone who has reasonable vigor to sustain chills and thrills. This film won’t scare you to death but can make you bite your teeth occasionally.

This is probably one of finest realistic horror films to have been released, ever since Sixth Sense.