The Exorcism Of Emily Rose

The perfect mix of horror & drama

Synopsis: The Rev. Moore (Tom Wilkinson) is prosecuted for the wrongful death of a girl thought to be demonically possessed, because he administered the church-sanctioned exorcism that ultimately killed her. Prosecuting attorney Ethan Thomas (Campbell Scott) contends that the young woman, Emily (Jennifer Carpenter), suffered from schizophrenia and should have been medically diagnosed. Meanwhile, defense lawyer Erin Bruner (Laura Linney) argues that Emily's condition cannot be explained by science alone.

I recently came across this movie after I was searching for a good horror flick to watch. Lately I've had just this craving for a good spooky movie, maybe it's just because the horror season just around the corner, or I'm just weird like that (probably the latter). But I'll tell you I was pleasantly surprised with what The Exorcism Of Emily Rose. Not only does it have time for all of the scare scenes, but it also makes time for a well fleshed out conflict between the two experienced lawyers.

Scares that are actually scary

On the horror side, the scares pack a punch that you wouldn't believe. I can't remember the last time a horror movie made me scared to walk around my home at night. And these aren't your typical scares that you see with most horror movies these days. Some of these scares will build and build and then suddenly cut to the next scene, not allowing you to have that sweet release of a jump scare. But when the jump scares do hit, they hit hard and unexpectedly.

Realistic courtroom drama

The other half of this movie takes place inside of a courtroom, where two lawyers go head to head. One thing that helps with the conflict, is that the lawyers actually know each other, they have a personal relationship with one another that is set up at the beginning. So throughout the courtroom proceedings, you can really feel the tension between the two of them, with their beliefs clashing with one another. Another thing that I found interesting was that the lawyer who was representing the priest, was agnostic, meaning that their beliefs conflicted with one another as well.

And that's what is great about the story, the conflicts are well set up and represented, while also allowing the horror aspect to not over crowd the story. It is a well balanced, well told story of an exorcism gone wrong.