A surprisingly tense and atmospheric horror film disguised as a true crime courtroom drama 'The Exorcism of Emily Rose' turned into a pleasant surprise and I walked away on a high. Starring Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter) and Tom Wilkinson (Batman Begins) the story tells the 'true story' (meaning it takes the basic elements and fictionalizes the majority) of a young girl who died during her exorcism in which the priest is held accountable and between the trial and flashback accounts we get to see the events leading up to the horrific incident. I won't lie here, the film will likely split audiences at about the half hour mark. It's not your typical horror film or even a possession film because while there are very graphic and horrible scenes involving those themes, the film tries to tell a deeper story while still keeping those horror elements.
Films have attempted to copy and paste 1973's 'The Exorcist' long before this one, but while those knock offs and even official sequels would usually focus on the gross out and grotesque aspects of William Friedkin's film, 'Emily Rose' attempts to stay more grounded in reality and go at a slower pace. One of the best aspects of 'The Exorcist' was its unnatural atmosphere and uncomfortable tone which is thanks to the long slow pace of the film's first hour or so before hitting you over the head with macabre imagery. 'Emily Rose' goes more in this direction and for a large majority of the film director Scott Derrickson succeeds at giving us a similar creepy pace. Where this slower pace does not do so well is in the large chunk in which we have to go back to the court room which ironically adds exposition to the story while also rendering the film to a screeching halt.
Now if it weren't for the amazing acting performances of Wilkinson and the prosecuting attorney played by Laura Linney these films would be unbearable but luckily they keep my attention long enough that I want to continue watching and hopefully get to the next flashback. The biggest surprise here however is Carpenter as the young girl Emily Rose. A lot of the crazy things she does in the film are in fact real and in camera by the young actress herself and she is damn scary. It's really a shame that after such a strong and unforgettable performance she doesn't seem to get as much credit as she deserves. She has gone on to do just as well in shows like 'Dexter' and even video games such as 'The Evil Within' but I think she deserves another big project to show off what she can do. Highly underrated woman that's for sure.
'The Exorcism of Emily Rose' is a film you've probably brushed off or ignored at your local video shop at one time or another. The demon possession genre is very much played out and only a few little gems are hiding in the sea of mediocrity. I personally think this one is one of those gems and one that no one seems to really discuss anymore when watching Halloween movies. If you don't want to sit through the court room scenes then I at least suggest checking out the exorcism sequence itself for some really creepy scenes.
( B + )
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