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| Father Moore Performing an Exorcism on Emily Rose |
(Originally Published on Oct. 6, 2016)
Having worked on a couple of horror-related and direct-to-video projects (
Urban Legends: Final Cut and
Hellraiser: Inferno), Scott Derrickson made his directorial debut with
The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Released on September 23, 2005 the film is based on true events that centers on a court case involving Father Richard Moore (
Snowden’s Tom Wilkinson), a Catholic priest who is put on trail for the death of a nineteen year old girl named Emily Rose (
Dexter’s Jennifer Carpenter).
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| Erin Bruner (Laura Liney) meeting Father Moore (Tom Wilkinson) before the trial. |
The charges consist of having him neglect Emily’s medical treatment for her psychosis and elliptic spasms, while other evidence suggest possession and that the exorcism he performed failed, resulting in her death; prosecuting the priest is Ethan Thomas (
The Amazing Spider-Man’s Campbell Scott) and on the defense Erin Bruner (
Sully’s Laura Linney).
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The way the corridors are shot and colored, gives an other-worldly feeling similar to what
Derrickson would do in Doctor Strange with its kaleidoscopic visuals. |
One thing I appreciate is that film is scary without being repulsive (looking at you
Jeepers Creepers). Jennifer Carpenter gives a frightening performance as the titular character in the film’s flashbacks, and the scenes where she’s thrashing and screaming in agony are chilling to the bone. Wanting to go a different route Derrickson and screenwriter Paul Harris Boardman watched footage of real possessions and exorcisms and aimed for a more realistic portrayal that didn’t involve spinning heads, projectile vomiting or other exaggerations in the genre.
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| Ethan Thomas (Campbell Scott) speaking to the jury. |
What really struck me was the subject the movie raised on belief and religion; Thomas, the prosecutor is a practicing Protestant and Bruner, the defendant is an agnostic; both are skeptical on the possibility of a demon entering the body of a good-hearted normal girl. Though one can make the argument that the film favors the more spiritual aspect, it never succumbs to being a piece of religious propaganda as it gives voice to both sides as they try to fathom the mystery of Emily’s death from a medical, scientific, and religious standpoint. Coincidentally, Derrickson is an Evangelical Christian and Boardman, the screenwriter is agnostic. In the end the film doesn’t offer a straight answer as the film leaves it to the audience to decide. Mind-numbing, provocative (in a good way), and terrifying, Derrickson begins on a thrilling good note. Can success be repeated on his second feature involving a certain
Matrix actor in a remake of a sci-fi classic from the fifties? Find out on the next week’s issue of the East Texan.
Final Fun Fact: The film was green lit the same week Mel Gibson’s
The Passion of the Christ premiered in 2004. Coincidence?
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