I like horror movies for a variety of reasons. One is the curiosity of the unknown especially as it applies to the supernatural. Even as a child I was curious rather than frightened when presented with the idea of ghosts, undead, and other such things. I once tried to scare my sister by pretending I’d seen a ghost and running in terror. She didn’t believe it for a second. When I asked why she said because she knew if I’d really seen something I would have tried to talk to it rather than run from it.

Another is a curiosity of what scares me. Horror movies just aren't scary. At best they are creepy. I love movies like Sleepy Hollow that carry a campfire ghost story mood in them, but while those movies have great atmosphere there’s not really a scare factor. The Exorcism of Emily Rose is the only movie that has actually scared me as an adult.

The movie is part courtroom drama, part disturbing horror. Young Emily Rose has died. Father Moore, who was entrusted with her care, in on trial for negligent homicide. The prosecution believes Emily had a mental condition controllable by medication. By taking her off of that medication, Father Moore directly contributed to her death. Moore and the Rose family hold a different perspective; they believe Emily was possessed by a spiritual force. It was the demon that killed Emily.

A Christian is assigned to prosecute, while an agnostic takes the defense (the opposite of what the average story would have done). Erin has the task of bringing the spiritual realm into the courtroom, a realm she doesn’t actually believe in herself.

What makes it so scary? First, I'm going in with a preconceived notion that Lucifer is real and a working force on Earth, and I believe in demonic possession primarily from the Biblical accounts but also from reading non-fiction books on the matter.

Another scary element is that this is based on real events. The names and setting have changed, and I’m sure other elements have been fictionalized as well. Even so, knowing a girl went through something even resembling the events in the movie is a disturbing notion.

One of the greatest points about this movie from a literary standpoint is that it never conclusively answers the question of Emily being possessed or mentally ill. I say she was possessed, others say with equal certainty that she wasn’t. The truth is that evidence supporting both sides is present, and the viewer must decide.

For the horrific portions of the movie we see the events as experienced by those involved, which means we may not be seeing what actually happened. Even so it keeps very much to a human plane even if influenced by demonic forces. We never see Hell, we never see demonic monstrosities (distorted humans, yes, but no actual demons); the images are primarily earthly though skewed. There’s very little in the way of flashy effects relying on actors' physicalities and reactions to get the supernatural across. To me this is more scary than any CG demon would have been.

Speaking of acting it is excellent. Jennifer Carpenter does an admirable job with making Emily's contortions seem real. Tom Wilkinson is perfect in the role of the priest. Laura Linney makes a great lawyer, but also plays the troubled aspects of the character very well.

As always the movie’s approach to religion greatly affects how I feel about it. I have to wonder if Derrickson is a Christian. The story is very respectful of the Christian faith. As I said before it doesn’t answer the question of the accuracy of the demonic possession theory, but it does leave the religious interpretation open.

Typically when a movie has a Christian antagonist that person is a religious fanatic, or, at best, delusional. The attorney for the prosecution in this case is a respectable man and appears to be a genuine Christian. Though he gets more wound up about the case than he should it appears to be a pure-hearted passion. This is open to interpretation, but to me he seems like he is disgusted by the thought of Father Moore causing the death of this child then hiding behind a shield of Christianity. This is the kind of guy whose blood boils when he hears of priests molesting children, taking it personally when so-called men of God perpetrate evil. He doesn’t want God to be a get out of jail free card, and though I think he is off base in this instance, that is a stance with which I can readily agree.

Sometimes as a Christian I feel like my enjoyment of horror movies is a sort of guilty pleasure. That is not the case with …Emily Rose. However, what pushes the movie over the edge for me from being a good movie to a great one seems to have the opposite effect on others. I particularly love the emotional ending. This is far different from standard horror, but some viewers are put off by the lack of an explosive end. While there is a huge climax it comes much earlier than the commonly accepted story structure leaving the rest of the story to either tug on the viewer's heart or fizzle. It obviously hit home with me, but I'm in more of a minority than I expected.

Another strong or sour point, depending on the viewer, is the courtroom drama that is necessary to keep the emotional ending from feeling out of place. Some feel like this detracts from the horrific moments; I thought they accentuated each other nicely. Seeing the effects of the situation on Erin gives credibility to the outcome of the situation. Also, seeing the events discussed in such a sterile setting keeps the movie from crossing the line into a purely religious film. Ironically it is the horrific elements that point to God and the dramatic moments that question him.

CONTENT:
The greatest thing about this movie is that if it gets you it does it without taking cheap shots which means when the hooks get you they really get you good. I mentioned the lack of flashy effects; there is none of the gore, sex, and other such tricks that most horror movies feel are essential to reaching an audience. There is barely any bad language. It ultimately even has a positive and touching message. This is probably as close to wholesome as a horror movie could possibly come. That’s a false sense of security, though. Remember my earlier statement that this is the only horror movie that has scared me as an adult. I would not recommend this movie to the faint of heart.

DVD:
There are a couple of editions available. My edition of choice is the unrated Widescreen. I really couldn’t pick out with certainty what was replaced to cause it to be unrated, but that seems to be the most commonly available release.

Video is 2.40 anamorphic. Audio is 5.1 Dolby. The interface has some scary images with animation and sound effects. There are previews, lots of warnings and disclaimers to watch before getting to the movie which is really my biggest complaint about the release. It’s just a pain to have to go through all that.

The director provides a commentary. It’s kind of slow but interesting. It includes a brief explanation of the true events.

A single deleted scene with optional commentary has Erin bringing home a one night stand. It’s the closest thing to sexual innuendo on the DVD, but it doesn’t get very far.

The best features are the behind the scenes videos. The first one talks about finding this particular story. It looks at religious faith and the effects on the beliefs of the audience. The next one looks at gathering the cast with a large focus on convincing Laura to take the role and finding Jennifer. The last one looks at the visual design: special effects, the decision to stay away from conventional gothic architecture and drab color styles, and the artistic influences.

Lastly is a large list of previews. This is the most diverse collection of previews I’ve ever seen: horror, comedy, religious, action, drama, there’s a trailer on here to appeal to virtually every possible interest a viewer might have.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
This is without a doubt one of the best horror movies ever. Maybe it doesn’t have the eye-candy, jumps, blood, and debauchery that some popular horror movies have, but it has substance, purpose, and style that is more akin to classic horror cinema than anything in this genre produced in the past several years. I would have liked an educational special feature that looks more closely at the true story, but the features included are interesting. It’s enough to earn the movie 5* though I’m willing to admit I’m biased by the positive religious aspects.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older