Now that Scott Derrickson is causing a panic with his new movie with Ethan Hawke, it’s time to appreciate one of his first and most successful films. ‘The Exorcism of Emily Rose’ is available to watch on ‘streaming’.
A fascinating case of demonic possession that led to an intriguing and intricate trial that was to determine whether or not there was such possession.. And also based on real events. Pulling from flashbacks to deliver truly creepy and demonic sequences, The Exorcism of Emily Rose was a surprising phenomenon from one of the most prominent horror directors of this century.
This filmmaker in question is Scott Derrickson, who now terrifies us with the new sensation of the horror genre Black Phone, joined again by Ethan Hawke after making another popular genre film with Sinister. But none of these films would have been possible were it not for this effective and fascinating film starring a spectacular Jennifer Carpenter.
The case in question is truculent. A priest (Tom Wilkinson) is being tried for having precipitated the death of the young Emily Rose (Carpenter), by recommending that he stop her medication to treat her mental illness in order to perform an exorcism that would eliminate her demons. The jury must determine if his reckless act caused the subsequent death of the young woman or if, on the contrary, the medical treatment prevented the possibility of salvation.
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To defend him is a tenacious lawyer (Laura Linney) who is not a believer, and even seriously doubts the divine and demonic forces. But she must try to create reasonable doubt in a rigorous and complex judicial process. The whole movie becomes one interesting exploration of the conflict between science and spiritualityof certainty versus faith, and what guides us in the face of phenomena that are beyond our comprehension.
This whole story is inspired by the real case of Anneliese Michel, a young German woman who died of malnutrition in 1976 and was determined by the Catholic Church to be a case of demonic possession. Here the film decides to take the liberty to recount said demonic possession, through a series of terrifying sequences inserted between the stages of the trial.
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The film manages to get ahead of others successful movies that took advantage of real cases to develop supernatural horror stories, as is the case of the Warren File saga by James Wan or even in our country with Veronica. Its success lies in a formidable execution of the horror scenes, which in Derrickson’s case are done with good taste and practical effect, as well as taking advantage of Carpenter’s incredible physical performance.
Although the film goes beyond the effective scares, since it manages to make the judicial part interesting and reflective, giving the film a great deal in the process. This balance of both facets exposed Derrickson’s interesting talent, and he turned a modest $19 million film into a very profitable one. Its 145 million raised worldwide made it a resounding success. You should not miss the opportunity to recover it.
You can see Emily Rose’s exorcism on Netflix.
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