Exploring Fear and Faith - The Exorcism of Emily Rose
This is a true-life telling of the life of a young college girl called Emily Rose who claims to have demonic possession. When medical treatments prove ineffective, she seeks help in religious domain and goes through an exorcism by Father Richard Moore. The exorcism is unfortunately fatal and yet, a trial is set where Father Moore is charged for negligent homicide, science against faith. Pacing is slow; mood is dark and menacing, flavor is tense and fraught with feelings of death understanding. It made the audience think about how much of the unknown do they know or how much they do even believe in the supernatural. This issue of searching for the truth in the midst of faith and doubt remain exciting as they depict the constant battles of mankind between realities and beliefs.
Jennifer Carpenter’s performance portrays Emily Rose so agonisingly well that her desperation of a tormented girl under attack by forces beyond her understanding comes out clearly. Erin Bruner as played by Laura Linney is a lawyer who at the beginning of the movie is out right cynical about the supernatural aspects of the case but transforms into an inspiring figure by the end of the picture. Tom Wilkinson as Father Moore performs very well and he adds seriousness to the film and belief in supernatural being’s reality.
The director Scott Derrickson does a good job in combining the horror and the courtroom drama, ensuring that the remaining half of the movie remains suspenseful. An effective aspect of the film belongs to the director’s skill to make the audience feel uncomfortable and keep suspense.
Music in the film raises the level of drama and people’s discomfort. The music score by Christopher Young well supports the mysterious and thriller theme of the movie and the talented work of Tom Stern who used rather low contrast and contrast saturated vision to make the movie set seem eerie from time to time. The visual story enhances the feeling of the film’s horror and underscores the contrast between the cold courtroom shots to the horrific scenes of the exorcism.
The production design ensures that it is in tune with the needed theme incorporating period iconography into the story. The film also presents strong dark themes enhanced by realistic settings that make viewers believable regarding the supernatural happenings of the motion picture.
The horror effects are used only in a few scenes with) : The passion for horror and the love for films unite in me and I consider myself very lucky to be able to write about them. I love when I can see targeted and calculated marketing In films and it often makes my watching experience much more enjoyable. I’m They add believability to the supernatural aims while not going overboard with CGI.
The editing is also smooth and seamless, constantly cutting between the court scenes and Emily’s traumatic past which is built to make the suspense increase gradually.
While the movie chooses to be deliberately slow to set the atmosphere, tension, it does not feel like it is boring at any point. Due to unveiling of incidents, suspense increases step by step until climax, contributing for higher excitement.
Dialogue is clear and sometimes people provoking, especially during scenes when faith and science face each other at the court. It gives out excellent lines, which suits the characters and adds a great deal in propelling the movie to thematic heights.
Most especially the moments of possession and the great courtroom scenes, although the latter can be slow at some points for people who look forward to jump scares and other freaky events. But these moments give a wider expression to those themes.
Emily Rose is far from being just horror movie, it is the movie about faith, identity and beliefs. The whole story was very gripping, dark and tense and the acting was superb; it was scary and exciting as well as intellectual. It forces the viewer to think metaphorically and ask questions about spirit and faith when the real movie ended I was left wondering.
